New-York tribune., 1919-01-18
Nurse Says Change
In III ygiene Division
Will Cripple Work
Miss VALID DepIores Curbing
OF DIR. Harris Power;
Conference of Women's
Municipal League Soon

Miss Lillian Wald, head of the
Nurses Emergency Council, which
fought the influenza epidemic and
which has since been made a perma-
nent organization at the request of
Health Commissioner Copeland, de-
piored yesterday the commissioners
action in removing the control of the
Division of Industrial Hygiene from
DR.. Louis l. Harris, director of the
Bureau OF Preventabe Diseases.
Both DR.. Copeland and Dr. Harris
have been invited to attend the meet
ing. In extending the invitation to Dr..
Copeland the league has written:
"If we are to have the benefit of
your expression of opinion, it would
seem also to be essential to complete
presentation of the situation, to have
similar statement of his views by
the director of the Bureau of Prevent
able Diseases The league has there
fore also invited DR.. Louis l. Harris
to present his views to the conference
subject to your sanctioning his max
ing frank and complete statement"
Advices Against Plans
"The ends which Dr. Copeland says
he IS anxious to reach" said Miss
Wald, will not be attained through
this change. The Division of Industrial
Hygiene will be crippled, not helped.
feel strongly that any enlargement of
the division should be under Dr..
Harris's direction"
On Monday afternoon the Women's
Municipal League will hold a confer
erce on the Health Department rul-
ing, to which delegates from sixty or
CARNATIONS have been invited These
organizations include: Assoc iation of
tuberculosis Clinics, the Charities
Organizations Society, the Consumers
League, the Association for Improving
the Condition of the Poor, the Woman's
Trade Union League, the Woman's City
Club, the Peoples Institute, the New
York City Federation of Women's
Clubs, the Citizens Union, the State
Board of Charities, the Eastern edi-
cal Society and others.
Against Public Interest
The letter sent to each of these or
CARNATIONS yesterday reads:
"The Women's Municipal League
of the City Of New York invites your
organization-to send representatives
TO a conference OF social welfare,
civic and labor organizations on Mon
day, January 20, at o'clock p. Min
the ball room of the Murray Hill
Hotel, Fortieth Street and Park Ave
nue..
''The Women's Municipal League
and other organizations have indi-
vidually expressed their opinions
that the order Of the Health Commits
sioner Of New York City, withdraw
ing the Division of Industrial! Hy-
gicne from the Bureau of Prevent
able Diseases and the demonstrated
skilled supervision of that bureau, is
against public interest. The Won
ems Municipal League has decided to
call the conference in the hope that
manifestations of opinion by joint
conference of representatives Of a
number of organizations may con-
vince the Health Commissioner of
the dcsrability of recons dcring his
orders.
Signed:
Mrs. FRED'K c. HoDGDoN,
"Prcsident.
Mrs. FRANCIS c. WOOD,
"Chairman Com. on Public Health"
Says Work Is Disorganized
Commenting on Commissioner Cone
lands published statement defending
the limitation Of DR.. IIarris's power,
~. NcoiSe W. TT1ce, ufcctOr CT lne
Joint Board Of Sanitary Control, said
'lf the Division of Industrial Hy-
gicne must be transferred from the
Pureau Of Prevcntahle Diseases be-
cause it has to do with light, ventia-
tion and general sanitation, then the
commissioner, 10 be logical, should
transfer the functions Of the Bureau
Of Prevcntablc Diseases as to typhoid
fever to the Department of Water Sup
ply, because typhoid is water borne
disease, and all the activities against
typhus fever to the dclousng station
Of the Bureau Of DiSinfection. because
IL is well known that typhus fever is
carried b. Coolies
"Since the advent Of the new ad-
nistration the work Of the Depart
ment Of Health has been wofully dis
organized. From the first the Mayor
has openly shown his contempt for cx-
rerts, and, as the Health Department
contained the largest number Of these
experts, the Mayor seems determined
to destroy almost all the constructive
work successfully done under the pre-
sioug administration"