“The joint committee of the
board of health and medical association was in session the greater part of
yesterday afternoon, dealing with matters in connection with the influenza
epidemic. Representatives were present from the retail merchants and
manufacturers to discuss with the authorities the regulations that have been
laid down, and ways and means of obtaining the best results. All expressed
their desire to co-operate in the strenuous effort being made to stamp out the
disease as quickly as possible.”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918
December 1, 1918 was a
Sunday, and Sabbath or not, members of the board of health, now fully
partnering with the medical association representing the city’s doctors, were
hard at work.
A meeting had been called
for the Sunday afternoon at City Hall, with the topic of store closing hours
high on the agenda:
“The merchants presented
their suggestion that the ban proclamation be so amended as to permit the
stores being open for regular business from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., instead of
being permitted to open earlier in the morning and required to dismiss their
employees at 4 o’clock in the afternoon. After fully considering the matter,
however, it was decided that the regulations as originally drafted were best
suited for the purposes for which they were devised, and that they should not
be altered for the present. It was agreed that the board of trade should
appoint one representative to gather information and present the viewpoint of
the merchants and other interests to the joint health board at its future
meetings.”1
1 “Shop
Early and Avoid Street Cars : This Will Best Way to Aid in Fighting Influenza :
Merchants Are Readily Co-operating With Authorities”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918.
While there was agreement
between the board of health and the retailers that the closing hour of 4 p.m.,
would be retained, the board of health did indicate that there restriction
would be enforced strictly:
“Both the board of health
members and the doctors made it clear that, far from wishing to antagonize the
merchants or the people generally, it was their desire to secure the full
co-operation of all classes, for which reason they were at all times willing to
receive and consider suggestions, although they might not always be able to act
upon. They were all pleased with the manner in which the regulations were
observed by the merchants and, citizens generally on Saturday night. Health
department inspectors were out all evening keeping tab on the stores, and they
reported on several cases where the order to dismiss all employees at 4 o’clock
in the afternoon was not strictly observed. The druggists were the chief
offenders, and Dr. Roberts was instructed to take such action as he saw fit
against those had not observed the law. After talking the matter over with the
city solicitor, the doctor decided that owing to the shortness of the notice
given, it would be fair to issue one warning to the guilty ones, but he announced
that this would be the final warning, and that from now on the terms of the
proclamation would be rigidly enforced and all offenders prosecuted in the
police court. The health department’s inspectors will be utilized to check up
those who fail to comply with the law, while the police will also be asked to
keep a sharp outlook for delinquents.”1
The heads of the major
retail stores in Hamilton’s downtown were determined that an information
campaign informing the public about the early closing restriction and about when
shoppers should visit the big stores:
“While the heads of local
department stores express a unanimous desire to co-operate with the health
department in every possible way, they urge that the public, in order to
overcome the difficulty incident to the 4 o’clock closing order, make special
efforts to shop early in the day and thus assist in carrying out the existing regulations.
“Large placards, warning
people against crowding, have been placed in the stores and other public
places. The onus of seeing that this order is enforced rests on the store
owners or managers, and sanitary inspectors have been instructed to see to it
that the order is lived up to.
“Health department officials
again urge that clerks who are released from store and office service at 4
o’clock walk to their homes as much as possible in order to assist the street
railway company the better to comply with the order which forbids the
overcrowding of cars. Summed up the popular order of the day is ‘shop early and
walk.’ ”1
At the same meeting, it
mentioned with gratitude, the ways that the military were providing assistance
to the board of health:
“For some days, through the
kindness of Major Bethune and Capt. Storms, the military ambulances have been
at the service of the health authorities, and a large number of cases have been
handled by them. Capt. Storms made the
further announcement that he had received instructions from Major-General
Mewburn to place the medical staff and equipment of the military hospital at the disposal of the health department, and
this offer was gratefully accepted by the board yesterday. People who are
unable to secure medical assistance for financial or other reasons, are invited
to notify the health information bureau, telephone Regent 328, and the officers
in charge will arrange with the military doctors to take charge of these cases.
Other uses will also be made of the military staff and equipment, and Dr.
Roberts and his associates feel very grateful to Capt. Storms for thus coming
to their assistance. “
Finally, the board of health
was informed about Hamilton’s record in combating the influenza epidemic :
“It is gratifying to know
that despite the prevalence of influenza in Hamilton, the death rate in this
city during the month of October was lower than nearly every other city in
Canada. This is believed to be due to the effective measures adopted to cope
with the disease.”1
The editorial writer with
the Herald urged the paper’s readers to comply with all the rules of the board
of health for everyone’s sake:
“This should be borne in mind : The more loyal
the community co-operation, the more general the observance of the regulations
framed by the board of health, the sooner shall Hamilton be feed from the restrictions
which are distasteful and harassing to everyone.”2
2 “The
Closing Order”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918.
Further to the need for a
public information campaign to give Hamiltonians good advice on how to combat
Spanish Influenza, two helpful bulletins were released:
“The publicity committee of the board of
health and Medical society gave out the following bulletin on the influenza
epidemic today :
‘The increase in the number
of reported cases of influenza does not necessarily mean that the disease is
getting beyond control or that it is even more prevalent than it has been.
Rather it is an evidence of the system evolved by the health authorities to induce
people to take proper precautions by calling a doctor in at the first
appearance of ‘flu’ symptoms.
“A very large number of the
cases reported during the last few days are of a mild type, or incipient cases.
These were the cases the health authorities found it most difficult to get
trace of, and they were the cases that presented the greatest danger – not to
the patient so much as to the general public.
“Severe, or ‘bad’ cases can
be, and are being, controlled so far as the contagion is concerned, but those
who have the disease in a mild form, and are able to move about, are a great
source of danger and are largely responsible for the spread of the epidemic. Remembering that some people are more susceptible than
others to the disease and that a very mild case may spread influenza in a
virulent form, for their own safety, as well as for the safety of others, all
persons suffering from what may appear to do to be only colds or other minor
disorders, are appealed to consult their family doctor, even though their
symptoms may not correspond with those of the typically serious cases
previously outlined. The chief object of the present campaign is to keep
susceptible people from getting `mass` doses that may prove serious, if not
fatal.2
2 “Incipient ‘Flu’ is Greatest
Menace : Citizens Urged to See Doctor of They Feel Ill, and This Help to Check
Epidemic”
Hamilton Herald. December 02, 1918
`In view of the sloppy
condition of sidewalks and pavements, due to the light fall of snow last night,
health department officials warn citizens to take special precaution against
getting wet feet. Among other suggestions, people are urged to drink
considerable quantities of cold water. This applies not only to those who are
suffering or who are convalescing from Spanish influenza. Individual towels and
the use of tissue paper ‘kerchiefs by those who are afflicted with the disease,
the used ‘kerchiefs to be placed in paper bags and burned, is also recommended.
Strict observance of these two regulations are said to be highly important to
the decrease of the disease. One of the numerous remedies suggested as
beneficial to those who are convalescing, particularly for those who suffer
from continued pains in the back, of which so many complain, is the juice from
preserved or canned black currants mixed with water and taken in liberal
quantities.”3
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