Time of greatest prevalence of each disease in Michigan, 1886-1903. Communicable diseases in Michigan in 1904 and preceding years. GENERAL REPORT. PERSONNEL OF THE BOARD. By a combination of circumstances, a very considerable change in the personnel of the Board has taken place since the publication of the last annual report. The terms of office of Dr. Collins H. Johnston and Dr. D. A. MacLachlan having expired, Dr. Angus McLean and Dr. Malcolm C. Sinclair were appointed, by the Governor, in their place. By the death of the Hon. Frank Wells, President of the Board, another vacancy occurred, and Hon. Coleman C. Vaughan was appointed, by the Governor, to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. Wells. Still another vacancy was created by the resignation of Hon. Henry A. Haigh, and Dr. Aaron R. Wheeler was appointed, by the Governor, to fill out the unexpired term of Mr. Haigh. By the enactment of the new law governing the appointment of the Secretary of this Board, printed on a subsequent page, a vacancy occurred in the office of Secretary, and the Governor appointed Dr. Frank W. Shumway Secretary of the Board for the six years ending March 30, 1911. WORK OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH DURING THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1905. Aside from the work in committees and in connection with the office of the Secretary of the Board, the work of the State Board of Health itself has included that done at the Conference of Health Officials, that in connection with the examination of plans and specifications for proposed public buildings, the examination of persons to determine their qualifications for licenses to properly embalm and disinfect bodies dead of infectious and contagious diseases, and the work done at regular and special meetings of the Board. REGULAR AND SPECIAL MEETINGS OF THE STATE BOARD Up to and including the meeting of October 23, 1888, the minutes of all meetings of the Board were copied into the permanent record books in the office of the Secretary. From that time, to and including the proceedings of the meeting of May 13, 1898, the minutes were printed in the annual reports of the Board. Commencing with the annual report for 1899, in accordance with the law of 1899, the volume was greatly reduced in size, being limited to 300 pages. Accordingly, mention only has been made in recent reports of the times and places of meetings, and the names of members present at each meeting, but a complete record of the meetings is kept in the office of the Secretary. By reason of the usual articles on meteorology and sickness statistics not being printed in this report, a portion of the available space has been used for the printing of the most important items in the proceedings of each meeeting of the Board, during the fiscal year, 1905. REGULAR MEETING, HELD AT LANSING, JULY 8, 1904. The members present were: Hon. Frank Wells, President; Victor C. Vaughan, M. D., Hon. Henry A. Haigh, Mr. Charles M. Ranger, D. A. MacLachlan, M. D., and Henry B. Baker, Secretary. The President, having been absent from the State at the time of the annual meeting in April, gave his annual address to the Board at this time.* Mr. Wells, having been instructed by the Board, at a former meeting, to prepare a manual for the use of health officers, submitted a copy to each member of the Board for their consideration. Doctor Baker, as a delegate of this Board to attend the Conference of State and Provincial Boards of Health of North America, held at Washington, D. C., May 3, 1904, reported, verbally, on the meeting, and submitted to the Board a copy of preambles and resolutions offered by him, and adopted by the Conference, on the "Cheapest and best way to restrict smallpox." Doctors Vaughan and Baker, delegates of this Board to attend the meeting of the American Medical Association, held at Atlantic City, N. J., June 7-10, 1904, made verbal reports on the meeting. Doctor Baker spoke of the very important consideration given the subject of venereal diseases, at the meeting of the Hygienic Section. Doctor Baker then read a report showing what had been accomplished during the first six months of 1904 in the prevention of pneumonia. He also read a paper on the relation of preventable diseases to taxation, which, owing to the fact that the compilation on this subject had not been completed, preventing a detailed report, was not printed. Doctor Vaughan offered the following preamble and resolutions, which were adopted: WHEREAS, It is desirable that the efficiency of the clerical force in the office of the Michigan State Board of Health be kept at a high standard, Resolved, That after this date, July 8, 1904, no one shall be appointed a clerk in the office without first passing a competitive examination to cover the English language (writing an essay of 200 words), the history of the United States and of the State of Michigan, arithmetic (including proportion and percentage), the geography of the United States and the State of Michigan, the fundamental principles of sanitary science, vital statistics, the civil government of Michigan, the public health laws of Michigan, and, for certain positions, stenography and typewriting. Resolved, That no clerk in this department shall be promoted or receive increase in salary without passing an additional examination, the scope of which is determined by a committee of this Board. Previous industry, attention to business and good behavior will be taken into consideration. *This address was printed in the annual report of this Board for 1904. |