The attention of the public, and especially the attention 
of physicians, and of officers of towns, cities and villages, 
is invited to the following law, enacted by the legislature 
of 1883. 
CHAPTER 167. 
AN ACT for the better protection of public health. 
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, 
do enact as follows: 
Section 1. Every town board, village board or common council of every 
town, village or city in this state shall hereafter, within thirty days after 
each annual election, organize themselves into a board of health, or shall 
appoint from their own members a suitable number of competent persons, 
who shall organize by the election of a chairman and clerk, and exercise 
all the powers and perform all the duties of a board of health for such 
town, village or city, as defined in the revised statutes, and every board of 
health shall, within ten days after being organized as above specified, ap- 
point a competent and proper person who shall be, whenever the same is 
practicable, a reputable physician, who shall be the health physician and 
health officer of the town, village or city, and who shall hold office during 
the pleasure of the board, and until his successor shall have been duly ap- 
pointed and qualified; and in case of the occurrence of a vacancy by reason 
of tbe death, resignation, removal or refusal to serve, of any such health 
officer, the board of health shall within twenty days thereafter, fill such 
vacancy by making a new appointment, as herein provided, and immedi- 
ately upon the appointment of any health officer as herein provided, the 
board of health making the same shall transmit to the office of the state 
board of health the name and postoffice address of the health officer so ap- 
pointed; and all health officers, appointed under the provisions of this act, 
shall be ex-officio members and executive officers of the boards by whom 
they are appointed; provided, that this section shall not apply to any town, 
village or city which by its act of incorporation, or amendment thereto, 
shall have provided for the appointment of a health board and a health 
officer. 
Section 2, It shall be the duty of every health officer, appointed under 
the provisions of this act, or by the provisions of special charters, upon the 
appearance of small pox, diphtheria, scarlet fever, Asiatic cholera, or other 
dangerous contagious disease in the town, village or city under his super- 
vision, immediately to investigate all the circumstances attendant upon 
the appearance of such disease, and to make full report thereof to the board 
of which he is the executive officer, and also to the state board of health, 
and it shall be the duty of such health officer at all timespromptly to take such 
measures for the prevention, suppression and control of the diseases herein 
named, as may in his judgment be needful and proper, subject to the ap- 
proval of the board of which he is a member, and it shall be the duty of 
every health officer to keep and transmit to his successor in office a record 
of all his official acts; and the salary or other compensation to be paid to every 
health officer appointed under the provisions of this act shall be established 
by the board of health by whom such officer shall be appointed. 
Section 3. Whenever any such physician, residing and practicing in the state, shall know that any person whom he shall be called upon to visit is 
sick with small-pox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, Ysiatic cholera, or other dan- 
gerous contagious disease, he shall immediately give notice thereof to the 
board of health of the town, village or city in which such sick person shall 
be at the time, and any physician who shall refuse or neglect to give such 
notice for a period of forty-eight hours shall, on conviction thereof, be 
liable to a penalty of not less than five nor more than twenty-five dollars, 
for each day of such refusal or neglect after the expiration of said forty- 
eight hours; provided that the notices herein required may be sent by mail, 
or except in the case of cities may be given to or left at the residence of 
any member of the board of health, and notices so mailed or given within 
the time specified shall be deemed a compliance with the provisions of this 
section. 
Section 4. All expenses incurred in carrying out the provisions of this 
act, or any of them, shall be paid by the town, village or city by which, 
or on behalf of which, such expenses shall have been incurred. 
Section 5. Upon complaint made in writing under oath by any citizen 
of the state, before any magistrate or justice of the peace, charging the 
commission of an offence against any of the provisions of this act in his 
county, it shall be the duty of the district attorney to prosecute the offender, 
and all sums recovered under the provisions of this act shall be for the 
benefit of the school fund. 
Section 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its 
passage and publication, and all acts and parts of acts conflicting with the 
provisions of this act, in so far as they contravene the same, are hereby 
repealed. 
Approved March 27, 1883. Published March 31, 1883.