A City Divided Over Disease
As scarlet fever spreads through Seattle, the Board of Health and the House of Delegates clash over funding for an inspector, leaving the city vulnerable.
The action of the house of delegates in adopting an adverse report on the request of the board of health for an appointment of a sanitary inspector to take care of the scarlet fever cases has caused a commotion among the members of the board of health. New cases are reported every day and are spreading over a large territory. Health Officer Palmer said that the total number of reported cases was a great deal higher this month than last. The report for the last four days included cases on Cedar Street, Wall Street, Third Street, and Brooklyn. Dr. Holmes said that the public ought to know that it was due to the action of the house of delegates that the department was hampered in its work in the midst of a scarlet fever epidemic.
“The members certainly entertained views favorable to the spread of scarlet fever and insisted on refusing to give the department an additional sanitary inspector.”
This 1895 dispute over public health funding and the political obstruction of medical experts mirrors modern debates about the role of government in managing public health crises and the friction between administrative boards and elected councils.
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