Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-07-15
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WON ! D E&y

Government printing Office sanitation
is the subject of paper in recent
bulletin of the bureau of labor by Dr.
William ]. Manning. late medical off,
Ger Of the big printery. DR.. Manning
has taken front rank as medical au-
thority and some of his writings and
conclusions are being widely quoted In
this country and the old world
In the course of his recent paper he
says:
From a sanitary point of view the
collection, cleaning and dislnfection OF
the spittoons in the government print
ing office is a matter of considerable
Importance. This will be readily un-
derstood when it is remembered that
there are over $500 persons engaged
during the twenty-four hours. all work
ing in eight-hour shifts. and that no
fewer than 1.2O0 cuspidors must be
cleaned at the end of each shift"
The method recently installed under
Dr. Manning's direction effects this
without direct digital contact. 1t con-
sists in a central sterilizing chamber
situated in the basement of the printing
Office. with a cement floor. graded to-
ward the center and made up of two
tnclines and one shallow gutter, i. E.,
concavtty or semilunar groove, in the
cement floor under each of six movable
iron longitudinal racks extending
lengthwise of the room These racks
consist simply of one-inch angle-iron
strips q inch in thickness. arranged in
tiers thirteen inches apart. from which
hang suspended at intervals of nine
inches steel-wire spring clutches Sc
cured by a nut and bolt through the
eye of the clutch and bolted firmly to
the under side of the angle iron. All
edges, angles. corners and returns of
the floor are we'll rounded and each of
the four walls has twelve-inch SAM
tary base in order that all parts OF the
room may be Self-cleansing and drain
ing The walls of the sterilizing cham
Der are composed of white. glazed, Wit
rified brick.
The wire clutch is shaped somewhat like
an inverted letter L. and grasps the
cuspidor around the CONSTRUCTED portion or
neck when the latter is pressed against
the orifice or bell-shaped opening at the
bottom of the spring. This spring permits
both expansion and contraction around the
neck of the cuspidor. and has suff1cient
grasp to hold the cuspidor firmly In place
while il is subjected to internal and eX-
ternal washing with a stream of hot water
from a hose. After thorough cleansing
the cuspdors are subjected to the action
of super-heated steam. by which all orina
Of vegetable and organic life are killed.
even tue most resistant spore-bearing dis
ease germs.
Inc cuspldors are collected In the work
rooms by q mechanical device or holder so
designed as to clutch and nest at one
time five of the soiled cusp;dors. one
above the other. and are carried directly,
by means OF the holder. to specially de-
signed wooden. zinc-lined box trucks with
detachable sides. Each truck is capable
of holding 175 cuspidors for TRANSMISSION
TO the steriliz-ng chamber AS hve solied
cuspidors are taken to the truck they are
repla ced by five sterilized cuspidors picked
up and distributed by the same mechan-
ISM all oil which is accomplished by the
operator by the use of one hand only.
After the trucks filled they are
transmitted from the respective floors TO
the basement on freight elevator and
wheeled directly into the sterilizins cham
Der.
Approximately about $500 barrels of
sawdust have been used each year for
spitboxes in the government printing Of
fice at a cost of about 800 per month.
While OF course. this item will be saved.
together with the cost of handling and
carting away the foul and polluted saw
dust the main object has been to reduce
to a minimum the danger OF infection
through tuberculous sputa among the en-
ployes
All the mechanical devices employed
were designed by DR.. Manning.
II is shown in a report of DR.. Manning
that there were treated in the emergency
room at the government printing office
from January 1. 1905. to February 30
1908, by Or. Manning ana MS assistant
55S surgical and 593 medical cases, total
of l,l51 cases receiving treatment. There
were 1855 employees in the building
Credentials have been presented and
delegates seated in the Central Labor
Union as follows:
Washington Press Feeders and Assist
ants Union. No. 42-Messrs. Ed Negosda
and Finnell, vice Messrs. Smith and
Maple.
7 ocal Union 23i International Union of
the United Brewery Workmen-W. H.