Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898.

Michigan. State Board of Health

Date:: 1898

Credit: Proceedings of the quarter-centennial celebration of the establishment of the Michigan State Board of Health : held at Detroit, Michigan, August 9, 1898. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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$(iO < JU A KT KK-CE N TENNIA E C E LEBR ATION and the jtrooeedings lose intei'est. As a rule the number of annual re- j'orts printed is too small to allow of sending a co]>y to each inend»er of a board ot health. There are various other expens<‘S of such associations which ncu'd not be itemized. This cost, it is maintained, should be borne by the State and not by the members of the association. Most of these membeis serve without pay, and many of them have to bear their own expenses in attending the meetings. For the State to pay all the ex- penses of the meeting tends to increase the attendance. Without ottering it as a ]»roof of the position here taken, it may be stated as a fact that in Ohio, where this plan is followed, the attendance at the last two annual meetings of health olbcers has been not less than three hundred and lift}'. ^ Another advantagi* claimed for the ca.ntrol of these associations by the State Board of Health is in the selection of a program. No one knows so well as tin* Secretary <d’ the Stale lh»ard of Health, the ne(*ds and short-comings of the health ollicer, and the subjects that should be discussed for their beuetit. Attendance. Fvery etl'ort should be made to secure a large attendance. NewIy-apj)ointed health ofticers and members of bo.ards of health should be sjjecially urged to come. The quality of the ])roceedings may sulfer somewlmt, but it should be ke])t i»rominently in mind tlmt the real object of such an association is the trjiining of health olhcials for the wise en- forcement of sanitary laws. An aiqieal should be made to the public authorities to send delegates from their boards of hetilth to the meeting, and to ]>ay their expenses. The tidvantages to a community of having a rei)resentative tit these meetings should be set forth in an approjtriate circular. Prn<jiain. The success of the meetings and the mtiint(*nance of the asso- ciation will depend largely upon the chtiracter of the jtrograms. It is no easy matter to arrange a successful jtrogram for such a gathering. It will be made up of a few men who, from study and long ofticial ex])erience, are well up in all sanitary imitters of the day; of jthysiciiins ftimilitir with all that bacteriology has given to sanitary medicine; and on the other hand a number, perha])s the maj(»rity, who are ]»rofouudly ignorant of many of the questions which should be discussed, but most jinxious to learn their a, b, c, of sanitation, and especially administrative sanitti- tion. They are charged with the weighty duty of protecting the ]»ublic health by the enforcement of sanitary laws, and yet have everything to learn in setting about it. Tojiics must be provided which will also inter- est the old members and skilled sanitaiaans pr(‘sont. The latter, with a little mani])iilation, may be made teachers of those less well informed, a rble not unattractive to most men at a public gathering. Those selected for this ])urpose must be sincerely anxious to teach and not merely de- sirous of dis])htying their own su])erior knowledge, or they may drive those most needing instruction out of the association. A question box will be found to remove many difficulties. Delegates should be asked to formulate questions conceiMiing matters Avhich their board of health has not been able to properly manage, or bringing up loctil questions of special home interest. Some ditbculties may be en- countered in having these questions properly answered, and care should be taken by the Fi'esident to have false or faulty ansAvers corrected. A specified time should be set aside for the question box. .\t all ]»ublic meetings of this character the tendency is to provide too$