The President:-I will now call for the report of the committee on compulsory legislation.

Mr. W. M. Mackay read the following report:

The committee on compulsory legislation has been unable to meet as a whole since the last annual meeting. I met Mr. B. Harold Carpenter, the secretary of the committee, at the meeting in Philadelphia, last June, and went over the subject with him, and finding that it would be impossible to have a meeting of the full committee, we arranged to conduct the business so far as possible by correspondence, getting the views of the different members of the committee, and others versed on the subject, for the purpose of forming a report.

This correspondence is in the hands of the secretary, and as we felt that we could hardly form a report from it without at least a quorum of the committee, I would suggest that these letters be read at this time as a continuation of this report, and that we receive further instructions from the society, and that in the event of any of the members of the committee being unable to act, that their places be filled at this meeting to facilitate further action on this important subject. I have felt and would suggest that the word heating be added to this clause, feeling that it would help us in many cases in securing legislative action.

The President:-Gentlemen, you have heard the report, with the suggestion that the letters be read. What is your action on this report? It will probably give us more complete information as to what the committee has done if we have the correspondence read. It would be necessary to have a motion to that effect.

On motion it was agreed that the correspondence referred to in the report be read to the meeting. Mr. B. H. Carpenter then read the correspondence, which consisted of letters from Mr. W. M. Mackay, Mr. L. H. Prentice, Mr. S. A. Jellett, Mr. William J. Baldwin, Rufus R. Wade, Chief of Massachusetts District Police, and James A. Harding. Extracts from the letters of Messrs. Baldwin, Jellett, and Wade, which were of the most interest, are presented in the order named, as follows:

William J. Baldwin:-"I have your letter in relation to compulsory legislation on public buildings. I take it for granted that it relates very largely to the ventilation of schools, courthouses, etc. It is a very broad subject, and one that, should I be requested to say anything at all about, I would desire to give considerable preparation to. Of course, the Massachusetts law you will obtain, and the laws of other states bearing on the subject. For schools I would suggest that you should not ask much more air per hour than the

Massachusetts law requires, 1,800 cubic feet per hour per capita. I think 2,000 cubic feet is a very liberal allowance in schools. In the sitting of courthouses it is a difficult thing to fix a per capita, as the rooms are large and the sitting not very great compared with the space inside the railing where the lawyers and lawyers' witnesses, jury, and judge sit. In this case, I would suggest a unit of floor space, a square yard of something else, and insist on, say, 1,000 cubic feet per unit of floor space per hour. Of course, sometimes the rooms are crowded, while at other times there are only a few persons outside those necessary to hold court. I simply offer it as a suggestion in the treatment of courthouses.

"In the matter of jails or state prisons, you will have to consider so much for floor of cell, say, not less than 1,000 nor over 2,000 cubic feet, but with the provision that when prisons are crowded, and prisoners doubled in cells, that the officials will either have to provide a double quantity of air or not 'double up.' In hospitals and poor houses, I think it would be proper to take what is generally accepted as a minimum for hospitals-3,000 cubic feet per bed per hour. I would put no restrictions on the method of admitting the air. I would, however, try to bar all furnaces in which there is but a single partition between the fire and the air space. I would not bar a hot water furnace or a steam furnace, but I would any furnace through the walls of which gases can pass. On this subject you will meet with a great deal of opposition, as the furnace interest is so large, and it is perhaps well to touch on it lightly and not to insist on anything specific for the present, as it might be the means of killing the whole legislative action."

Stewart A. Jellett:-"First, we must clearly define, 'What is a public building?' I take it that it includes all legislative assembly buildings; all municipal and courthouse buildings; all public school buildings, insane asylums, minors, and other hospitals, state reformatories, houses of refuge, prisons, etc., supported wholly by the state. But does it include institutions of learning, hospitals, asylums, state normal schools, and other institutions supported in part only by the state, and in whose management the state is not represented, except in so far as the state board of charities and the state board of health would have a general oversight over them. The 'yes' or 'no' to this question will affect a great many buildings that need ventilation as much as those included in the first list. And further, should not theaters, opera houses, and public assembly halls come under the same head? These latter must conform to the law regarding fire escapes, exits, fire protection, etc., also the drainage from plumbing systems, and the safe construction under

the building law. Why, if necessary to protect the public from bad gases in defective drainage, is it not also necessary to protect them from dangerously vitiated air? I believe that the time is coming when this latter will be of equal importance with the other.

"Having determined the class of buildings we should ask for compulsory ventilation in, the next step to determine will be the amount of air per occupant per hour that the law should require as a minimum. To this we should add a requirement that the incoming air should be warmed during cold weather to a degree sufficient to prevent the body of the air in the rooms occupied from being cooled below the temperature of, say, 68 degrees F. The manner in which this is to be done will, of course, vary with each different method of warming the building.

"The third step will be to appoint the controlling body, who shall determine and approve all plans for work in these buildings. I would suggest that there be a state board of engineers of, say, three competent men, one of whom could be a qualified heating and ventilating engineer of known reputation and ability, the second, a qualified chemist, and the third, an architect or consulting engineer. "The law passed should be mandatory, requiring plans for all future buildings of the character decided on to be first submitted to them for approval as to the sufficiency and method of ventilation. When they have passed the plans a certificate should be issued by them, stating this fact, and a copy of the plans and specifications filed among their records for future reference. These engineers should be paid a salary by the state commensurate with their ability. There should then be a body of men under their direction (whom I should call inspectors), whose business it will be to see that the plans and specifications are carried out and the results obtained, as demonstrated by tests. Copies of these tests and general report to be filed with the original plans and specifications.

"I would arrange that these plans and specifications can be examined, under proper direction, by the general public. The number and salary of these inspectors can be determined by the number of buildings in any state requiring their attention. They should be required to pass an examination before the board of engineers.

"The law should not only apply to new buildings to be erected, but should also extend to all buildings already in use, requiring them to be changed to meet the conditions within a given time, say, five years from the passage of the law.

"Your committee will also have to consider carefully the politics of the case. There is great jealousy between state and city officials.

The officers of our larger cities resent the interference (as they call it) of state officials into city affairs. It might be well to have a separate board in cities of, say, 200,000 inhabitants and over. It will make places possibly they think, or at least give them a standing of their own-a sort of home rule spirit.

"In Pennsylvania, you no doubt know, we have a state board of charities and a state board of health. Other states probably have different arrangements. It looks to me as though it would be better to have a separate board of engineers, rather than to work through existing authorities, although, doubtless, to do so will incur their opposition.

"Lastly, in framing a law, it will be of the greatest importance to have the aid of a good legislative lawyer in drawing it up, and also the assistance of a prominent member of the legislature to introduce it, one with tact enough not to antagonize the existing powers that be, and one who is familiar with the game of politics as it is played in our state legislatures. Don't ask too much. We may get nothing, but be prepared to back strongly what we do ask for.”

Rufus R. Wade:-"In answer to your request that I give you my ideas on the matter of compulsory legislation relating to ventilation of buildings, I would say that the present legislation on the subject in this state is the result of the broadening of sanitary laws which were applied to factories and workshops. I am of the opinion that legislation of this character, to be effective, must embrace factories, workshops, schools, and public buildings. To accomplish what has been done in this state, and to secure the results obtained, has required untiring effort and has been a laborious and oftentimes discouraging task. To educate the public concerning the correct principles of ventilation it has been necessary to stem the tide of indifference and arouse the sense of responsibility.

"It is a curious fact that these elementary laws of public health are not accepted without resistance. The inertia of popular indifference is an obstacle whose power it would not be easy to over-estimate. What has been done in this state can be done in others. The laws under which we act, and which are accepted by the public generally and are cheerfully complied with, will be found in the pamphlet herewith enclosed. I am gratified to learn that your association is about to commence a crusade in the interest of securing perfect sanitary conditions in your public school houses and other public buildings. But success demands ceaseless vigilance and the most persistent presentation of the facts gathered by daily observation. As you truthfully write, it is a broad subject and will require much. time and labor. This department has established the rule that 30

cubic feet of fresh air per minute shall be furnished each scholar during the school session. When plans are submitted to us showing methods of heating and ventilation, we require guarantees that results shall come fully up to the standard. In public buildings 15 cubic feet per minute, and this amount is the minimum. Our law is now working well and I shall not ask for further legislation on the subject."

Mr. Carpenter stated that accompanying the letter from chief of Massachusetts District Police Wade of Boston, was a small pamphlet, which probably many of the members had seen, in which several clauses were marked, and he asked the chair whether it would be well to read these.

The President:-I think you might read the clauses referred to. Mr. Carpenter:-(Reading.)

Section 33. Every factory in which five or more persons are employed, and every factory, workshop, mercantile, or other establishment or office in which two or more children, young persons, or women are employed, shall be kept in a cleanly state and free from effluvia arising from any drain, privy, or other nuisance, and shall be provided, within reasonable access, with a sufficient number of water closets, earth closets, or privies for the reasonable use of the persons employed therein; and wherever two or more male persons and two or more female persons are employed as aforesaid together, a sufficient number of separate and distinct water closets, earth closets, or privies, shall be provided for the use of each sex, and plainly so designated; and no person shall be allowed to use any such closet or privy assigned to persons of the other sex.

Sec. 37. Every factory in which five or more persons are employed, and every workshop in which five or more children, young persons, or women are employed, shall, while work is carried on therein, be so ventilated that the air shall not become so exhausted or impure as to be injurious to the health of the persons employed therein, and shall also be so ventilated as to render harmless, so far as is practicable, all gases, vapors, dust, or other impurities generated in the course of the manufacturing process or handicraft carried on therein, which may be injurious to health.

Sec. 38. If in a workshop or factory included in Section 37 of this act any process is carried on by which dust is generated and inhaled to an injurious extent by the persons employed therein, and it appears to an inspector of factories that such inhalation could be to a great extent prevented by the use of a fan or by other mechanical means, and that the same can be provided without incurring unreasonable expense, such inspector may direct a fan or other