New-York tribune., 1918-04-25

Federal Agents Watcb;,.
Hylan's Plans to Reo,.
ganize Department
Investigators Issue:
One More Denial
Officials Say Report That
Bureau of Education VOL,
Be Dropped Was Mistake

Federal intervention in the .e..
OF the Board of Health loomed ).
distinct possibility yesterday, wh.n !.
became known that agents of tbs -
tional government have been .,..N,
watching the developments of Nav.
Hylan's scheme to economize nv ~.
ganizing the department. Thrma,
these agents and directly from b;ss
officials in Washington friends Of ~
department have been assured TIM. ..
ton similar to that taken in Phil.
delphia's police affairs will be talo,
if it develops that the efficiency Of tho
department is seriously threatened
In Philadelphia Federal Intervention
was based onfthc danger men Of ,bo
army and navy were exposed to he.
cause Of vice conditions allowed IN ev
ist there. Federal assumption Of con.
troll of the New York Board Of Health
would be based on the ground that
with the country at war, nothing
should be left undone to protect the
health of its chief port.
Hylan Programme Changed :
Whether it was because someth;n,
of this possibility of Federal contre
had become known to the Hylan al
mlnlstratlon or not. there was eyidenc.
yesterday of another change in ths
programme. From within the orssn;.
zatlon word came that mistake was
made on Saturday in making the rec.
concentration that the Bureau CT Pub.
nc Health Education be abolished and
the work placed in charge of a s4O.a.
week clerk.
1t was explained that this was nat
the real intention of the board. and
that it was unfortunate the renort
gave the impression a S40-a.week
clerk was to succeed to the work Of A
skilled specialist. The real intention
OF the board. it was stated. was "a
lurn thc work over to the head Of 1
DIVISION of the Bureau of Prcventable
| Diseases and assign him an extra
clerk to assist in the work.
Protests From Sanitarians
Mayor Hylan has received many pro.
tests from sanitarians Of high rank
from one end of the country TO tia
other against the scheme to abolish
the Bureau of Public Health Educa.
ton. One of these was from Dr.
Charles j. Hastings, president Of the
American Health Association and chief
medical officer of Toronto, Canada.
This" Dr.. Hastings wrote, "would
be calamity not only for your city,
but for many cities and states in the
union.
''In my opinion 90 per cent Of the
permanent, efficient work in public
health administration during the last
ten years has been the result of we'll
organized educational campaigns As.
/ Professor Irving Fisher has pointed
! cut, we can add ten to fifteen years to
the lives of the people OF the present
! generation by an Intelligent applica.
! tion of the knowledge we now possess,
+ but in order to do SO this knowledge
must be democratized. 1t must be de.
llvered to the men in the street and
the housewives in our humblest homes.
! Thousands of Lives Saved
II know OF no city that has been
more efficiently attaining this end than
, has New York. l trust, therefore, you
will use your influence as chief magis-
trate of the great metropolis to see
that this valuable work is continued
qualifications of the bureau have
saved thousands of lives, and if con-
tinued under the present plan and gen.
erously supported. will save many
more, wrote DR.. c. E. A. Winslow, pro.
fesor of public health of Yale Medical
School.
"As an American, am proud Of the
attainments of the New York Depart
ment Of HEALTH" wrote Dr.. Charles W;
Chaplin, superintendent of health OF
Providence, in urging no interference
with the usefulness of the bureau,
Those who favor the abolition OF the
bureau will be heard this afternoon.
MI. MacBride said yesterday ne ex-
pected all would be heard this after
noon, and that he hoped the entire
health board matter would be dispose,
of so far as any inquiry Is conecFnsu
in a week or ten days.