solution of the tenement problem with relation to great cities. It is all very easy for us to prescribe as a matter of legislation the size of room, the sanitary facilities, the height to which a building shall be erected, its fire-escapes and any one of a very considerable number of other factors, but it is another question whether after a careful consideration of the natural ground rents of the tenant, this building can be leased to families and still afford a reasonable income to the landlord. I am not satisfied that a purely hygienic tenement, created upon a basis which physical lines absolutely demand, can be built in certain of the great cities of our country and yet afford a reasonable income from the investment. It seems to me that in the increase of the character of the improved hygienic conditions of tenements the necessary rentals must also increase, and that a building as a purely private enterprise of ideal tenements, without the increased rentals, must become an unprofitable investment. This conclusion is corroborated by almost universal experience.

9. The building of suitable tenements affords to my mind one of the best opportunities for Christian philanthropy, far more valuable to the people of a city than the creation of large free libraries, or possibly great charitable institutions. It is a side of philanthropy which has not largely appealed, I fear, to our wealthiest citizens. It is to be hoped, however, that in the near future groups of buildings may be erected which represent very closely the Peabody fund in London and the group of Albert buildings.

I have already indicated that when legislation demands a higher type of tenement that higher rentals are a necessary corollary. Such increased rate of rentals will naturally make it impossible for a certain group of wage-earners to find shelter. The natural relief of this very large class must find itself in an enlightened philanthropy within the limits of great cities or in suburban population. After a very careful canvass of the conditions as they present, I am personally convinced that a large portion of our

population now residents in unsanitary tenements should seek shelter in suburban tenements. In a number of cities of this

country already this problem has solved itself, and the natural tenement-dweller finds himself in a cottage that presents a capacity of not greater than two families. Such cities are said to have no tenement-house problem. It occurs to me that rapid transit, associated with a cheap rate of transportation, is a solution for overcrowding in great cities. I am earnestly of the opinion that in the decades that are to follow, this will naturally present itself as a solution of the problem. Large manufacturing concerns, corporations employing a large number of men, interested in their welfare, can very well afford to select a suburban site, provide for its drainage, afford a water supply, build dwellings for a minimum price or sell building lots on an installment plan in such a manner that it presents itself as a favorable proposition to the employes. An electric railroad, in this connection, with reduced rates of fare, provides an abundant solution. With the great aggregations of capital in our country and the developing jealousy of classes, it seems to me that this plan affords many advantages for both parties, a little ground of conciliation and a contingency of finally converting the suburban tenement-house dweller into a landed proprietor and a more responsible citizen.

Mr. DEVINE. It is very gratifying, indeed, that we have this additional eminent medical authority for the position that there is this close relation between health and housing. As to the doctor's skepticism as to what may be accomplished by legislation and as to whether investments in model dwellings will pay a reasonable dividend upon the investment, there may possibly be some here who will wish to express themselves when they have opportunity in the discussion. With the permission of the audience, since these two topics are so closely related, I will call upon Miss Butler of Yonkers to read her paper upon "Sanitary Inspection," and then ask that the two papers be discussed briefly together.

Miss Mary Marshall Butler of Yonkers read a paper on "Sanitary Inspection."

SANITARY INSPECTION.

It is a far cry from the Book of Leviticus to our modern sanitary codes, but the Mosaic laws for the preservation of the health, the directions for cleanliness and for the isolation of the sick, the regulations concerning food and drink, the authority given the priest to enter the plague-stricken house and demand its renovation or demolition, remind us that the roots of one of our most recent sciences lie imbedded in the far-distant past of a great religion. To the ancient people of Israel cleanliness was godliness, and to the observance of their divinely sanctioned sanitary laws is attributed one reason for the persistence of the Jewish race.

Why the medieval monk should have placed cleanliness next to godliness -sometimes a far-off neighbor and even come to regard it as a heathen vice rather than a christian virtue, and dirt as a spiritual asset, is a matter for interesting historical research.

In the good old times men were not concerned with the problems that confront us to-day. Where the sewage of the castle or cottage went was none of the neighbor's business; sanitary appliances were unknown; contagious diseases were regarded as the visitation of God's providence rather than the result of man's improvidence, and even yet this superstitious fatalism in regard to sickness lingers among the poor. Earth, air and water, fish, flesh and fowl presented no complex questions so long as they contributed to a merry life, if not a long one.

To be sure, questions on health and hygiene had occupied some of the profoundest minds of all ages, and for centuries there had existed both common and statute law for the suppression of such nuisances as became too unbearable, but sanitary science, as now understood, is entirely a product of the last half of the nineteenth century, and even yet it is to its future rather than to its past we

must look for its most brilliant achievements and for a higher development of public health acts.

When, in 1842, Sir Edwin Chadwick brought in his epoch-making report on the condition of the laboring classes in England, he traced the causes of poverty and disease to the unsanitary condition of their dwellings, and declared that any relief measures, to be effective, must begin with very radical improvement in the housing of the poor.

From his recommendation came the Public Health Act passed by Parliament in 1848 and all the subsequent legislation which has given Great Britain the right to be regarded, to quote Dr. Biggs, as the birthplace and home of sanitary science ❞— the place to which "sanitarians of all nations look for guidance and direction in matters of public health.”

The cholera scared New York into the formation of the Metropolitan Health Board in 1866, and since that time the development of interest in the public health of this country has gone on apace, and a Health Department is now considered necessary to every municipality.

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While differing somewhat in their methods of administration and sanitary regulations, they all claim the right to exercise a strict supervision over all that relates to public health. This right, once questioned by such able thinkers as T. D. Woolsey, William von Humboldt and John Stuart Mill, is now settled beyond dispute. "The right to modern sanitary legislation rests," says Dr. J. S. Billings, on the broad principle that every member of the community is entitled to protection in regard to his health, just as he is in regard to his liberty and property, and that, on the other hand, his liberty and his property are guaranteed him only on the condition that they shall be so exercised as not to interfere with the similar rights of others, nor be injurious to the community." And Dr. Biggs states that though the sanitary measures in this democratic country are sometimes autocratic and their functions

paternal, they are seldom met with opposition or resentment; that "the public press will approve, the people are prepared to support and the courts sustain any intelligent procedures which are evidently directed to the preservation of health." (Address before British Medical Association, 1897.)

A glance at the sanitary departments of our great cities will show to what stupendous proportions the machinery of sanitary inspection has grown and the multitude of specialized subjects it embraces. No wonder the work calls for an array of scientific men and trained workers. There in the laboratory sit the bacteriologists studying the pathogenic germs which the medical inspector must follow and detect in their more virulent activities and which later the disinfectors must pursue with their germicidal preparations. Bread and meat, milk and water, fruit and vegetables, children on their way to school, workers in the shops, must pass in review before the argus-eyed bureau of sanitary inspection.

But in this paper we are concerned chiefly with sanitary inspection in its relation to the housing question and to the consideration of increasing its efficiency.

Sanitary inspection is carried on systematically, as in a few cities, or in response to complaints of nuisances received through various channels, and includes an examination of conditions of cleanliness throughout the house, plumbing, drainage, water supply, garbage disposal, causes of illness, number of families, occupants and other details; but I shall leave the discussion of general sanitary administration and legislation to others. There would be no excuse for a layman to take the valuable time of this Conference, except to advance one or two practical suggestions resulting from personal observation.

To make sanitary inspection fulfill its highest possibilities

1. It should be sustained and strengthened by an enlightened public opinion and by closer coöperation between citizens and officials.