The evening Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1918-1920, 1919-03-14
HOUSE HAS BILL
TO ABOLISH LOCAL
HEALTH OFFICER
Authorize State Board to
Appoint District
Officers
DALTON FAVORS BILL
This Proposed Measure Would Create
Ten Districts in Charge of
Competent Officials
DALTON FAvORs BILL

MONTPELIER, March 14-An-
other committee of the whole was
staged in the House Tuesday after
noon, the bill under consideration be-
ing H. 260, authorizing the State
Board of Health to appoint district |
health officers, in place of town
health officers. After the House had |
listened to DR.. C. F. Dalton Of Bur-
lington, chairman Of the State Board
of Health, and he. had answered
many questions, the committee arose
and the bill was ordered to a third
reading by vote of Ill to 10.
DR.. Dalton explained that the bill !
in question abolishes all local health
officers and puts in their places ten
men trained in public health work,
each Of whom will have supervision
over a section Of the State and who
will spend all of his time on this
work. 1t was explained that the bill
does not abolish the local health
board. SO N ~
nelerring to conditions in the
State which had led up to the intro
duction of this bill DR.. Dalton said
that there are 1876 health officers in
the State at the present time, who
are not physicians, while only SO are
physicians. It has come to the
point, said the doctor, where the
health officer is the most hated man
, in the town, because of the things he
has to do, and it is hard work to find
doctor who will take the job, be-
cause he cannot afford to give up
the necessary time to it, and he
knows that he will lose practice if
he does take it. Therefore, said the
speaker, the system is breaking
down, and the State Board of Health
hopes to remedy the situation with
/ the bill.
DR.. Dalton outlined the provisions
of the bill as follows: It provides for
appointment and duties of district
health officers; for inspections of
schools by these officers; for the TAX
ing over of the work of the local
health officer; for assistance to the
district health officer where neces-
sary, without increasing the appro-
priation for local health officer for
cities of over 5000 population if a
city sees fit to have one; that town
clerk shall receive and file certifi-
Gates of death; that each physician
shall quarantine his own cases, that
the Office of the local health officer
shall not be abolished until a district
!, health officer has been appointed ano
) for an appropriation of $4,000 te
carry OF this work.
In speaking of the appropriation
Dir. Dalton said that figures which
he held showed that it is costing the
: varios towns Of the State collective
) ly, more than $4,000 at the present
, time to maintain their public health
: systems, and that this measure
: would simply take the money nov
being used to maintain separate
health officers in each town and give
better service through trained mel
covering the State in ten districts.
l There was much interest manifest
ed in the bill and Dr. Dalton .hat
some stiff questions fired at him. Thu
vote which followed shows tina
there vii be quite bit of opposi
ton to the measure before it get
through.
A proposal of amendment of S.. sc
which came up in the House Tues
day afternoon. as a special order, ant
: which was adopted, would include al
:, legal voters of the State in the mea
sure which provides for a method o