The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-05-25
.DR. BOWLING WANTS'
 NO SERIOUS DELAY. TN PLUMBING WORK.
Cannot Agree to Modifica- tion of Plumbing Laws Which Might Jeopardize
 City's Health

Whatever action the city takes on the plubing situation, there should be no re- taxation in enforcing the sanitary regu-, health officer, who has made an em- phatic answer to the request of real es- tate men that the city be not too strict in enforcing the installation of sanitary dry closets
 There may be some grounds for the claims of the real estate men that the plumbers have an unfair advantage, but
 the health department cannot stop it's work to await the outcome of the hear ing" he said.
 A committee from the real estate men of the city asked that action in install ing sanitary closets be postponed until
 full investigations are made, it being suggested that charges for both material
 and workmanship are TOW excessive
 here. 'I find that in some instances sani-
 tary installations are being made now
 that were ordered five years ago." said Dr. Bowling. T recently was in sec
 tion where 29 families were using one
 toilet that was flushing one pint of water. There had been two, but one was not working. In another instance there were two closets for seven double houses and one single house, where 15 families lived. One of the closets had been out of order so long that the ne- groes who lived there had forgotten that it had ever been used.
 HEALTH DEPARTMENT 'sThe health department does not wish to place the expense of putting in all the necessary closets immediately, for there are many of them, but we want a reasonable number installed and a definite statement of when the others will be put in. In most of the cases
 where so many families use one closet, l it is a negro district Where they are crowded it is necessary to furnish them with enough closets. Many of them have
 offered to increase their rents so that the owners would draw fair interest on the investment, if the owners would install additional closets, but the closets have not been installed.
 Birmingham has the highest typhoid rate of any city in the United States. Summer is here, with it's dangers Of a spread of typhoid and other diseases. Many cases develop in such congested districts and spread all over the com munitv. I am going to insist that the 1 installing of sanitary closets, as well as all other sanitary works. be continued
 and actively pushed"
 | George G. Keleher of the Plumbing | Trade Journal, who was in Birmingham yesterday, stated that charges similar to those made Friday by local real es- | tate men had been made by real estate men in New York city and that it was found that the alleged combine did not exist among the plumbers, but that something of the kind existed among | the real estate men. . "The wages of journeymen plumbers l in New York now is, or soon will be | $10 a day." he said. T do not thing $s is excessive in Birmingham. There is fine spirit of cooperation between
 the master plumbers and the journeymer plumbers here that we do not have ir New York I believe that if the master plumbers were brought before the grand | Jury in Birmingham that 1t would bt found there is no case against them. ' l He said that he was not fully ac quainted with the situation here, but thought it was similar to that in New
 York.
 NO CHARGES MADE | Members of the Birmingham Real Els tate exchange who appeared before the
 city commission Friday afternoon, to discuss the plumbing situation did no charge that city sanitary inspectors re. i ceive or have received 'rake off iron plumbers, but they did charge that ( certain plumbers organization in tho city receives rake-off. according tf
 a statement made last night by John R Chichester, executive secretary of tht Birmingham Real Estate exchange.
 "It was said. that we made thes' charges against the sanitary inspectors.
 said MT. Chichester. We do not. Ant
 we are not trying to stop the campaign os the city health department.
 "The exchange expects to begin ar own-a-home campaign and a lbuildra home campaign next month. Unless l some action is taken in the plumbini 1 situation the campaign cannot meet witl success because of the high prices O plumbing supplies At present thu plumbing on s120o home. including three pieces, costs $400. or one third as mucf as the house. Closets that cost q four years ago now cost $15o If the req estate men are forced to install one tt
 every little house it will require millions
 of dollars"