The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-09-01
State Board of Health Bars
Children Under Age
of Is Years
MOVING PICTURE
THEATRES INCLUDED
valley Fair Officials Say Order Means
Deficit If Fair Is Held - Situation
70 Be Discussed Tonight-May Have
Statement Tomorrow.

During the month of September all
children under 10 years of age are
barred from attending the fairs in Yer
mont and from attending moving pic
ture exhibitions in Windham, Windsor,
rutland a1d Bennington counties.
Tins is by order of the state board of
health, which held a meeting in Hotel
Berwick in Rutland last night at the
request of Gov. Charles W. Gates.
In view of this order the Valley Fair
is lii the balance. 1t is a fact that
the officials of the Valley Fair associa-
tion would have preferred an order to
give up the fair entirely for this year
rather than to have placed upon it a re-
Striction that probably means a deficit.
1t is for the directors to determine
what action to take, and it is ex-
ing tonight to definitely decide
the question. They may have state
.nent TO make tomorrow.
1t is the feeling of the Valley Fair
officials that many parents will re-
main away because they cannot bring
their children, thus making the order
more far-reaching than if it affected
only the children themselves. The text
or the order is as follows:
''All children under Is years of age
shall be excluded from all fairs and
the so-ealled Rutland carnival shall be
abandoned unless effective measures
can be taken, satisfactory to the local
board of health, by which children un-
der 15 years can be excluded from pub
lie functions both indoors and out
"All motion picture houses and
theaters in Rutland, Bennington, Wind
sor and Windham counties shall ex-
clude all children under Is years of
age from ali entertainments
@ In towns in which there are one or
more cases of infantile paralysis, all
children under 10 years of age may be
excluded from public gatherings includ-
ing churches and Sunday schools at the
discretion of the local board of health
''These rules and regulations shall
remain IL force during the month of
September, 1916.
&C. F. DALTON,
"Seeretary Vermont State Board of
HEALTH
The four members of the state board
of health, DR.. c. S. Caverlv of Rutland,
DR.. c. T. Dalton of Burlington. DR.. H
ID. Holton of Brattleboro and DIR. T. T.
Kidder of Woodstock were in attend
ance besides several fair officials and
Rutland business men. DR.. Caverlv
stated that the meeting had been called
because of the appearance of six eases
of infantile paralysis within the bor-
ders of the state, and that they did
not desire repetition of the epidem-
ie experienced in Vermont in 1914.
The Governor was a silent listener
to all the facts given by the fair aId
city officials and volunteered nothing
until near the end of the session.
DIR. Caverly called on j. B. Estee of
Montpelier, president of the Vermont
State Fair association, to air his views
on the subject. Mr.. Estee stated that
the Vermont state fair commission was
appointed by the Governor and should
therefore abide by his decision. How
ever. circumstances did not seem to
point to the cancellation of the fair.
Frank NJ. Wilson. president of the
Rutland Fair association, in the inter
ests of Rutland, bitterly opposed any
attempt on the part of the state board
of health to stop the Rutland fair and
carnival. He showed how it would in
cur a loss of over $4,000 and would
disappoint the people for miles around.
Mr.. Farnsworth, secretary of the
Rutland Fair association, also showed