a better view of the conditions to be met. There are several serious defects in the law and there is urgent need of remedial legislation. During the year approximately 23,754 violations of this act were reported, and there were pending 460 cases against registered and 216 cases against unregistered persons in which no action has been taken up to this time. The Supreme Court on June 12, 1916, handed down a decision in the case of United States v. Jin Fuey Moy, arising under section 8 of the act, in which it was held that the charge of unlawful possession of any of the proscribed drugs denounced in said section did not apply to persons not required to be registered under section 1, but only to those classes specified in that section.

This decision makes the enforcement of this law more difficult and handicaps the efforts of the department to suppress the traffic in drugs by irresponsible persons. It also emphasizes the urgent need of a thorough revision of this act if the object of Congress for the control of the drug evil in this country is to be accomplished.

Before the Supreme Court decision was rendered a large number of persons had been tried, convicted and sentenced to pay fines or serve terms of imprisonment, or both, for violation of section 8, because of unlawful possession of the proscribed drugs, and it became necessary to take immediate steps for their relief. Where sentences had been imposed the persons were released from prison, but there was no authority of law to refund fines paid. It will be necessary, therefore, for the Congress to make an appropriation for this purpose.

The situation resulting from this decision makes additional legislation imperative if the welfare of the country and of those afflicted by the drug evil is to be protected. Therefore it is again recommended that this act be amended or revised to provide—

First. A tax on the drugs with provision for original stamped packages, limiting the dealing in and dispensing of and from such packages to those registered under the law, and making the absence of the stamp from any package evidence of nonpayment of the tax and violation of the law, except packages put up upon prescriptions issued for medical purposes by registered practitioners.

Second. That the registration be limited under the act to persons lawfully engaged in selling, dispensing, administering, or prescribing the drugs.

Third. That the writing of prescriptions, keeping of records, and altering or forging of same be more fully covered by the statute, with adequate provision for punishment of offenses denounced.

Fourth. That all the general provisions of the internal-revenue statutes relating to seizures, forfeitures, etc., be made applicable to the drugs taxed and the persons upon whom special taxes are imposed.

I also recommend that the Congress appropriate the necessary amount of money for repayment of fines imposed by the courts upon persons convicted of unlawful possession under section 8, and urge that provision be made for the treatment by the Government, through some designated agency, of persons addicted to the use of drugs, where such treatment is necessary. To cut off suddenly the supply of drugs without curing the addict of his cravings or making any provision for the amelioration of his sufferings is not only inhumane but encourages evasions of the law.

PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE.

The Public Health Service has conducted its work with customary efficiency and benefit to the country. It is one of the most useful arms of the public service and is performing work of greater importance each year. In the field of rural sanitation alone there is opportunity for inestimable service to the rural communities of the United States. I desire to renew and respectfully to urge that the recommendations contained in my report for the year 1915 be adopted. I respectfully call attention of the Congress to the report of the Surgeon General and express my approval of the recommendations contained therein.

The poliomyelitis situation.

About June 17, 1916, a serious epidemic of infantile paralysis (acute anterior poliomyelitis) broke out in the cities of New York and Brooklyn. It was evident in the first days of July that this epidemic would gravely menace other parts of the country. By October 3 the number of cases had exceeded 9,000 and the deaths 2,300. Since that date the epidemic has practically subsided.

While in New York City on July 6 I called on Mayor Mitchel and offered the assistance and cooperation of the United States Public Health Service. This offer was promptly accepted and steps were taken immediately by the Public Health Service to make investigations of an epidemiologic and laboratory nature. In addition, the department took steps to aid local authorities in other places in necessary measures of protection through a notification system established in New York. The work was thus developed along two lines: (1) Organizing a system of notification to the health authorities of other States of the departure from New York of persons under 16 years of age. Thirty-six public health officers were assigned to this duty. A plan of cooperation was arranged with the transportation lines whereby passage was denied to children attempting to leave the city without the certificates issued by the Public Health Service. (2) Making epidemiological and laboratory studies of the possible transmission of the disease through carriers.

Work on both of these problems was begun at once. The need for additional funds for purposes of control was recognized, and on the recommendation of the Secretary appropriations of $135,000 were made by the Congress to enable the Public Health Service to employ the required officers and take such preventive measures as the situation demanded. A conference was held in Washington on August 17, attended by the health authorities of a large number of States and cities, at which the measures already taken by the Public Health Service were indorsed and a series of resolutions adopted outlining the respective fields of action of Federal, State, and local authorities in preventing interstate and intrastate spread of the disease.

On the subsidence of the epidemic the system of notification in force in New York City was discontinued in October, its purpose having been accomplished. During the time of its operation about 80,000 health certificates to traveling children were issued.

The New York epidemic furnished an opportunity to the United States Public Health Service to continue studies of infantile paralysis which had been begun previously. In order to utilize the large amount of available material, 15 officers and the necessary attendants were assigned to these studies.

On account of the gravity of the problems presented by this epidemic and the possibility of its recurrence next year, I have directed the Public Health Service to prosecute vigorously the scientific investigations already begun. Sufficient appropriations should be made for this vitally important work, which may have to be continued for a considerable period of time before definite results are obtained. Funds should also be made available to meet future epidemic emergencies. These needs have been taken into account in reasonable degree in the estimates submitted to the Congress. It is my opinion that the Federal Government should spare no effort or expense to discover the cause of this mysterious and deadly disease which has claimed so many victims and given rise to so many obscure scientific problems.

Government employees afflicted with tuberculosis.

In the first session of the Sixty-third Congress a bill was introduced at my suggestion providing for the admission to the United States Public Health Sanatorium for Tuberculosis at Fort Stanton, N. Mex., of a limited number of employees of the executive departments and independent bureaus of the Government in Washington who may contract tuberculosis while so employed. I take this opportunity of again urging that this legislation be enacted and that a reasonable appropriation be made for the transportation of such patients to Fort Stanton and for their care, maintenance, and treatment while in the sanatorium.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS.

May I respectfully say that as a result of my study of the publicbuilding question for the past three years and my experience gained in the administration of the laws relating to the designing, construction, and operation of public buildings through the Supervising Architect's Office, I am convinced that the methods pursued by the Congress for the past 15 years of providing Federal buildings through so-called omnibus public-building bills have resulted in the construction of many public buildings in small towns and localities. where they are not needed, and at a cost which is clearly unjustified by any actual requirements of the communities in which they are erected. The conclusion is irresistible that authorizations for public buildings in these small communities are too frequently dictated by local reasons and without regard to the best interests of the Government.

In the past two decades the Congress has authorized and appropriated approximately $180,000,000 for public buildings, and the major part of this great sum has been expended on costly structures in small localities where neither the Government business nor the convenience of the people justified their construction, and while the initial cost of these buildings represents a large waste of public funds, this is not the worst of it. The most serious aspect is this: The annual operation and maintenance of these buildings impose on the Treasury a permanent and constantly increasing burden.

There are now more than 1,000 Federal buildings to be operated and maintained, and this number is being increased at the rate of a new building every fourth day in the year. Meanwhile, the cities and larger towns have outgrown their Government buildings and nearly every populous center in the United States is to-day acutely in need of additional space to meet the demands of greatly increased and constantly increasing Government business. To such an extent has the Government business outgrown the old structures in the cities that the rentals for outside space now amount approximately to $3,000,000 annually. This capitalized at 3 per cent represents $100,000,000, and is doubtless the amount required to provide the facilities sorely needed for the prompt, efficient, and economical conduct of the public business in the great centers and large cities of the country.

Common sense and business judgment would seem to demand that structures for the transaction of Government business should be authorized only in localities where they are imperatively needed, and that buildings should not be erected where no public necessity can be shown. This result could be accomplished by divorcing the public-buildings question from all local or political considerations

and authorizing no public buildings until a thorough and intelligent investigation of each proposed building or project has been made by this department and a full report thereon has been submitted to the Congress. If such reports were followed by the introduction and passage of separate measures to cover each proposed building project, the abuses and evils of the omnibus-bill method would be eradicated.

Progress of the work.

So long as the practice continues of authorizing at one time the construction of public buildings in such numbers as to be vastly in excess of the capacity of the department to dispose of them promptly there will be dissatisfaction. If, however, the accumulation of projects resulting from this method of legislation is disposed of as rapidly as may be possible with the facilities provided therefor by the Congress, there can be no just ground for criticizing the department or the Supervising Architect's Office because of the delay which must necessarily ensue in handling the work.

Judged by the output of the Supervising Architect's Office during the period covered by this report, and comparing that output with the output in years when the technical force of that office was much larger than at present, it is apparent that exceptional progress has been made, both in getting buildings under contract and in securing the completion of buildings already under contract. These results have been accomplished by the Supervising Architect's Office in the face of adverse conditions beyond its control, and in spite of the failure of the Congress to provide a small additional force to balance its technical divisions to equalize its output.

During the period covered by this report satisfactory progress has been made in disposing of the accumulation of public-building work which resulted from the enactment of the 1913 omnibus public-building act, although at that time there remained a very large number of buildings to be constructed under previous authorizations.

The output of the Supervising Architect's Office during the past fiscal year was:

In other words, the output shows an average rate of a building placed under contract in less than every four calendar days and a building completed ready for occupancy in the same average period.