Milford chronicle., 1920-01-16
STATE HEALTH OFFICER
SDRIVEN FROM TOWN
NCENSED AT VACCINATION ORDER MOB
AT GEORGETOWN ORDERED c. H.
WELLS FROM THE TOWN.
OFFICIAL CAME TO MILFORD
OFFICER LEFT PEACEABLY, HE SAYS,
in ORDER TO PREVENT A RIOT In
THE TOWN.

AS a protest against the State Board
OF Health for having issued the com
pulsory vaccination order because OF
smallpox in the district, a mob of
about 300 residents of Georgetown and
vicinity made a demonstration against
Chester H. Wells. State health COM
missioner. early Tuesday night. Mr..
Wells was warned by leaders of the
mob to leave Georgetown and was told
that he would be taken out by force
should he refuse to leave. Mr.. Wells
agreed to leave and was taken to
Milford by automobile.
Mir. Wells. who went to Georgetown
Monday night, had been active Tuesday
in learning the names of some persons
who had failed to carry out tht State
Board of Health order to become vac
cinated. He had furnished Magis-
trates Stewart and RyOn with about
dozen names, mostly business men Of
the town, who had not been vaccinated
and had warrants sworn out for them.
It seems a coincidence that all officers,
including the constable. sheriff, dep
uty sheriff and also the deputy attOr-
ney general, were out of town and no
one could be secured to serve the war
rants.
Mr.. Wells was seated in the Brick
Hotel reading newspaper about Z
o'clock Tuesday night when the mob
arrived there and demanded that he
leave town. Halstead P. Layton. son
of Landreth L. Layton. was one of the
leaders and was spokesman for the
crowd Others who took a leading
80, af sh1 hnfa1
against Mr. Wells were John Barr,
Joseph G. Green, Thomas B. Pepper,
Charles B. Marsh, Ollie Farrow and
many others.
Although the health officer explain
ed that he was a State officer and as
such had a right in Georgetown, Mr..
Layton insisted that he was to leave
at once, and if he refused to do so
would be taken out by force.
Andrew Marvel, a member of the
Georgetown Town Council, who ar
rived at the hotel some time after the
mob, advised Mr. Wells, as an official
of the town, TO remain at the hotel.
Mr.. Marvel said Mr.. Wells had legal
right there and that if he were Mr..
Wells he would refuse to be forced
out. Mr.. Wells, however, was advised
by others in the hotel he says that it
would be best for him to go and to
preserve the peace he agreed to leave
after he failed to get in touch with
an officer Before leaving however,
Mr.. Wells did telephone to Frank NJ.
Jones, an attorney and president Of
the local Board of Health. and told
him the situation and that he was be-
ing forced to leave.
After spending the night in Milford,
Mr. Wells went to Dover where he
held a conference with DR.. Luther S.
Conwell, secretary of the State Board
of Health, and a meeting of the Board
was called for Thursday.
Plans for a thorough investigation
and punishment of the participants in
the demonstration against Mr.. Wells
were laid at a series of conferences
between Governor Townsend, AttOr-
ney General Reinhardt and Deputy
Attorney General Daniel J. Layton of
Sussex and Chief Deputy Green.
Attorney General Reinhardt was en-
phatic in his declarations that the
State Board of Health would be up
held by the State authorities in its
campaign to enforce vaccination
against smallpox in Sussex county.
He said:
Deputy Attorney General Layton
held a conference Monday afternoon
in Georgetown with Commissioner
Wells and plans were made to enforce
the decree of the Board of Health
with regard to vaccination of all res
idents of the county in an effort to
prevent the further spread of the
disease, which now embraces six hun
dreds in Sussex.
Mr.. Layton came to Wilmington on
Tuesday and went over the situation
with me. He stayed here last night
with me, and Commissioner Wells,
who, of course, was in Georgetown,
knew Mr. Layton would be here"
Wednesday morning when news
came from Georgetown of the inter-
ference with the health commissioner,
Governor Townsend, who was in Will
mington, and Mr. Layton, Mr.. Green
and myself met and decided upon a
thorough and complete investigation
of the case, and action looking to the
proper punishment of those who inter-
fered with Commissioner Wells in per-
Torrance OF his duty, and also the en-
forcement of the order of the State
Board.
AttUIney General iasSiiiiiiiiGG'i aSiiii 6 ID; iiiSTG
than week ago examined the statutes
with regard to the resolutions of the
State Board for compulsory vaccina-
tion and gave an informal opinion that
the order was entirely within the law
and coHld be enforced. Armed with
thic nnininn the State Rnard went