The Health bulletin [serial] - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Act of 1893 greatly increased
the status of the State Board of Health,
which reacted with renewed activity. A
well-equipped office was established in
Raleigh for the Secretary who was
given an annual salary of $1,000.
When Dr. Thomas F. Wood of Wilmington,
the founder and first secre-
tary of the State Board of Health, died
on August 22, 1892, Dr. Lewis was
elected to succeed him. Since the State
Board of Health's annual appropriation
up to 1907 was never more than
$2000, the Board could not afford an
office of its own, and most of its work
was carried on in his office.
The Act of the General Assembly of
1909 providing for the employment
of a State Health Officer for his whole
time made it necessary for Dr. Richard
H. Lewis, the father of the bill, to
culminate 17 years of patriotic devotion
to the health of the people of North
Carolina. At a called meeting of the
Board of Health on March 30, 1909, he
explained the amended law, stating
that he could not afford to surrender
his practice and was therefore tendering
his resignation. The Board, after insist-
ing in vain for the withdrawal of the
resignation, reluctantly accepted it. Dr.
Watson Smith Rankin of Wake Forest
was elected to succeed him on July 1,
1909, at a salary of $3,000 per year.
The annual appropriation of the
Board was increased from $4000 to
$10,500 in 1909.
The General Assembly of 191 1 created
County Boards of Health to take
the place of the Sanitary Committees.
The new legislation in 1911 enabled
the State Board of Health to increase
the circulation of the Bulletin from 11,-
500 to 20,000 copies per month.
The Genera! Assembly of 1913 also
amended several sections of the exist-
ing health laws and raised the annual
appropriation of the Board from $22,-
500 to $40,500 annually.
In 1916 the monthly circulation of
the Health Bulletin reached 51,000.
Early in 1923, Dr. W. S. Rankin was
invited by the "Committee of Municipal
Health Department Practices" of the
American Public Health Association to
become Field Director in making a study
of municipal health procedures.
The Executive Committee of the State
Board of Health granted the Secre-
tary a year's leave of absence, and on
November 1, Dr. Rankin assumed his
duties and established official head-
quarters in New York City. He con-
tinued
1924.
this work until November 1,
A number of changes were made in
1923 in the organization of the State
Board of Health as well as in its personnel.
On March 1, Dr. Cooper made
Assistant Secretary and became official
head of the staff. If it had not been for
his almost total deafness, he undoubted-
ly would have been selected to succeed
Dr. Ranklin when the latter resigned a
short time later.
At the Conjoint Session of the State
Board of Health and State Medical So-
ciety held in Pinehurst on April 29,
1925, Dr. Rankin announced his resig-
nation as State Health Officer, effective
June 1, to accept directorship of the
Hospital and Orphan Division of the
newly created Duke Endowment. On
May 30, at the meeting of the Executive
Committee of the Board, Dr. G. M.
Cooper was unanimously made Assist-
ant Secretary for an indefinite period of
time.
During his public health career. Dr.
Rankin had been President of the Am-
erican Public Health Association; Trus-
tee of the American Hospital Associa-
tion; first Chairman of the Charlotte
Board of Health; Member of the North
Carolina Medical Care Commission;
Trustee of Wake Forest College; and he
received honorary degrees from Duke
University, University of North Caro-
8 THE HEALTH BULLETIN May, 1967