The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1916-10-16
MEDICAL SOCIETY
ANXIOUS TO HAVE
FULL ATTENDANCE
Unified Public Health Sys-
TEN Is Subject to Be Con-
sidered by Society
Tonight

Special effort has been made to have a
large and representative attendance at
the regular meeting of the Jefferson
County Medical society tonight because
of action to be taken on the proposed uni
fed public health system.
The secretary has written each MEM
Der of the society urging his presence
and has sent out the text of the last
report of the committee of health on the
subject which was introduced and adopt
ed at the last meeting. 1t is this re-
port which will be the basis of such
action as is taken tonight and because
of it's importance to the general pub
lie the report is here given as follows:
1.-THE committee of health finds itself
in such an embarrassing position, as a
result of the action of the society on its
recommendations of last Monday, Octo-
Der 2, 1916, that it has determined to
frankly and as clearly as possible, lay
the matter before the society for it's re-
consideration and action.
THE committee comprehends fully that
it is the creature of the society and must
and does look to the society for final
SdIiCLlOu anu NdIlully OL all Ills dCllOuS.
1t recognizes, at the same time that
under our Alabama system the commit
tee is an ad-interim board of health,
empowered to act for the society in the
interim meetings, but that all it's acts
and decision as an ad-interim board are
subject to the revision of the society.
As under such a system there ought to
mr. HI 4
ordination between the views of the So
ciety and its ad-interim board, in order
to achieve results and avoid confusing
situations, the committee of health has
decided to ask for a full meeting of the
society-to the end that there may exist
no doubt as to the real status of the
proposed public health system for county
and municipalities and to the further
end that the committee of health may
carry an authoritative and stable answer
to the waiting city commissioners of
Birmingham.
1.-THE law of the state makes it manda-
tory that a majority of the society at
tend certain meetings at which action af-
fecting the welfare OF citizens of the
county is to be taken
1T looks logical that if it requires a
majority of the membership to take posi-
tive action, it ought to call for ma
jority of the membership to refuse to
take action affecting the welfare of the
citizenship of the county
Again, it must be recalled that the
society commissioned the committee of
health to formulate a unified county
health system-that the society adopted
the plans as recommended by the COM
mittee and proposed to it by Dr. Carroll
Fox, that the society maintained,
Throughout many weeks, an active propa-
ganda, in the city and county, for the
expressed and single purpose of having
this unified system adopted by the city
and county-and that the committee of
health believing it represented the wishes
of the society has committed itself I'M
conditionally to a fulfllment, without
further delay, of the implied promise of
all these antecedent activities and pro-
nouncements.
Eat the meeting last Monday evening
there was far from a majority of the
membership of the society present. The
committee therefore recommends to the
society, in view of these facts and In
view of the Importance of the situation
created, that meeting be called for next
Monday evening, October Is, to be attend
ed by a majority of all members en-
rolled, and that all uncertainty as to the
position of the Jefferson county board
of health in regard to the installation OF
the unified public health system shall
be removed
COMMITTEE OF HEALTH"