The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-08-04
INJUNCTION DISSOLVED.
Barre Board Of Health's Restraining Or
der on Cummings & Lewis Effective.

Declaring that some doubt existed ir
his mind as 10 whether the Barre board
of health had not exceeded It's reasonable
powers in making an order that no icc
cream or soft drinks should be sold and
consumed in drug stores, but that he felt
il to be his duty TO give the board the
benefit of the doubt because of the well
fare of the public health being at stake,
Judge Stanley C. Wilson at the conclu.
sion of hearing in county court yester.
day afternoon issued an order dissolving
the temporary injunction recently grant
ed Cummings g. Lewis.
Judge Wilson stated that he had be-
leved for some time that the state and
local boards of health were wont TO be
rather arbitrary in their orders. He eau.
toned the boards not TO be unnecessarily
stringent. "Such orders" declared Judge
Wilson, "must have the backing of the
public TO be effective He expressed the
belief that in this instance the regula-
tions were rather more stringent than
necessary, but decided il was the duty
of the court TO uphold the board of
health.
The hearing occupied nearly two hours,
Cummings & Lewis, the plaintiffs, being
represented by Attorney John w. Cor
don, Arrsyed against him were four at
torneys, headed by Attorney General
Barber, who represented the state board
of health. Attorney S. II. Jackson rep
resented certain Barre citizens, States
Attorney Davis the Barre board of
health, and Attorney A. G. Fay also as
sisted in defending the board.
Attorney Gordon in opening Lis argu-
ment contended that the health board
had no right under the Vermont stat
utes to prohibit, that it had only the
right to regulate. He quoted authorities
to show that boards of health do not
have conclusive powers and only have
the right to regulate the manner of con-
Quoting certain business. He declared he
had not been able to find that any quar-
antine order like the one under discus |
sion had ever before been issued. He
demanded to know If it is better for the |
public health to eat ice cream and drink
sodas in the filth and dirt of the street |
than to consume the same in the clean !
and secluded drug store, where the
dishes and cups are destroyed after the
customer has finished. He insisted that |
people so despotic as the board of health
ought to emigrate to the land of the
kaiser. The law, he argued, never con-
the issuance of any such order.
Attorney-General Barber in presenting
the other side of the question sought to
show that the order was made because
t tended to prevent the congregation of
persons, something the board of health
vas anxious to stop, that the spread OF
he disease might be checked before it
cached the proportions of an epidemic.
The order may seem foolish TO some
people," said Mr.. Barber, but it's an
,ther question when it is approved by
men who have studied the disease closely,
is have the members of the board of
lealth."
States Attorney Davis spoke along the
anne lines but did not go into details
IS did the attorney general.
Attorney jackson declared that if
tringent quarantine regulations had
cen enforced in Montpelier when infan-
lie paralysis first developed there, it
night never have spread to Barre and :
amaged the entire state. He said the
eople of Barre felt strongly in favor of ;
ome of the regulations.
Judge Wilson then made a verbal
of his opinion in the matter
nd later issued an order dissolving the
junction which was granted by him e
sveral days ago. v