The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-12
SCIENTISTS WILL
 BE INTERESTED Ventilation of Street Cars is
 Before House SANITARY SCIENCE DEPT. Republican Leaders Have Made Their Plans for the Statehood
 Fight in the Next
 Congress.
SANITARY SCIENCE DEPT.

Washington March 11.-(Special. )-Sev- eral measures were introduced in the House of Representatives just prior to its adjournment which will attract much at tention from scientists and health special jsts during the coming summer and one of which will especially appeal to the travelling public. The first is a joint reso- lution introduced by Representative Hughes of New Jersey, providing for Investigating the possibility of the com munication of diseases and of the possible infection of food products through the i'm perfect or improper ventilation of rail- road passenger and freight cars.'
 The other is bill introduced by Rep resentative Shiras of Pennsylvania for a commission to draft legislation creating a new department to be known as ''the De- partment of Sanitary Science" While the two measures are entirely different in their scope, they are indirectly related as both originated with and will later be pushed by those 1 rested in stamping out the white pla .e' and other infec- tious disease as far as can be done with government aid.
 Want Better Ventilation.
 A vigorous movement was inaugurated last summer by the boards of health of various large cities to procure, if pos sible, the better ventilation of street cars and railway passenger cars. Aside from the temporary discomfort of breathing the vitiated air and inhaling the miscellane- ous odors by the passengers on a crowded street car, somo of the leading scientists have expressed the opinion that diseases are often contracted through the inhala- tion of the exhaled breath of affected per- sons in the cars, even when the person who contracted the disease does not come in personal contact with the infected party.
 The matter was seriously taken up by several of the boards of health and ex- tensive experiments made as to the vitia- ton of air in the ordinary passenger car and the possibility of properly ventilating the car. The most exhaustive tests were those made by the Brooklyn health office of an automatic ventilator designed by Prof. Ross Taylor. an Engishman by birth, who had given lifetime of study to the subject of ventilation and acous- tics in England and America
 DepIorable Lacl: of Statistics.
 The investigations Of the Board of Health showed, however, that there was a deplorable lack of statistics on this subject, and after much deliberation it was decided to ask Congress to refer the whole matter to the surgeo ngeneral of the marine hospital. While it was real ized that 1t could not be passed at this session of Congress, it was believed that its introduction would bring the matter more directly to the attention of the public and excite such favorable com ment as to insure its passage next ses- sion. Meanwhile 1t i5 intended that the Boards of Health shall procure such data as they can and continue their in- vestigations of local conditions independ- enly of the proposed investigation by the marine hospital service. When it is considered that the street railroads transported in 1900. 5.S36,6l5,296 passen- gers. the importance of the investiga- tion to all dwellers and to the general public health becomes apparent.
 EmpIoyero' Liability BiII.
 Senator Martin Of Virginia succeeded