The herald., 1894-04-04
SOME DEFECTIVE SCHOOL HOUSES
Health Officer Powers on Their
Sanitary Condition.
0yercrowded Glass Rooms aud Poor
Ventilation.
Children Who Are Compelled to sit Next
to Hot stoves-Seats That Arc
Too Small and Other
Faults.

City Health Officer DR.. L. NJ. Powers
has just completed an exhaustive and
interesting report on the sanitary condi-
ticn OF the public achools, which will be
submitted TO the board OF health today.
DR.. Powers states generally that as re-
suit Of this years inspection he tinds
that there ia an improvement OF 100 per
cent in. the condition Of the school
houses as contrssted with last year. The
doctor recommends that ample play
grounds should be provided for every
school, in order that the children may
exercise freely in the open air, and that
the grounds ahould be so graded as to
admit Of good surface drainage.
eiounda an improvements in plumbing
in the school buildings, and advises
connections with severe wherever possi-
bic. Ths teachers have taken great in
terest in securing good ventilation. Each
pupil should have 200 cubic feet OF air
space, and the claes rooms ahorld ba so
ventilated as 20 receive thrse complete
changes OF cir every hour without form
ing direcs currents or draughts upon the
pupile, thereby giving 800 cubic feet oil
air to every pupil every hout-the mimi
mum amount posaihle for health under
the most favorable condition OF the pu.
pits.
The health officer found tine ventila-
tion and heating at the the high school
very detective a temporary improve
ment in the ventilation there could be
made by hinging the transoms so they
could be used. The methods OF heating
are pernicious, aud before another win
ter proper provisions should be made
for heating by hot wator or steam radia-
tors. In the auditorium of the school
Hat top desks are ueed. These should
be replaced by desks having the proper
slope. The Seventeenth and ThirtIeth
street schools were found to be over.
crowded, and in the latter he found
pupils seated near stoves in q tempera-
ture OF S5 degrees and others in the
same room in a temperature OF % dc.
grees There is also an accumulation OF
rubbish under the building, obstructing
the free circulation OF air. The eeats
are too small for the pupils. In the
Sixteenth street building the class
rooms are overcrowded, and the Tenth
street building should be moved to q
higher lot in order thst the cellar may
not be flooded in rainy weather. The
Eighteenth street school is overerowded,
and the lighting and ventilating in the
east and west rooms are insufficient. In
the Spring street school the pupils are
seated too near the stoves and the light
is deficient in some OF the rooms.
At the San Pedro street school the
rooms are in bad condition as to over
crowding, and the sanitary plumbing ar
rangements are very bad.
The ventilation st the Sand street
school ia very defective and the seats
are bad.
The rooms in the CASTELAR, street
school are not we'll heated; there is in
sufficient light and the pupils sit toe
near the stove.
AS to the rooms rented ss annexes tC
the school building, they have been
built for other purposes than class
rooms, and are consequently improperly
lighted. heated and ventilated, and IL
fact are more or less unsanitafy.