The Mayor's Ultimatum to the Board of Health
Mayor J.T. Ronald demands the resignation of the Health Board after they refuse to fire the health officer for being 'opprobrious.'
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Mayor J.T. Ronald yesterday personally repeated the request made to the board of health by the auditing committee of councils to discharge Health Officer Sparling, and furthermore stated in unmistakable language that unless his request was complied with, he desired the resignation of each member of the board. At the appointed hour, Drs. James Shannon and Samuel J. Holmes met the mayor, who stated that Dr. Sparling was 'opprobrious' to himself and the council, and they could not work in harmony. The board met in privacy to discuss the ultimatum and replied: 'You have asked us to discharge our health officer on the ground that he is opprobrious to yourself and the council. As we cannot recognize this as a suitable cause for dismissal, we must most respectfully refuse to comply with your wish.' All three members declared they would not resign.
“We do not propose to discharge Health Officer Sparling on personal grounds, I do not intend to resign and do not know on what grounds the mayor will demand my resignation.”
Conflicts between Seattle's Mayor and various boards or commissions regarding the control of city departments remain a recurring theme in the city's political history. This 1892 struggle over the autonomy of the Board of Health echoes modern debates about the boundaries of executive power and the protection of independent civil service roles.
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