Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-03-24
VACCINATION WAR
ON IN FULL BLAST
Pupils Parents Demand Abdi-
cation of Gear" Council for
Exceeding His Authority.
SUIT is BITTERLY FOUGHT

Indignant parents Of Saratoga
school pupils involved in the VAGINA
ton fight with Health Commissioner
Cornell and the Board of Education
fought their first battle in district
court in the hearing before Judge
Leslie. The chief issue at stake in
the legal Battle of Saratoga" is
whether pupils who have been vac
cinated by the internal method can be
barred from the schools by order of
the health commissioner; also wheth-
er the authorities can hang up small
pox cards at their; own judgment.
The parents seek 10 have the health
commissioner and the school board
enjoined from excluding children
showing certificates of internal vac
cnation from the Saratoga school.
They also want dump at Twenty
second street and Meredith avenue
closed and the courts permission to
remove smallpox signs from their
homes.
Calls Cornell 1.-THE Gar"
A. L. Sutton, chief counsel for the
parents, set off the legal fireworks
by characterizing the health commits
sioner as a kaiser" and a Gear"
He argued that the kaiser order"
of Cornell specifying the external
method of vaccination was opposed to
the best interests of the public. "1f
Cornell can hang up smallpox cards
on houses where the disease does not
exist he has more power than the
czar," Mr.. Sutton Numbered, evil
IDENTIFY forgetting for the moment that
Nick Romanoff has about as much
power now as Petrograd policeman
in Berlin.
The attorney told the court that the
vaccination ordinance of 1918 is anti
quated and was passed at time when
the city was experiencing bad cpl
demic of smallpox. This ordinance
provides that each school child be
vaccinated every seven years.
Connell Exceeds Authority.
According to Mr.. Sutton, the
health commissioner has not the
power to decide which form of vacci-
nation shall be used. That is a mat
ter for the legislature or the city
council, he told the court. The at
torney asserted that Connell is an ad-
ministrative official, not member of
the judiciary. He said that previ-
ously the internal method of vaccina-
ton was accepted by the health COM
missioner.
Corporation Counsel Lambert, rep
resenting the health commissioner
and the school board, declared that
in maintaining the sanitary regula-
tons of Omaha Cornell has jurisdic-
ton over the schools. If necessary,
the corporation counsel added, Con-
nell could oYerrule the Board OF Ed
ucation.
He argued that the only question
involved for the court to decide is the
right of Cornell to say which form of
vaccination shall be used. He de-
clared that the city has the right to
insist upon a reasonable quarantine
of children exposed to smallpox.
THE city authorities may require any
reasonable form of preventative
known to medical men to cope with
an epidemic" he said.
Right Are Qualified.
The corporation counsel held that
the city health authorities have that
power and are using it. Referring to
that part of the plaintiffs petition
touching on the constitutional rights
of the school children, Mr.. Lambert
declared that these rights extended
only SO far as the parents meet with |
the requirements of health and sani-
tation involving the welfare of others.
Statistics were submitted showing
that the death rate in European coun-
tries and in the Philippines has been
greatly reduced since the introduction
of vaccination.
Further arguments by counsel Of
the parents were that the method of
vaccination should be left open by
the legislature and the city council