and character of Doctor Kirkpatrick in his efforts to protect the people of our state from the ravages of disease and from the baneful effects of empiricism, and in his retirement from the labors connected with the Board we assure him that our best wishes follow him in his new field of professional labors."

Moved by Doctor Jenney and seconded by Doctor Cole that the resolution be adopted. The motion was unanimously approved.

The election of a Secretary was the next in order of business. It was decided, upon motion, that an informal ballot be taken.

Upon the first ballot, Doctor Gilbert received 3 votes; Doctor LaFevre, 1; Doctor Gill, 4; and Doctor Gray, 1. The formal ballot next taken resulted in Doctor Gill receiving 5 votes; Doctor Gilbert, 3; and Doctor LaFevre, 1. It was decided, upon motion, that the election be made unanimous, and thereby Doctor Gill was duly declared Secretary elect, his term of office to begin July 1, 1897. Doctor Gill made some very appropriate remarks, after which it was requested that he tender a written resignation of his membership of the Board to the governor.

The President then appointed the following standing committees: On Heating, Lighting, Ventilation, and General Sanitation.-Doctors Jenney, Eidson, and Cole.

Epidemic and Endemic Diseases and Quarantine.-Doctors Plehn, Bohrer, and Gillett.

Topography, Meteorology, Hygiene, and Inspection of Public State and Charitable Institutions.-Doctors Trivett, Focht, and Jenney.

Water Sources, Drainage, and Disposal of Substances Dangerous to Public Health.-Doctors Eidson, Cole, and Plehn.

Special Sources of Danger to Life and Health.-Doctors Trivett, Focht, and Gillett.

Adulteration of Foods, Drugs, and Drinks.-Doctors Plehn, Bohrer, and

Hoover.

Vital Statistics, Registration, and Nomenclature.—Doctors Gill and Hoover. Finance and Executive.-Doctors Trivett, Focht, and Bohrer.

The election of a State Chemist was then in order, and, upon motion, the election proceeded by ballot. The ballot resulted in Doctor LaFevre receiving the majority, and he was thereby duly elected State Chemist.

The motion prevailed, made by Doctor Hoover and seconded by Doctor Trivett, that the President appoint some one to see Mr. Bush immediately, and ascertain if the amount of stamps needed for the coming year could be purchased at once.

It was moved by Doctor Eidson, and seconded by Doctor Cole, that the President be instructed to invite the committees from the three state medical societies to meet with the State Board of Health at the September meeting, to decide upon a time and place of meeting in

It was decided, upon motion, that the September meeting be held

in Topeka.

Upon a motion made by Doctor Jenney, and seconded by Doctor Bohrer, the President was instructed to appoint a committee upon essays for the September meeting. Doctors Jenney, Trivett and Eidson were appointed.

The following bills were audited and allowed: F. W. Plehn, $11.75; A. E. Focht, $8.35; M. F. Trivett, $10.08; J. W. Jenney, $11.50; G. Bohrer, $16.50; E. M. Hoover, $14.89; F. Cole, $25.65; H. Z. Gill, $16.50.

Upon motion, the Board adjourned, to meet September 28, 1897. THOS. KIRKPATRICK, M. D., Secretary.

E. M. HOOVER, M. D., President.

M.D.,

FIRST QUARTERLY MEETING.

TOPEKA, KAN., September 12, 1897.

To Doctors E. M. Hoover, President, F. Cole, M. F. Trivett, F. W. Plehn, A. E. Focht, A. M. Eidson, J. W. Jenney, G. Bohrer, E. B. LaFevre, and W. J. Gillett:

Dear Doctors—You are hereby notified that the next regular quarterly meeting of the Kansas State Board of Health will be held at the office of the Secretary, in the city of Topeka, at the state-house, on the 28th day of September, A. D. 1897, at 11 o'clock A. M. Please acknowledge receipt of this notice, and oblige,

Yours truly,

H. Z. GILL, M. D., LL. D., Secretary. TOPEKA, KAN., September 28, 1897. The Kansas State Board of Health convened in the office of the Secretary, at the state-house, in the city of Topeka, at 11 o'clock A. M. of this day, and was called to order by the President, Dr. E. M. Hoover. Members present: Doctors Bohrer, Gillett, Trivett, Focht, Jenney, Plehn, and Hoover. Absent: Doctors Cole and Eidson.

The minutes of the previous meeting were read, and approved as read.

The Secretary then presented his report of his action in the disposal of the work since the last meeting, which, upon motion, was adopted as a part of the proceedings of the Board, and ordered placed on file.

SECRETARY'S REPORT.

Mr. President and Members of the Board:

GENTLEMEN Having been elected Secretary of the State Board of Health of Kansas, I assumed the duties July 1, 1897, and now have the honor to submit to you my first report, namely, of work done during the months of July, August, and September, to date. Upon looking over the work for previous months, it could be plainly seen that reports from the counties were not being made as promptly and fully as the statutes and rules required. To urge an improvement, I, with the approval of the President, issued a circular letter on the subject in general,

giving the law, in brief, on the subject, and sent a copy to every county health officer in the state, and to many others. The work was all done in the office, without the aid of the state printer. The following is the contents of the letter: OFFICE OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, TOPEKA, KAN., August 4, 1897.

Circular No. 1.

DEAR SIR-The fact that quite a number of the health officers of the state have made inquiry concerning their duty in making the reports to the State Board of Health required from the county and the local health boards has given occasion for the attention of the State Board to the subject, in general, of reports, as required by the state statutes and adopted by the Board and published from time to time in the annual reports of the State Board.

Every physician is required by law (sec. 9) [6034]" to keep a record of the deaths occurring in his practice, or that may come to his knowledge where death occurs without medical attendance, noting the form of the disease, and as far as possible the cause which produced it, and report the same to the local health board where the same occurs, at the time and in the manner prescribed by the State Board of Health; and any failure to do so will subject said physician to a fine of $10 for each and every offense."

This is very plain, and every law-abiding citizen desiring the best interests of the people of the state will comply therewith-a requirement so easy of accomplishment, and one required by almost every state in the union and by every enlightened nation on the globe.

Now, mark, it is the duty of the physician to report to the local county health officer. It is the duty of the county health officer to report to the State Board of Health; and the Secretary of the State Board shall superintend the registration of the vital statistics of the state. Sec. 5 [6030]. When the reports are not made, it is the duty of the officer who should receive the reports to urge as far as possible the compliance with the law, and that not being heeded, to make complaint to the legal authority of the county or state. Sec. 12 [6037]. Any one can make complaint.

"THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS of the several counties of the state shall act as local boards of health for their respective counties." The county health officer is of their appointment and under their direction and supervision, and whose salary they fix. They should see that he does his duty, or he should either resign or not receive salary for non-performance of duty.

The salaries run from $75 to $150 a year, and the position should not be a sinecure. Physicians have certain proper exemptions (from jury duty), and should recognize some obligation to the common welfare of the community, and should be willing, without stress of law, to perform so plain a duty to the honor of the medical profession and the good of the state.

When men not legally qualified to practice in the state do so, they should be suppressed promptly by law. The state statutes are, in general, sufficient, and it is the duty of the local board of health to attend to this also, for "the health interests of the state." Sec. 4 [6029]. Should the health laws of the state be properly enforced, their enforcement would be of immense value to the people here, as it has been in other states. Very truly yours,

E. M. HOOVER, M. D., President.
H. Z. GILL, M. D., Secretary.

The next circular letter, being the second of a general character, was on "The Prevention of Typhoid Fever,” issued August 30, 1897, and printed by the state. (See Secretary's annual report.)

Of this there were 2,000 copies printed, and copies were sent to the county health officers of the several counties, and to cities, medical journals, and to many medical men, officials and others of the state, and to some out of the state. At the time of preparing these circulars a very heavy correspondence was had with persons in various parts of our state, and in other states.

There have been a very large number of complaints, the authors asking advice and relief, all of which received as prompt response as possible, citing the particular statute and section, sending the law as published in the eleventh annual report; advising what steps to take; in all cases advising the county health officer of the complaint, and asking of him a report of the facts. In one case it seemed to me to be advisable to ask the opinion of the attorney-general, and after sufficient time received his opinion. That opinion has been of benefit in strengthening the demands of the county health officers in requiring reports from physicians. It is in part as follows:

"The law provides a penalty for failure to comply with its requirements, namely, a fine of $10 for each and every offense. In case of neglect or refusal of any prac

ticing physician to perform the duties imposed by said law, the local board of health or the health officer of said board may lodge complaint with the county attorney, whereupon it becomes the duty of the said county attorney to prosecute. That would be, in my opinion, the advisable course for a health officer to pursue in order to procure the enforcement of the requirements provided by the law in regard to practicing physicians. In order to enforce the performance of his legal duties by the health officer, complaint might be in like manner lodged with the county attorney by the local board."

One petition was signed by over 100 names, asking the abatement of a nuisance. The health officer responded to my inquiry at considerable length, positively denying the existence of any nuisance, and his statement of facts would surely substantiate his opinion of the non-existence of a nuisance in the legal sense. I have heard nothing of the matter since over a month. (This from Hiawatha.)

There are many complaints concerning illegal practitioners. It is very important that the Board should take action now, and as soon as possible have some amendments made to the law making certain provisions more explicit. There are certain institutions granting diplomas illegally. There are three now practicing in Crawford county, registered as having obtained diplomas from the Eclectic college at Milwaukee, Wis. That institution has been declared illegal. “The institution was a fraud in every sense, and the 'diplomas' issued by it are no good anywhere."-B. Wingate, M.D., secretary Wisconsin state board of health.

Another, the Independent Medical College, of Chicago, Ill., was declared fraudulent. Another method is in practice. Having graduated some years ago at some institution authorized to grant diplomas, these men assume that because they are graduates they can practice all manner of quackery, such as "magnetic healer," "osteopathy," and much of the same kind, never authorized by the diplomas received.

The Secretary has written to the health authorities of Texas concerning the status in that state of the yellow-fever question, as to cities in the state and as to quarantine.

The question of the water-supply of our cities has been and is still under investigation. Twenty-four of our largest cities were addressed through their health authorities on this subject. Quite a number of replies have been received. The work is in progress. This office is in communication with the professor of chemistry of the State University, Prof. E. H. S. Bailey, who, some years ago, undertook the work of analysis of the water of the various cities of the state.

After gathering the information as far as possible, it is proposed to make a general statement on the subject for public information.

There were two cases of "outbreak" of diphtheria officially reported - one at Peabody, in which there were two deaths. I sent immediately instructions on the subject. Received from the health officer, later, information that there had been no more cases; that all the precautions had been taken, and that no further danger was feared.

A case of typhoid fever was reported from Emporia, in which two families were infected, living some distance apart, but using water from the same well, and this is believed to be sufficient to account for the presence of typhoid fever and dysentery in the city (Emporia ) from year to year.

The reporter, Dr. J. H. Page, says: "Cisterns, when properly constructed, are perfectly safe, but that wells are apt to contain contaminated water." H. Z. GILL, M. D., Secretary.

Respectfully submitted.

Upon motion, the meeting then adjourned, to meet at 2 o'clock P. M.

AFTERNOON SESSION.

The meeting was called to order by the President, at 2 P. M. The medical-practice act was discussed at length, together with the action of the attorney-general, and upon the appearance of the delegates from the three state medical societies, who were invited to meet with the Board, the motion prevailed to suspend the discussion and proceed to the appointing of a time and place of meeting of the state societies for the ensuing year.

Upon motion by Doctor Jenney, Doctor Packer was elected to act as chairman of the session, and Doctor Hutchinson as secretary.

At 4:30 P. M. the regular business of the Board was again taken up, and the discussion of the medical-practice act continued.

Reports from the standing committees being next in the order of business, Doctor Bohrer, of the Committee on Foods, Drugs, and Drinks, offered some very good advice in regard to the anti-adulteration of foods and drinks.

Upon motion, a committee of three, Doctors Gill, Trivett, and Bohrer, was appointed to formulate a bill to be presented at the next session of the legislature.

A motion, made by Doctor Bohrer, and seconded by Doctor Gillett, prevailed, that the Independent Medical College, of Chicago, be declared illegal by this Board.

A bill of $8 for the Sanitarian, of two years' standing, was then presented, and upon motion by Doctor Bohrer, and seconded by Doctor Trivett, that an investigation be made, and if said bill be found to be just it be presented at the next session of the legislature, to be paid out of the general fund. The motion prevailed.

The Secretary was authorized to subscribe for the Sanitarian for the year 1897. The motion prevailed that the Secretary be instructed to make an estimate of what amount as a Board will be needed as an appropriation, and report at the next meeting.

A bill of $10 was allowed Doctor Powell for repairs upon the chemical apparatus, and ordered paid.

The Secretary made some interesting statements as to the watersupply of our cities, after which, upon motion, the Board adjourned, to meet at the call of the Secretary.

The following bills were audited and allowed: M. F. Trivett, $8; F. W. Plehn, $13.30; G. Bohrer, $16.94; E. M. Hoover, $17.74; H. Z. Gill, $6.85; J. W. Jenney, $13.25; Wm. J. Gillett, $16.50.

E. M. HOOVER, M. D., President.

H. Z. GILL, M. D., Secretary.