The record-union., 1894-05-04

of president, not physician-at present
r. g. Wilson, President of the Consoli-
dated Stock Exchange; the Health Of1i-
Ger OF the Port of New York-at present
Dr. Jenkins, brothar-in-law to Rich
ard Croker; the Presi,Ie u of the Board
of Police-now James asartin. Tam
many district leader; and two Commis-
sioners. one of whom is now DR.. Cyrus
Edison: the other, Dr. Herman NJ. Briggs.
DIR. Edison has risen to his present posi-
ton from a subordinate place In the de-
partment. DIR. Briggs is young aristo-
crat, thoroughly trained as specialist
here and abroad.
The major part of the work of the de-
partment is conducted through the Sani-
tary Bureau, which is divided into COM
plant Office, chemical laboratory and
outside inspectors. Anything from
butting goat to an unhealthy tenement,
or from maltreated piano in fiat house
to millionaire's chimney, is open to ex-
animation and disposition by this bureau.
1t may interfere for the public veal in
any other department of the city govern
ment as well as in citizens business
pursuit. The inspectors are kept con-
stantly at work going from house TO
house in the tenement districts, whence
volunteer complaints are few and causes
for them numerous. Sometimes these
houses are vacated by order of the board,
when repairs commanded are not made
by the owner. This work amounts to
fight with the Jewish householders. TO
make them keep their places in decent
order.
But sometimes such owners as the
Trinity Church corporation give great
trouble, till some newspaper comes to the
help of the board. All the public mar
kets are under its supervision so far as
IL Cfr COZ n
goods are concerned. Dairy and farm
produce must be open to Board of Health
inspection at any time and at any step of
of its progress to the consumer. Retail
grocers, wine-sellers, and dealers in
canned goods are frequently visited by
inspectors, who pick sample and test
the healthfulness of the goods on the
counters.
Any citizen may make a complaint to
the bureau and be certain of a prompt in
yestigation. 1t is not necessary that the
complainant give his name or the cause
of his appeal. The receipt of an address
alone would have the effect of sending an
inspector there, who would 60 through
the house or shop, from cellar to attic,
looking for anything amiss. People llv-
ing in boarding-houses or hotels in this
way may have offensive conditions REM
edied without appearing as the disagree
able grumblers they sometimes are.
Whenever anything is found wrong the
inspector reports it. The board issues an
order, which is mandatory. For years
the courts were appealed to, but now al
most every possible ground of disobedl-
ence has been fought over, with invari-
able success for the department.. The
few openings in the laws, where escape
was proven possible, have been closed
by legislative amendments.
1t may seem strange that such powers
should not be abused, if not by the board
as such, then by individual inspectors
But no complaint that contained title
of justification has been made against the
whole or any part of the department. for
four years at least This is due very
largely to the fact that many of the in
spectors are young medical men OF good
character and a future to make. Inc
other men, those who deal with the lower
lines of work, such as fruit, vegetable
and -raiding, are policemen detailed
to much desired, especially easy serv-
ice. They are careful TO hold their places,
which they lose only for misconduct.
Above all, however, the excellence of the
service is due to the vigilance and strict
ness of the disciplinary head OF the de-
partment, who always Is a business man.
The only abuses of the departments
powers are by citizens, and they are not
frequent and seldom are serious. In
-
west side. there are many persons, chiefly
women, who have developed the func-
tions of the department for the SatiSfac-
ton of personal spite. They send IN
complaints and cause no end of trouble.
For it is known at once that the lnvestl-
CATION has been called for by neighbor,
and before the inspectors are gone the
LADY, whose goat is being searched for
is out looking for the complainant. This
results III bad language and row, in
which everybody takes part. SO now,
the inspectors visit is followed up by one
from the police. peculiar but neces-
sary quality of such spiteful complaints
is that they never refer to the worst eau Sc
of official interference. A house may be
filled with sewer-gas, while the letter to
the board speaks only of leavin' tin-cans
in the hall' or mot keepin' her goat to
home" The inspector, however, makes
clean sweep wherever he goes, so all IS
righted in the end.
The most trivial complaint ever re-
ceived was that of woman who wrote to
the board saying that her neighbor's
servants apron was always dirty wheE
she (the servant) swept the sidewalk.
This was offensive to the complainant,
but was beyond the reach of the board.
Another branch of the department that
is doing especially good work for the
whole country at present is that which
deals with germ diseases. Herman NJ.
Biggs, NJ. D., is in charge. He has a
laboratory and his work is largely eXper-
imental, guInea-pigs being the animals
used Tuberculosis and typhus just now
are receiving particular attention, the
board having set itself the task of reduc-
ing the proportion OF deaths from those
causes. 1t is in connection with this
work that the new work on cattle has
been undertaken with such astonishing
results.
old tests for tuberculosis in cows were
suspected as unsatisfactory when il was
discovered that men were infected from
milk taken from dairy farms where the
utmost care was exercised, and where
veterinary surgeon was constantly en-
ployed. Advocates of stricter eXainlna-
ton were finally listened to. and the
Pratt farm on Long Island was thrown
open for experiment. On the model farm
were kept only fancy cattle, chiefly a
pure breed of Jersey stock. Alling ami
mails were treated for other diseases, but
suggestions of consumption were laughed
at. till Mr.. Pratt founder Of the Pratt In
stitute in Brooklyn declared he would
sacrifice his whole herd to make sure.
The results may be known to you. Six
teen beautiful and costly cows were
slaughtered and in everyone the tuber-
cules were found in more or less advanced
stages of development.
President Wilson, when he heard of
this, put watch on all the milk coming
from the finer class of dairy farms. They
are numerous up through the Croton
Valley. They keep the best breed Of cows
and supply only the rich and Infants,
charging high prices. But the investiga-
tions already made disclose the fact that
it is the finer breeds of cattle alone that
are affected by the contagion of tubercu-
losis among animals. What the Presi-
dent of our board will find cannot be
known for several weeks, but it will be OF
more than local importance.
Resides the branches of work already
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