Until the afternoon of Jan. 11, 1897, I did not know that my term as a member of the board had expired. The governor's secretary informed another member of the board that it had, and that I had not been reappointed. This, then, is my last report. I have been secretary of the board since its organization, 1872, and have helped and watched its development from the beginning to the present time. The 4th of next March the board will have completed its first quarter of a century, so that my service as secretary has been within two months of twenty-five years. The best of my life and effort have gone into this work. I have spared neither time, labor nor thought to make it what it ought to be. Such as it is, the record is made and closed. I resume to-morrow the active practice of my profession with the sincere wish that the public health service of Minnesota may maintain and advance the position which it has won among similar organizations in other states. I am still more anxious that it continue to serve the whole people of Minnesota in the future as in the past. I respectfully call the attention of the board to the efficient service of the clerks now in the office, whose work has increased in value with experience and training. Simple justice demands an increase in their compensation. The financial statement has been brought up to Jan. 1, 1897, and compared with the account in the state auditor's office. The apparatus (chemical) belonging to the board in the laboratory of the department of sanitary science is ready for transfer, but it would be a great help to my work there if it could be left for a month until I can replace it. CHARLES N. HEWITT. St. Paul, Jan. 11, 1897. One telegram from Baltimore in re smallpox; number not given to seven local at seven count. 19 |