Article March 20, 1920 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from Gaius Glenn Atkins

[The Times, Berkeley, Calif.]

Opponents of the germ-carrier theory and of quarantine of germ-carrier suspects will take comfort from a ruling of Judge W. T. O'Connell of the Superior Court of Solano County that children cannot be excluded from school during a diphtheria epidemic because they refuse to allow cultures to be taken from their throats, if there is nothing to indicate that they are infected with the disease. Judge O'Connell 's ruling was made when he granted a writ of mandamus directing J. P. Utter, principal of the Lincoln School in Vallejo to permit Chrystal Dennett, fourteen-year-old pupil, to attend school.

Dr. W. H. Kellogg, secretary of the state board of health, advised Dr. J. E. Peterson, the Vallejo health officer, to take cultures from the throats of all children and exclude those from school who refused or neglected to have cultures taken. Acting under the direction of Doctor Kellogg and Doctor Peterson, the Vallejo school authorities barred the Dennett girl, along with a score or more of other children, from school when the children declined to have cultures taken. On the trial of the health and school officers they tried to justify their conduct under the provision of section 2979a of the Political Code, giving health officers power "to take such measures as may be necessary to prevent the spread" of contagious diseases. Judge O'Connell held that the powers granted to health officers by this provision must be exercised with wisdom.

Send a comment to the editors

We'd love to hear from you!

Easily submit your testimonies, articles, and poems online.

Submit

Signs of the Times

We'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for unlimited access