UNDERGROUND BAKEHOUSES
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317 so that early mischief might be detected and ill results B’ obviated,-each of these, and for evident reasons, has been found to make for immense good. Again, legislation might induce some of our population to return to the land and regain their bucolic health and vigour in rural toil ; the con- ditions under which factory work is carried on are susceptible of immense improvement. And so on through a list of social reforms that might be prolonged indefinitely. No purpose can be served by attempting to answer a question of such a size as-What are the methods by which our national health can be improved ? It is, in the circumstances, enough to point out that year by year progress is made. Here and there the progress is quick, in many directions it is slow, and in some actual retrogression must be confessed ; but as a whole our national health has immensely improved, and any deduc- tions drawn from the records of the Inspector-General of Recruiting that would seem to show the reverse must be partial-that is, they must be based upon the considera- tion of material which is not a representative sample of our population. With regard to the possibility of any of the medical corporations being of particular assistance, we think that Sir FREDERICK MAURICE might well expect their countenance. The wastage among the would-be soldiers does not connote, as he would appear to think, the physical decay of the nation, but it is none the less a calamity, and one which any medical body ought to be proud to try to prevent. All that can be done by the medical corporations when they are approached is to express pious approval of Sir FREDERICK MAURICE’S energy. Undoubtedly their support might assist to get the question seriously debated in Parlia- ment, so that if any scheme were put forward for an ethnological survey of the kingdom it would receive medical backing. Such a survey would be a very expensive under- taking but it might throw light upon many sanitary problems and we should welcome its institution. Annotations. UNDERGROUND BAKEHOUSES. " Ne quid nimis." THE Wandsworth borough council has recently sent to the occupiers of underground bakehouses within the borough a statement of the requirements with which it will expect them to comply if they wish to obtain the certificate which will next year be necessary in order that they may carry on their trade. Under the Factory Act of 1895 a "place under ground" was forbidden to be used as a bakehouse unless it had been so used before the commencement of the Act. Under the Factory Act of 1901 an underground bakehouse is not to be used as such unless it was so used at the passing of the Act and even then it is not to be used after Jan. lst, 1904, unless certified by the district council to be suitable for its purpose. An under- ground bakehouse, moreover, is now defined as one any baking room of which is so situated that the surface of the floor is more than three feet below the surface of the footway of the adjoining street or of the ground adjoining or nearest to the room. On the refusal of the council to grant a certificate the occupier may apply for one within 21 days to a court of summary jurisdiction, but an important point seems to be left in some obscurity by the Act. There does not seem to be any power given to the council or to the magistrate to order structural alterations in a particular case or to make the certificate dependent upon such structural alterations being effected. If this is so the person applying will get a certificate or will be refused one according to the condition of his premises at the time of his application, and it is only fair that he should be warned of the standard with which the council will expect him to comply before going to expense in the matter. The require- ments promulgated by the Wandsworth council are well calculated to secure a high sanitary standard in the under- ground bakehouses within the borough or to bring about their abolition in accordance with the praiseworthy policy of modern legislation. They deal with the materials used for the walls, drainage, light, ventilation, and other points in a thorough and efficient manner, but they will of course involve the owners and occupiers of many premises in considerable expense if they are to be complied with. In the course of the next 12 months the sanitary standard for underground bakehouses may be expected to come under discussion before local authorities and in courts of summary jurisdiction, and the results will be watched with interest by those concerned with the preservation of the public health. THE PREVALENCE OF SMALL-POX. DR. J. F. J. SYKES, medical officer of health of St. Pancras, has issued his final report upon the small-pox epidemic of 1901-02 in St. Pancras and London. The report is dated Jan. 7th, 1903. It is a most interesting document and commences with some remarks on the prevalence of small- pox in previous years. After giving statistics Dr. Sykes asks "two leading questions "- I.-What was the reason for the decrease in the mortality from small- pox in London from 1886 to 1889 ? II.-What was the reason for the increase of the prevalence of small pox in London from 1900 to 1902? and answers them as follows :— I.-That the decrease in the mortality from small-pox in London subsequent to 1885 was due to the removal of the small-pox hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board out of London, and to the improved system of ambulance removal, assisted subsequently by the Infectious Diseases Notification Act of 1889 and the consequently increased vigilance and activity of sanitary authorities. II.-That the increased prevalence of small-pox in London from 1900 to 1902 was due to the gradually accumulating number of susceptible persons reaching such a proportion as to outweigh the advantage gained by the removal of the small-pox hospitals out of London. In St. Pancras the procedure adopted in combating the epidemic followed this course : (1) discovery, (2) diagnosis, (3) notification, (4) inquiry, (5) removal, (6) disinfection, (7) contact notices, (8) personal disinfection, (9) vaccination, and (10) quarantining. As to vaccination, says Dr. Sykes, information could not in many cases be ascertained, neither could information as to vaccination and revaccination after . the notification of small-pox be obtained from the late vaccination officers. This, continues Dr. Sykes, ’’ once more demonstrated the wrongfulness of dislocating the Lmeasures for the prevention of disease and again justifies the resolution of the vestries and district boards of the metropolis passed at the conference held in the . town hall, St. Pancras, on June 25th, 1896, that the t Vaccination Acts should be administered by the authorities ) that administer the Acts and provisions for the prevention of b the spread of infectious diseases." A further conference of metropolitan borough councils held at the Metropolitan - Asylums Board on Feb. 7th, 1902, resolved, among other things, that all persons in a dwelling-house in which small- f pox has broken out should be compulsorily vaccinated and e revaccinated (if they have not been revaccinated within five years) and that the powers and duties at present vested in o guardians of the poor with regard to vaccination and re- vaccination should be transferred to, and enforced by, t borough councils. Our own opinion upon the matter has e already been set forth with sufficient clearness in leading o articles which appeared in THE LANCET of Oct. 25th, 1902.
Transcript of UNDERGROUND BAKEHOUSES
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so that early mischief might be detected and ill results B’obviated,-each of these, and for evident reasons, has been found to make for immense good. Again, legislation mightinduce some of our population to return to the land and
regain their bucolic health and vigour in rural toil ; the con-ditions under which factory work is carried on are susceptibleof immense improvement. And so on through a list of socialreforms that might be prolonged indefinitely. No purpose canbe served by attempting to answer a question of such a sizeas-What are the methods by which our national health canbe improved ? It is, in the circumstances, enough to pointout that year by year progress is made. Here and there
the progress is quick, in many directions it is slow, and insome actual retrogression must be confessed ; but as a wholeour national health has immensely improved, and any deduc-tions drawn from the records of the Inspector-Generalof Recruiting that would seem to show the reverse must
be partial-that is, they must be based upon the considera-tion of material which is not a representative sample of our
population. With regard to the possibility of any of themedical corporations being of particular assistance, we thinkthat Sir FREDERICK MAURICE might well expect their
countenance. The wastage among the would-be soldiers
does not connote, as he would appear to think, the physicaldecay of the nation, but it is none the less a calamity,and one which any medical body ought to be proud to tryto prevent. All that can be done by the medical corporationswhen they are approached is to express pious approval of SirFREDERICK MAURICE’S energy. Undoubtedly their supportmight assist to get the question seriously debated in Parlia-ment, so that if any scheme were put forward for an
ethnological survey of the kingdom it would receive medical
backing. Such a survey would be a very expensive under-
taking but it might throw light upon many sanitaryproblems and we should welcome its institution.
Annotations.
UNDERGROUND BAKEHOUSES.
" Ne quid nimis."
THE Wandsworth borough council has recently sent to theoccupiers of underground bakehouses within the borough astatement of the requirements with which it will expectthem to comply if they wish to obtain the certificate whichwill next year be necessary in order that they may carry ontheir trade. Under the Factory Act of 1895 a "placeunder ground" was forbidden to be used as a bakehouseunless it had been so used before the commencement ofthe Act. Under the Factory Act of 1901 an undergroundbakehouse is not to be used as such unless it was so
used at the passing of the Act and even then it is notto be used after Jan. lst, 1904, unless certified by thedistrict council to be suitable for its purpose. An under-
ground bakehouse, moreover, is now defined as one anybaking room of which is so situated that the surface ofthe floor is more than three feet below the surface of the
footway of the adjoining street or of the ground adjoiningor nearest to the room. On the refusal of the council to
grant a certificate the occupier may apply for one within21 days to a court of summary jurisdiction, but an importantpoint seems to be left in some obscurity by the Act. Theredoes not seem to be any power given to the council or to
the magistrate to order structural alterations in a particularcase or to make the certificate dependent upon suchstructural alterations being effected. If this is so the
person applying will get a certificate or will be refused oneaccording to the condition of his premises at the time of hisapplication, and it is only fair that he should be warned ofthe standard with which the council will expect him tocomply before going to expense in the matter. The require-ments promulgated by the Wandsworth council are wellcalculated to secure a high sanitary standard in the under-ground bakehouses within the borough or to bring abouttheir abolition in accordance with the praiseworthy policy ofmodern legislation. They deal with the materials used forthe walls, drainage, light, ventilation, and other points in athorough and efficient manner, but they will of course involvethe owners and occupiers of many premises in considerableexpense if they are to be complied with. In the course ofthe next 12 months the sanitary standard for undergroundbakehouses may be expected to come under discussion beforelocal authorities and in courts of summary jurisdiction, andthe results will be watched with interest by those concernedwith the preservation of the public health.
THE PREVALENCE OF SMALL-POX.
DR. J. F. J. SYKES, medical officer of health of St. Pancras,has issued his final report upon the small-pox epidemic of1901-02 in St. Pancras and London. The report is datedJan. 7th, 1903. It is a most interesting document andcommences with some remarks on the prevalence of small-pox in previous years. After giving statistics Dr. Sykes asks"two leading questions "-I.-What was the reason for the decrease in the mortality from small-
pox in London from 1886 to 1889 ?II.-What was the reason for the increase of the prevalence of small
pox in London from 1900 to 1902?
and answers them as follows :—
I.-That the decrease in the mortality from small-pox in Londonsubsequent to 1885 was due to the removal of the small-pox hospitals ofthe Metropolitan Asylums Board out of London, and to the improvedsystem of ambulance removal, assisted subsequently by the InfectiousDiseases Notification Act of 1889 and the consequently increasedvigilance and activity of sanitary authorities.II.-That the increased prevalence of small-pox in London from 1900
to 1902 was due to the gradually accumulating number of susceptiblepersons reaching such a proportion as to outweigh the advantage gainedby the removal of the small-pox hospitals out of London.
In St. Pancras the procedure adopted in combating theepidemic followed this course : (1) discovery, (2) diagnosis,(3) notification, (4) inquiry, (5) removal, (6) disinfection,(7) contact notices, (8) personal disinfection, (9) vaccination,and (10) quarantining. As to vaccination, says Dr. Sykes,information could not in many cases be ascertained, neithercould information as to vaccination and revaccination after
. the notification of small-pox be obtained from the late
vaccination officers. This, continues Dr. Sykes, ’’ once
more demonstrated the wrongfulness of dislocating the
Lmeasures for the prevention of disease and again justifies the resolution of the vestries and district boards of the metropolis passed at the conference held in the. town hall, St. Pancras, on June 25th, 1896, that the
t Vaccination Acts should be administered by the authorities) that administer the Acts and provisions for the prevention ofb the spread of infectious diseases." A further conference of
metropolitan borough councils held at the Metropolitan- Asylums Board on Feb. 7th, 1902, resolved, among otherthings, that all persons in a dwelling-house in which small-f pox has broken out should be compulsorily vaccinated ande revaccinated (if they have not been revaccinated within five years) and that the powers and duties at present vested ino guardians of the poor with regard to vaccination and re- vaccination should be transferred to, and enforced by,t borough councils. Our own opinion upon the matter hase already been set forth with sufficient clearness in leadingo articles which appeared in THE LANCET of Oct. 25th, 1902.
