heavy assessments for local improvements is also a great detriment to the building up of the suburbs where they are yet to be made. Where the expense of opening a street or building a sewer is great, a portion of it should be borne by the city at large, because it is used for public purposes. On this principle it is that a portion of the cost of streets more than fifty feet wide is borne by the city. Why should not the city bear a portion of the expense of constructing streets and sewers done under the supervision of city officials? Streets in cities are of primary importance; and, under our building, tenement, factory and sanitary laws, the city cannot extend much further by the erection of new buildings except as the streets are made and improved to the extent of grading and sewering, before any building for a dwelling can be erected in the vast domain of the several boroughs. If new buildings are not erected, and the old ones not capable of being repaired, depopulation to a large extent must take place, and continue until our streets are constructed to meet the requirements of tenants and builders. The cellar population that existed in New York City in 1864, the extent of which appeared, in the report of the Citizens' Association relative to the sanitary condition of the city, to be fifteen thousand persons, were dispersed by mandatory legislation in 1865. The same report also contained statistics showing the total number of tenement houses without sewers to be four thousand; and the total population in unsewered houses in the city at that time was over one hundred thousand persons. Under the existing laws and regulations a tenement house cannot be built where the grade of the street is not established, where it cannot be supplied with water, and where there cannot be a sewer connection. There are miles of streets below Grand Street in New York City that have no sewer in some parts of them, and many miles of streets between Grand Street and Fourteenth Street that are similarly situated. Large factories and shops must now have sewer connections. In this way, the dwellers in cities have new conditions to confront. After the survey and mapping out of streets and establishing the grade, one of the first movements by the municipality in the suburbs should be the selection of schoolhouse sites. The location of shops, factories and dwellings will be greatly influenced and controlled by school accommodations. These sites can be selected when streets are laid out, and before they are regulated and graded, and can be built upon as soon as convenient-when the population requires it. Public school accommodations and facilities are as important an inducement in the selection of a family residence as is occupation of the members of a household. School facilities may be the cause of inducing not only the establishment of shops and factories, but of tenement houses and dwellings as well. The growth of business centres will do more to silence the popular but vain demand for free railroads and free ferries than it will to maintain them at public expense. The annoyance of travel can be avoided, as well as the time and expense to and from places of employment. The establishment of additional business centres will solve the rapid transit question and cheap fares in a more satisfactory and economical manner than by any other way. To reside near the place of employment, wherever it may be, is better than to have cheap fares and rapid travel for many miles. No fare is better than cheap fare, and all will appreciate it by choosing it when they get an opportunity. If any choose to travel, they can still be gratified; but to be compelled to do so is not so desirable for toilers as for pleasure-seekers, or for those that desire suburban dwelling places. To devote so much money to rapid transit and to bridges and tunnels, yet neglect streets in suburbs, is a clumsy and temporary way of dealing with these unnatural conditions which are now excrescences of cities-unnatural because it is a detriment to encourage anything that will tend so much to hinder and destroy life. health and progress, that by nature of man should be allowed to all -home life-not to spend time and expense in travel. Cities will continue to grow and expand. Provision should be made by the present generation to meet such conditions. The lesson and example of the plan of laying out of streets for New York City as adopted in 1813 should be sufficient to prevent a like error in the present suburbs. When the municipal authorities prescribe how and when certain matters shall be done, although for the benefit of a few, relating to future conditions, and do not materially change the existing state of things, there is less fear of harmful and unjust injury to property than when any attempts at betterments are contemplated or ordered to change existing conditions. The cellar population that existed so numerously in New York City forty years ago were dispersed by mandatory legislation in behalf of humanity. The tenement houses of that period have also improved. The class of houses that have since grown up in their stead have a scale of variations of improved conditions, from the lowest type up to the modern flat, without the privacy of a home. The physical, moral and intellectual progress of man demand that the family should be protected by home life. The importance of these questions will be readily understood when we reflect that they now affect the lives of millions of human beings among us; the disposition of these questions will affect the lives of untold millions of human beings yet to be born. (To be continued.) THE TOMB OF ESCULAPIUS. "Greece Medicale" (Syra), September ("Jour. Amer. Med. Association," December 7, 1901), Svoronos.-Twenty years ago the excavations at Epidaurus revealed a very beautiful temple with a subterranean labyrinth with no entrance. Archeologists were unable to determine the purpose of the building nor to whom it had been dedicated, if really a temple. The building was distinguished by a dome, but no reference could be found to it in any writings. Svoronos believes that he has solved the mystery and that the structure is the tomb of Esculapius. He has found a coin of Epidaurus with a representation of the temple surmounted by a statue of the goddess Hygeia. Similar subterranean labyrinths found in other temples and in Egypt were always tombs. When heroes were deified the priests kept their burial place a secret, and this probably occurred in the case of Esculapius, who was buried here and the ornate temple was erected to his honor after he had been made a god. These assumptions have been confirmed by Svor onos' recent discovery of a work by Rouphinos, who lived in the fifth century, at a time when Christianity was dispelling the old traditions in regard to mythology. He describes the temple of Esculapius at Epidaurus and mentions the dome and the statue of Hygeia. 1 i VACCINATION, ANTITOXIN AND TETANUS. OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE CAMDEN BOARD OF HEALTH CONCERNING TIENTS WHO HAD BEEN VACCINATED. We have thoroughly investigated the cases of tetanus occurring in Camden, and beg to present to the public the following facts and conclusions: 1. Samples of all the different makes of vaccine employed in Camden have been tested for tetanus germs by the State Bacteriologist of New Jersey, and have been found pure and entirely free from tetanus germs; hence, tetanus could not have been caused by the virus employed. (See report of Dr. Mitchell, Secretary of New Jersey State Board of Health.) 2. The history of each case of tetanus has been carefully collected from the attending physician, and in every instance vaccination was practiced in a correct and cleanly manner; the infection of tetanus resulting from neglect on the part of the patients to present themselves to the attending physicians, so that their vaccination could receive proper attention. 3. One case of tetanus has occurred from gunshot wound, during the same period, in a boy who had not been vaccinated, proving that the tetanus germs were in the atmosphere. 4. Indisputable evidence of the fact that the tetanus germs were not introduced at the time of vaccination is that acute tetanus occurs in from 5 to 9 days after the introduction of the germs, whereas in every case acute tetanus occurred in from three to four weeks after the vaccination. If the virus had been contaminated, tetanus would have ensued within 9 days after vaccination. Tetanus developed in every make of vaccine used. 5. Further proof of the purity of the virus exists in the reports of the physicians in Cooper Hospital, who tested on animals samples of all makes of vaccine employed in Camden. If the virus had been contaminated, the animals would have developed tetanus because of their extreme susceptibility to this disease. (See animal experiments.) 6. During the past five weeks there have been vaccinated in Philadelphia a very large number of people with the same virus as employed in Camden. In not one of these cases did tetanus occur. 7. The tetanus cases in Camden are to be explained upon atmospheric and telluric conditions which have prevailed in Camden during the past six weeks. There has been a long period of dry weather with high winds, so that tetanus germs, which have their normal habitat in the earth dust, dirt of stables, etc., have been constantly distributed in the atmosphere. It is noticeable in all the cases, after careful examination as to the cause, that the wound had been exposed by the scab being knocked off or removed, or else the arm had been injured and infection resulted; frequently children scratched the vaccinated area with their dirty fingers and nails and infected the wound. 8. That vaccination should be regarded as a surgical operation and should be performed in an aseptic or clean manner, and in every instance the physician should be consulted for advice if any unusual inflammation should develop. 9. It is the unanimous opinion of the Board of Health, as well as of their committee of experts, that, inasmuch as vaccination is harmless, it should be insisted upon by physicians as an absolutely necessary procedure for the prevention of smallpox. Tetanus, or any other infection, can never occur if the vaccination is properly protected from contact with the atmosphere or with soiled clothing, bandages, etc. HENRY H. DAVIS, M.D., President. S. G. BUSHEY, M. D. Committee Board of Health. STATE HOUSE, Trenton, N. J., Nov. 26, 1901, Dr. H. H. DAVIS, President Camden Board of Health: Laboratory examinations of vaccine forwarded by your Board of Health show that no tetanus bacteria were present. HENRY MITCHELL, M.D., Secretary New Jersey State Board of Health. THE COOPER HOSPITAL, Camden, N. J., Nov. 26, 1901. We report herewith the results of our experiments with the vaccine virus employed in Camden: The virus was purchased from fifteen different pharmacies in Camden, and represented those brands of vaccine with which the patients who died of tetanus were vaccinated. All of these samples of vaccine were purchased in the open market without any person's knowledge that they were to be tested for the presence of tetanus germs. |