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a stay of such warrant for such time as may be necessary, not exceeding six months, to give him an opportunity to remove the nuisance upon his giving satisfactory security to do so within the time specified in the order.

SECTION 3184. The expense of removing and abating such nuisance pursuant to such warrant shall be collected by the officer in the same manner as damages and costs are collected upon execution; and such officer may sell any material of any fences, buildings or other things removed or abated as a nuisance in the same manner as that personal property is sold upon execution, and apply the proceeds of sale to pay the expenses of such removal and abatement, paying the residue if any, to the defendant on demand, and if insufficient to pay such expenses, he shall collect the residue as above provided.

Village boards, when the incorporation is effected under the general laws, have power to provide hospitals and regulate the burial of the dead, and the return of bills of mortality; to declare what are nuisances, and to prevent or abate the same; to require the owner or occupant of any grocery, cellar, tallow chandler's shop, soap factory, tannery, stable, barn, privy, sewer, or other unwholesome or nauseous house, building, or place, to remove or abate the same, or to cleanse it as often as may be deemed necessary for the public health; to direct the location and management of slaughter houses subject to the provisions of section 1418 of the Revised Statutes and to prevent the erection, use or occupation of the same except as authorized by them; to prevent persons from bringing, depositing, or leaving within the village, any putrid carcass, or other unwholesome substance; to require the owners or occupants of lands to remove dead animals, stagnant water or other unwholesome substance from their premises, and to provide for the cleansing and removal of obstructions from any river, stream, slough or water-course within the limits of the village, and to prevent the obstruction or retarding of the flow of water therein, or the putting of anything into the same which may be prejudicial to the health of the village. [Section 892, clause 20, Revised Statutes.]

A village board may also "prescribe penalties for the violation of any ordinance or by-law, to be not less than one dollar, nor more than two hundred dollars in any case besides the costs of suit in all cases; and in default of payment to provide for committing the person convicted to the watch house or place of confinement in the village, or to the county jail until payment be made, but not exceeding ninety days in all. "

Section 892, Revised Statutes, clause 27.

Chapters 250 and 253, laws of 1883, gives power to village boards "to compel the owners and occupants of building or grounds to remove and keep snow, ice, dirt, rubbish, etc., from the sidewalks, streets and alleys

Laws Relating to the Public Health.

opposite thereto, and in default to authorize the removal thereof by some officer of the village at thé expense of such owner or occupant.

The powers above cited were conferred on all incorporated villages which had a population of 2,900 persons when the tenth census of the United States was taken.

Chapter 292, laws of 1883, contains the following provisions:

SECTION 1. All powers relating to villages and conferred upon village boards by the provisions of chapter 40, of the Revised Statutes, and all acts amendatory thereof, excepting those the exercise of which would conflict with the provisions of law relative to towns and town boards, are hereby conferred upon towns and town boards of towns containing one or more unincorporated villages, having each a population of not less than one thousand inhabitants, and are made applicable to such unincorporated village or villages, and may be exercised therein when directed by a resolution of the qualified electors of the town at the last preceding annual town meeting.

[See also in this connection chapter 44, laws of 1883, elsewhere quoted in this compilation.

[The provisions above cited cover substantially the same ground, to all appearance, although one relates to incorporated and the other to unincorporated villages. The language of chapter 292, is somewhat obscure, though the intention apparently is to put both classes of villages on the same footing provided their residents signify a wish to have the powers granted, the method of signification being prescribed. The provisions quoted seem to answer a question asked with some frequency, namely whether there is any method by which under the law a person guilty of creating a nuisance by disposing or allowing the deposit of foul or putrid matters on the streets of a village can be compelled to remove the same at his own expense, or failing so to do after being duly required, whether he can be obliged to make good the cost to the community. It would seem from the laws just cited that the village board of an incorporated village may compel the removal of such foul matters under the provisions of chapter 250, above quoted, while the same thing may be done in other villages, provided a vote be had in favor of sɔ doing at the annual town meeting, and provided also that the population of the village be not less than one thousand. The language of the law implies moreover, that there must be a renewed vote at each annual meeting. When this course is adopted, it would be well to exercise the power through the agency of the local Board of Health, which may be authorized and directed to act by a simple resolution of the towr board at the meeting at which the Health Board is constituted. As a mere

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matter of prudence something of this kind should be done annually by every /town board on the organization of the Board of Health, even though the town board and the Health Board are made up of the same individuals, the two bodies being legally distinct in their character and functions.

In addition to the laws and sections here cited, chapter 252, laws of 1880, provided for the appointment of a State Analyst from among the professors of the State University, to whom samples of foods, drugs, etc., might be submitted for examination. The term of office was fixed at three years, but there being no provision for the appointment of a successor to the first appointee, at that expiration of the term, the law thus became void by limitation.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE PREPARATION OF SANI

TARY ORDINANCES,

WITH MODEL FORMS.

NOTE- In response to requests for forms or models of ordinances suitable for sanitary regulation, the State Board of Health has prepared the following code as being fitted for adoption and enactment by a large majority of the towns, villages and cities of Wisconsin.

This code has been prepared after careful study of a large number of the ordinances in force in different places, both in Wisconsin and elsewhere. It will be seen that it does not cover many points concerning which ordinances are necessary in the government of large cities, as for instance the construction of sewers and buildings, the connection of these with each other, the placarding of houses where contagious disease exists, the requirement of .burial permits, etc., the object being to present a code specially applicable to the needs of smaller communities, to which such ordinances as are necessary in larger places may be added as their special needs require.

In some localities it may be desirable to select only parts of the code here presented, or to modify other parts to suit special local needs. However they may be, any ordinances adopted by any community should be clearly drawn and should express their meaning in unmistakable terms, and each ordinance or each section of a comprehensive ordinance should specifically and explicitly state the penalty for any violation thereof. Further, before any attempt by a Board of Health to perform any official act the Board should take care that its own organization is fully perfected and legal. This pre-supposes a formal and distinct organization as a health board (even though the individuals composing it are the same as those who form the municipal board), the election of a chairman and clerk, the appointment of a health officer and the qualification of all the members of the board, including the health officer, for the special duties of a Board of Health, in the same manner as members of the town or village board, or city council are qualified for the special duties of a governing board. Instances have been reported to the State Board of Health in which health officers have been appointed and have served throughout their terms without legally qualifying for the position. This should in no case be permitted; the organization should always be fully perfected before any steps are t ken to exercise authority. It is of course necessary that the facts of ap

Suggestions and Forms for Sanitary Ordinances.

pointment and organization, as also all of the official acts of the board be fully and clearly recorded.

ORDINANCE AND NOTES.

Ordinances for the protection of the public health have all the force of law for the community under the jurisdiction of the adopting board; every such ordinance should therefore have an appropriate title setting forth its objects, and a proper enacting clause. The following are suggested as being suitable for the purpose:

AN ORDINANCE for the better protection of the public health, and for the restriction and prevention of contagious disease.

The.. ...of the [town, village or city] of .......... by virtue of the powers vested in it by the general laws of the state of Wisconsin, does ordain as follows:

SECTION 1. Whatever is dangerous to human life or health, and whatever renders the soil, or the air, or the water, or any articles of food or drink unwholesome or impure, is hereby declared to be a nuisance and illegal; and any person who shall cause, create or maintain any such thing or condition, or who shall in any way aid or contribute to the causing, creation or maintenance thereof shall be deemed guilty of a violation of this ordinance, and shall be liable for all the costs and expenses attendant upon the removal of such thing or condition, and to any penalty that may be hereinafter specially provided in connection therewith.

Section 1 of the ordinance here presented is a comprehensive general section, substantially the same as recommended by several State Boards of Health. It is designed to cover any offence against sanitary law not specifically mentioned in the sections that follow, and to make the offender responsible for at least the cost of rectifying his misdeeds.

SECTION 2. All places and premises within the limits of this..... .in which conditions exist that are, or that