Perth Amboy evening news., 1918-11-15
MORE POWER NEEDED

While the powers invested in the local and The state board CT
health were once believed to be powerful, 1T has been shocklngly
demonstrated here of late that what power they have is SC very hmi-
ted as to take the sting out of the result they desire TO OBTAIN u
punitiye measures are confined to a comparatively small m 81 TIT
hands of the police recorder, a allowed by the state laws;
But the conditions go on. the nusances continue; the IN Is
merely a formaHty with the men who paid and they go back to thef
filthy kitchens and insantary conditions and make but a few I'M
provements.
gbe owner Is told to close. lie defies the order and is informed
by legal authority tina. the health board has no power to close us
place Of business. The health authorities feel that their hands are
tied. But are theyl The health officer of this city was informed
that he had the power to close the kitchen of a restaurant but n Q
failed to do so. He has the power to destroy food found IN
condition. by denaturing or other methods, but these methods nave
not been carried ont. He desires to close a restaurant, and cannot,
so the city attorney says, so apparently he intends to al until n e
can secure the authority. Meanwhile the owner can place his kit
chen in presentabe condition end laugh at the order to close when
it is received.
Something is wrong. Something is needed. A remedy must be
found.
1t seems futile to appeal to the navy department to post men
at the doors of a restaurant to keep out uniformed men. They form
a small percentage of the customers of any restaurant in the city,
and the desired result is far from fulfilled. .
The wonder is that people in this city, who have been told OF
these conditions, continue to endanger their health by eating in
these places, despite frequent and recurring reports ina coh III
spections have found them still in bad shape.
Bnt since the patronage continues and civilians, sailors and sol
diers whose activity is directd to work of great Importance do eat
there, it has been deemed advisable to continue TO endeavor 10 secure
help in closing the places. -
Remedial measures are needed. Above all, state laws are needed
which will give the local boards of health sufficient power to enforce
their orders. Wherein lies the power of the health board if it is to
be made a laughing stock when it tries to enforce orders which 1t
Constructive health work is what the majority of citizens of this
GA WnL HOW 1HA UdAt ICIhO VI oOht \" hA
voting violations and conditions here. They have had time , to think lR
give them even more pause. But what good are they to be, II the
present laws are not enforceable. Attention should be directed to the
present legal status of the board and an effort made to secure power
with which they ear approach a vlolator If the statutes III KNOW
that what they say will be law.
BY all means let us have that constructive health program. Let
us have the money needed for the working out of such a plan II
lives. arr. to be sayed and health is to be bettered, let the city cot
c oa,. 81 wide, but at the same time let effort be directed to the es-
4 .nshment of sorne laws whereby the people may have respect for
; the health department which hopes TO administer this fund. ~
The health appropriation in the city budget has been too long a
joke. The department has been hampered in its work by the small
amount allotted it tt carry on its work. There has been penny pinch
ing economy, a well as sighted effort because it was physically I'M
possible to accomplish any comprehensive work with the money al
lowed each year. -v-
On the authority of Capt. Treadway and others of the Public
Health service it has been said that one dollar per capita is a good
working capital for boards of health to carry on their work. The
local board has been receiving about $1,000 a year o less. They are
asking for $4,000.
Before the aldermen grant the board an increased appropria-
ton, however, it might be we'll to determine if they intend to carry
out their work, without fear, without political interference and
with INSPECTORS and workers who have backbone enough to enforce
their edits and stand by their decisions and do their work in a
thoroughly capable and businessike manner. Otherwise it would be
folly to turn over to them even a fractional increase of the present
- appropriation.
BY all means let us have a bigger health appropriation, but also
let us have less of the lukewarm attitude, the powerless orders, and
the Whatnot that have made the health work of the past few weeks
an aggravating series Of comedies. Let us have the work administ
cred with a businesshke attitude and there will be no objection in
future years to increasing the funds for health board uses.