New Britain herald., 1917-09-08
Tom Topics

INC resignation of DR.. T. Eben
heekS, superintendent OF health, 1s
iesretted by all who had ever come
III contact with him, either in public
or private life, and his loss to the
Guy VIII be severe one. for New
hrilaln never had a more capable,
palnstaking or efficient official. To
NIL his place capably will be a difficult
task and the health board will doubt
less experience considerable trouble
IN fndlng a satisfactory successor.
Inc salary paid to the superintendent
OF nealth IN this city, $4,000 per year,
WIN $ooo additional for trans
po, '''loh' is considered low. and
uhless the council sees fit to
increase the amount the CITY
may find itself consderablv en-
barrassed in getting a competent man
| 10 NIL the position When it is con-
! sloered that man to take this DO
siIlon must be graduate physician
GU must nave r1actised medicine for
az ieast TWO years, it may be readily
seen what a low salary the city pays
certainly any physician capable Of
''aiiollhg such q position would be
earning more than s2,5OO per wear in
MS chosen profession 1t was only
| through combination of circum-
stances that New Britain was ever
! aole 10 secure the services of DR.,
| weeks Ihree years ago when he took
I eH"lse Oh the health department, Dr.
! Neeks health was so impaired that
lie hao peen compelled to give up his
practice because of the strain Of at
| tending to his private cases and he
accepted the city office only at the
| earnest solicitation of Mavor G. A.
Quigley and the assurance that there
| would be no annoying strings tied 10
| him. That he has succeeded in the
management of the health depart
| ment Is too well known for additional
| comment. Suffice 1t to state that than
! New Britain there is probably no 9TH
| err city In the east with a better de-
partment. But it is plain that had
not the doctor unfortunately been in
poor health. three years ago, New
Britain would never have been able
to secure his services at the salary
mentioned.
| Now arises the question of his sue
cessor. The seemingly happy sugges-
| ton of Health Commissioner Milton
! Davenport that a public health doc
| tor, probably from the Harvard
| school, be secured is blocked by a
| hapless wording of the city charter.
This charter amendment having ref
erence to the health department sup
| erintendent was drawn up after a
careful perusal of similar paragraphs
! in the charters of other cities and
! from the wording of the New Britain
document and the Hartford charter it
| would appear that those drafting the
| amendment followed almost too close
| w the wording IF no 20 FOL CIV
| charter. The paragraph is question
| (Section 1881 states:
"The board of health shall appoint
a physician of at least two years
practice, who shall be under control
of said board and shall perform all
| duties 81"
Thus 1t is evident at the start that
no graduate public health doctor can
| be secured by the health board, with
out charter change, unless such
man happens also to be a physician
who has had two years practice. Such
| a com bination would be almost i'm
possible to find. For the information
| of those who are not aware of the
fact it might be explained that con-
| nected with Harvard University is
| school for public health doctors where
| the students are graduated with a de-
| gree OF I'm. u. Inc ent1rc course con-
sists of teaching the men public health
and sanitation and how successfully
to administer the office of superin-
tendent of health in any American
city To show how valuable such a
training is, even to the skilled prac-
| titioner, it might also be mentioned
! in passing that before he assumed his
| duties here three years ago, DR.. Reeks
! himself took a short intensified course
| at this school, There is no question
| in the minds of most of those who
have carefully studied the situation
that the present charter is wrong IN
| this respect. A man trained speclnc-
ally as a public health doctor along
| public health lines should be just as
| WE'LL if not better, qualified to take
up public health work than phys1-
clan who has only been practitioner
| and who knows only of the lnd1Vldual
| disease cases. After coming to city
such a public health doctor, by
months survey, could apply all his
theory and practical knowledge
gained at college and should make a
capable man. At present this is i'm
possible and the health board is seem
ingly hard pressed to find a suitable
man.
| In the criminal statutes as revised
nv the 1916-1917 legislature are sew
eral changes of more Or less interest
in this city inasmuch as they apply
to certain penalties that may be in
ficted by the local court. One new
statute provides that in any oftense
in which the penalty may be not more
than $1,000 fine or five years in
prison, or both, the local judge can,
if he thinks the facts in the care war
rant a milder punishment, take juris-
diction and sentence the accused to
.;-- in iai] fine Of 5000 or