The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-09-03


 public office five and one-half years ago as commissioner of health and education, he was confronted with two difficult situations, both of which had received more or less at tention, but the solution of which had not been found. Chief among these problems was the presence of more than 5000 old-fashioned yard closets, which were the primary cause for Birmingham having the highest typhoid fever rate of any city in America.
 At that time repeated efforts had been made to get rid of these sources of disease, but failure reSuited due largely to the fact that much of the from Birmingham. v'ho could not be reached and forced 10 install; modern appliances, and to the difficulty of getting local owners :, .,a:iltdte their property when the forssn ou ners re- mained indifferent.
 Secured Law
 Commissioner Hornady. after sec ing the hopelessness of trying to rid the city of this. menace by following old methods, conveived the idea of having a law passed under which the city could go dpnn property of this character and p .t it in sanitary condition and then l,ness the cost against the owners, just as street i'm provements were assessed. (
 An act giving the municipality the authority to act when the owner failed to do so, was passed by the legislature. and thereupon an aggres- sive campaign was launched to rid the city of the menace of 5000 ot these obsoltete and da deerous closets It was monumental undertaking but the work was started and then for the first time. Birmingham began to see light on the typhoid situation
 Since this work was inaugurated there has been no typhoid epidemic in Birmingham. Rather, there has been rapid decrease, the reduction amounting to about 80 per cent, and the time seems to be approaching when this city will be free from a disease that once was a veritable scourage.
 When remember what this work has meant in the saving of human life and in the prevention of human suffering. I feel that we of the health department have achieved something that is big and constructive, and that the grinding labor involved was well worth while" said Mir. Hornady yes terday.
 While MT. Hornady considers the work done in the reduction of typhoid fever and similar diseases. the most notable triumph that has marked his tenure of office. he also points with satisfaction to the results obtained in many other directions. When he en- tered office the city had a poorly equipped laboratory. Now, through the fine spirit of cooperation exist ing between the city and the county, the laboratory has become one of the finest and most complete in the south and it Is doing really wonderful work. It serves physicians over all the county furnishing thousands of reports to them upon specimens which them to know without delay the ma ture of the disease they must combat,
 Laboratory Established
 Until the laboratory was brought to this high state of efficiency, it was necessary for all persons who took the Pasteur treatment to go to Mont gomery to the state laboratory. there to spend at least three weeks here. Since the scope of the laboratory was enlarged, this treatment is given in the city hall. and costs the patient nothing. This has meant saving of many thousands of dollars to people of this community. Free vaccination Is also given. and thousands of per- sons are treated every year.
 A department of child hygiene also was established, as was department charged especially with the duty of handling communicable diseases These departments are doing a work of very great importance to the com munity.
 School Activities
 The second problem attacked b, Commissioner Hornady was that oi inadequate school facilities. and in- adequate funds for operating the edu- cational department. The solution o1 this problem was fraught with i'm mense difficulty. it being necessary tc amend the state constitution twice and to hold repeated elections; this ir addition to carrying on a prolonged fight through the courts upon certain legal issues. It took several years and a world ofenergy to fight thesi issues to a successful conclusion. but the end finally was reached As g result, Birmingham has under wa, now what is by far the greatest school building programme the cit, has ever known. A million dollar. worth of new buildings are In courst of erection at this time. and plans fol structures to cost another million ars being worked out by various achi. tects. As rapidly as they are gotter under way. others will be started until total of $S,0oo.0oo will. have been spent. Every dollar of this i'm. mense sum was voted in campaign directed by Commissioner Hornady While waging fight for additiona school facilities, MT. Hornady alst recognized the imperative necessity oi icreased funds. and he put on severa campaigns looking to this end. As { result the school revenues today ara approximately $1,400.000 year whereas they were less than e550.00o when he Initiated the movement fol an increase. Meanwhile there hal been m enormous gfowth in schoU