Dr. Gannon ordered police to close Kansas City saloons unless they were sanitized
On Oct. 8, 1918, Director of the Contagious Diseases Department, Dr. A. J. Gannon sent inspectors to survey each and every saloon in the city; they found all of them to be insanitary. Gannon ordered police to close saloons unless they were sufficiently cleaned that night.
Within a few days, Mayor Cowgill, Health Director Bullock, Dr. Gannon, and other members of the Kansas City public health administration began to discuss the possibility of lifting the closure order.
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Source: Influenza Encyclopedia, University of Michigan Center for the History of Medicine
Credit: Photo: A spraying machine used to disinfect the throats and nasal passages of soldiers. Courtesy: Library of Congress.
