The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-17
BOARD OF HEALTH BULLETIN
THE ELECTIONS.

Election time has come again. Pol
itics and political chances will d.
vide public attention for the next five
months or more, with the Mexican
situation and the war in Europe.
Presidential candidates are yet to
be named but aspirants for local
honors in Florida are before the dear
people, with their claims and prom
Uses and records. The choice from
these lists is to be made within the
next few weeks, and these choices
are more important to the individual
voter, for when you really come to
think it over, who is his tax assessor
and sheriff, his representative in the I
legislature and who are the men that |
shall make and enforce municipal and |
state laws, is more important than |
who is the President of the United |
States. The enactment and admins
tration Of local and state laws are
more personally connected with the
individual welfare. Federal govern
ment is more matter of policies and
less affected by the personality of the
administrators.
An this is particularly true of the
laws that regulate sanitary and
health matters. for the individual and
community health is the biggest asset
of the individual and community.
Sickness stops the producing capacity
of the individual, makes him a charge
upon his reserve funds or his friends.
Epidemic disrupts public business
and finances,
Not every man who has paid his
poll tax is a qualified voter at least
morally. It is impossible that every
voter should know intimately the per-
sonal qualifications for Office Of all
who seek election to national or state
places, but it is within his power to
know the men who seek municipal or
county offices, and upon these depends
in largest measure the character Of
legislation that is to protect or fail
to protect, physical welfare.
Just as in the years that are passed
the choice of men for public please
depends in large measure upon per-
sonal friendship without regard for
the fitness for the duties that the Of.
fee involves. Personal popularity
has been a strong plank in the plat
form, even though it be an unwritten
platform.
tain a considerable number of laws
designed to conserve public health in
the state. but they have been practic-
ally dead letters, because the officials
chosen to enforce laws impartially
have failed utterly and ANONYMOUSLY
of these duties in respect to these
particular enactments. Experts in
sanitation and health matters know
that a strict enforcement of these
same laws would materially benefit
public health and lessen the aggregate
of sickness. Some ofthesenegligent
officials are candidates for reelection.
What are you going to do about it?
Only two members of a certain re-
cent city council in Jacksonville ever
visited the offices of the city board of
health during their terms of office,
and those two went to demand Jobs"
for constituents. When the BUDGET
committee of that same city council
fixed upon the annual appropriations
for the support of the health depart
ment, It made a substantial cut in the
amount which the previous year had
kept that department on the verge of
inefficiency because of lack of prop
er and sufficient funds.
That is not the kind of men who
are fitted for public service, especial
ly and least of all in matters relating
to public health.
The time is now, before the ballots
are cast, to make sure of the attitude
of candidates for county commission
ers, for sheriffs, for state attorneys
in matters relating to health and san
itation. OF course, their prediction
promises win favor your expressed
views and it is up to you Mr.. Voter
to Judge of the value of thosepromises
1t was an emergency. an epidemic
Of yellow fever that took its toll o.
several hundred Of valuable lives
which led to the organization of thu
State Board of Health. But why wal
for the emergency? Why not be pre-
pared and so forestall the emergency
that may be avoided by preparedness