Norwich bulletin., 1917-02-08
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Health Department of City and
 Town.

Town.
 Mir. Editor: It would seem to the casual observer that while the osten- sible purpose of the bill of Senator Barnes now before the legislature seeks to promote efficiency and eeon- omy in the administration of the health department of town and city, that this result could have easily been accomplished had our representatives in the general assemblysso of 1915 kept their ears closer to the ground and needed the voices of the people and made at least an attempt to defeat the passage of the law which forced med ical inspection on the schools of the town On three different occasions our citizens in town meeting assembled and voiced an emphatic protest against the raSSage of such a measure, but there is no evidence at hand that the gentlemen who represented the town of Norwich A-ld our senatorial district at the session of 1915 paid the slight est heed to the demands of the people at that time. With the legitimate ap- plication of the police power of the state for the protection of the public health by wise and humane measures, with it's sanitary regulation and con trol of epidenicS and contagious dis eases the citizens of Norwich have had no controversy; but when as has been country, this power is prostituted to base and selfish ends; when it's minions invade the domain of pri- vate medical opinion ands practice; when it forces upon protecting citi- zens medical measures that destroy health and cause disease we feel en- tirely justified in protesting We hold that the state has no more right to invade the domain of therapeutics than it has to invade the domain of religion Both are necessarily and inherently matters of personal and private judgment. That this school legislation had for it's purpose the compulsory Vaccination of the chil- watched the trend of events medical for many years can doubt As such legislation was and still is unnecessary many of us are led to conclude that altruistic There has been no at tempt to show that the officials of either town or city health departments have failed to render good and efficient their duties. However, in at much as we are to have an opportunity afforded us to talk over our affairs in town meeting once more it looks as if we could with perfect propriety ask few pointed questions for the purpose of learning how expensive the medical end of our educational system is. So far as can be learned by the inquir- ing citizen it does not appear to be considered any of the public's business There is lurking suspicion however, that the sum to be expended is much in excess of that voted at the annual town meeting of 1915
 Now, Mir Editor, permit us word concerning the change from the form CT district system of conducting our schools to that now in vogue. When this change was originally proposed we were led to believe that it's purpose was to save excessive expense in ad- ministration, to produce greater effi- cieney in scholarship, and above all things to keep our schools out of poli- ties Would it not be well to investi- gate this phase of our school affairs Tn short should we not do as all ef- hcfent business corporations do at the present day, take an inventory, so that we may act intelligently on this question which most votally concerns us as a community Should we thus find it desirable to revert to the district