The public ledger., 1918-06-17

ed spots, places which have been ne
elected thus far because there was no
especial need for cleaning them up.
But Snosquitos and ship building can
not go together. So, in several dozen
localities of this sort active drainage
campaigns are being carried out by
communities working with the Ship
ping Board.
One of the most notable projects in
that line is the work at the big Hog
Island yard, building fabricated steel
ships, where $250,OOO is being spent In
permanent ditching which will rid
that locality of mosquitoes for all time
The state of Pennsylvania has con-
tributed $4,000, the city of Philadel-
phia $45,OO0, and manufacturing in
terests have also appropriated money,
recognizing that the new industry
justifies such expenditure.
This is one of the most encouraging
phases of Shipping Board health work
the instant response Of shipyard Of
fcials and communities when the
need for better sanitation is pointeI
out Again and again the Shipping
Boards experts have made surveys,
found bad conditions, and lukewarm
public opinion. With the skill of
trained health investigators they have
put their fingers on the unsanitary
conditions responsible for disease and
discomfort in a shipyard, made these
conditions plain through explanations,
and secured team work from the COM
munity in cleaning up. The fact that
we are at war has quickened public
opinion everywheref. There is no
need of telling people more than once,
nowadays, about anything which him
ders the war program. The very fact
that community has a shipyard gives
it special stake in the war game;
and local pride assures the carrying
out of everything necessary to play
the biggest and most direct way.
Good sanitation in shipyards more
over is good business. 1t means the
solution of the labor turnover prob
lem 1t costs money to hire and train
men. If your men quit work as fast
as you hire them because they cannot
labor in comfort or health, the cost
of hiring and training becomes pro-
hibitive. ncle Sam learned this on tho
Panama Canal job-that the most
abundant labor supply in the world
was inadquate If you tried to carry
on the digging of canal in locality
where men quit, or got sick, or died,
! faster than you could bring them in.
With the scarcity of labor that char
acterizes war times, it would be even
more foolish to try and build ships in
INSANITY surroundings
The work of the Shipping Boards
| Department of Health and Sanitation
covers much more than the cleaning
up workers is even more important.
When Shipping Board investigators
visit a locality, therefore, they look
into many different things The sani-
tary surveys includes an inquiry in
to water supply, sewage, garbage and
manure disposal, mosquitoes, fys, rats,
reaches, and other vermin, toilets,
washrooms and bathing facilities,
street cleaning and laudry. Every
shipyard is required to have medical
and hospital facilities, and these are
inspected, and information gathered
about disease, epidemtics and acci-
dents. The living quarters of ship
yard workers are investigated, and
recommendation made for their con-
venience and comfort in bunk houses,
homes, transportation to and from
work, and recreation. Lunchroom and
kitchen facilities are studied with a
view to seeing that men get nourish-
ing food, in clean surroundings, at
reasonable prices. This involves in
vestigation of milk, meat and ice sup
ply, food storage facilities, cooking
and washing equipment, and so
forth.
There was a shipyard on the Great
Lakes which had difficulty last fall in
keeping a work force of 1000 men.
Its labor turnover was very large. In
vestigation showed that the yard had
grown so fast that too little atteh-
tion had been paid to providing for
the comfort and convenience of ship
workers.
The lunchroom was inadequate, the
food poor, it was difficult for new
workers coming in to find good living
quarters and there was little in the
way of bathing facilities or recrea-
ton
Today this shipyard is fully man.
ned, and has little trouble in keeping
good workers. The expensive item
OF labor turnover has been reduced
until IT is practically negligible. The
company purchased an old passengey
steamship, brought II to the shlpyard
and converted II into a floating ho-
tel First class kitchen equipment