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Show THE CITY'S SANITARY CONDITION. We believe that in the main the contention con-tention of City Physician Wilcox as to the satisfactory nature of the city's sanitary condition Is correct. We believe be-lieve further, that if tho municipal authorities au-thorities would meet the citizens half way, and provide for the removal of garbage when this is put out for removal, re-moval, the condition would be even belter bel-ter than It Is. And we are firmly of the opinion that the municipality should do this. Tho citizens ought to be encouraged, encour-aged, and not discouraged, in their efforts ef-forts to clean up and keep clean. The garbage wagons should not only visit the premises of the citizens often enough so that the people would not regret carrying the refuse from tho back yard to the sidewalk in front, but should take all there is. With regard to tho claim that the doctor makes, that a man. who was hurt recently was hurt In a fight and was amply able to pay for his own doctor doc-tor lo care for his hurts, that seems to be beside the question. The complaint was that the man received no attention, and that tho City Physician refused to attend because he was .busy. Surely it will not be contended that the particulars par-ticulars as to how a man was hurt, and his ability to pay, must be given before a response from the City Physician Physi-cian is due. The duty is first to respond. re-spond. Then the man, If able, can be made to pay for the attention he has received. The plea made by Dr. Wilcox Wil-cox In this case Is clearly an afterthought, after-thought, a defense to a charge of inattention in-attention to duty, the points of which defense could not have been known to him when the call for lim came In, and which clearly cannot be pleaded in extenuation ex-tenuation of a failure to respond. Mt is no doubt true that close questions ques-tions will arise on points such as these, and the chronic claims and uncertainty as to duty, between the City Physician and the County Physician, we always have with us; but surely In a civilized community the claims of humanity must take preference over any such questions, and an urgent call rom a human being whose life may be in peril for the lack of Immediate attention, must have that attention Instantly, or qur civillzalon is In question at once. The quibbles as to which official should attend, and the claims that tho city should not pay when the man is able to pay for himself, can be settled later. The urgent duty la the alleviation of tho man's sufferings; the saving of his life. We trust that the matter may be put on a thoroughly humane and efficient basis. As we have it now, our system is neither humane nor efficient. It needs keying up, in the Interest of the public, pub-lic, so that the city shall not be shamed by seeing a man lying unconscious for half an hour, with no attention whatever, what-ever, and even after being so long a time absolutely uncared for before being be-ing moved to shelter, being without skilled treatment for an hour and a half to two hours longer. A condition of affairs which will admit of auch a state of facts is one that needs to be remedied all along the line; tho mere assailing of one city official will riot remedy the evil, by any means. |
