Some unsolved problems of a university town

Front matter

SOME UNSOLVED PROBLEMS OF A UNIVERSITY TOWN by//

ARTHUR EvAnSt, WOOD

A THESIS

Index To Tables And Maps

Table Page

I Characterization of Dwellings Investigated, with Number of Family or Non-Family Groups Accommodated, 8

II Distribution of Families by Race, Number of Lodgers, and Average Number of Lodgers per Family, 9

III Number of Households Keeping Lodgers, Number of

Lodgers, and Average Number of Lodgers for Each Household by Racial Groups, 9

IV Number of Dwellings, Occupants, and Average Num-

ber of Occupants per Dwelling by Racial Groups, .10

V Number of Rooms, Average Number of Persons per Room, Number of Sleeping Rooms, Average Number Persons per Sleeping Room by Racial Groups, 10

VI 41 Instances of Congestion, Showing Numbers in Families, Lodgers, Rooms, and Sleeping Rooms by Racial Groups, 11-12

VII Summary of 41 Cases of Greatest Congestion, 12

VIII Mortality Rates for Infants Under 1 Year and for Children Under 5 Years, for Princeton, 1910- 1916, 31

IX Causes of Death of 32 Infants and Children Under 5 Years of Age in Princeton, 1916, Showing Race of Child, and Date of Death, 33

X Births, and Deaths Under 1 Year of Age, for Whitesj

Negroes, and Italians, for Princeton, 1916, 34

XI Ratio of Child (Under 5 Years, but Not Under 1 Year) to Infant Deaths (Under 1 Year) 1910- 1916, 35

XII Child and Infant Deaths in Princeton, 1916, According to Months in Which They Occurred, 35

XIII Deaths of Children Under 5 Years of Age, and Death Rates per 1000 of Child Population of that Age, in 9 New Jersey Cities of Population Between Five and Nine Thousand, 1914. Also, general Death Rate, 36

XIV Deaths from Tuberculosis, and Death Rates, in Princeton, 1910 to 1916 (inclusive). Also, N. J. Mortality Rates from Tuberculosis, 1910- 1914, 38

XV Per Cent of Total Deaths which Mortality from Tu-

berculosiis Constitutes, for the Borough of Princeton, and for the State of New Jersey, 1910-1915. Also, for Princeton in 1916, 39

XVI Age Distribution of 90 Cases of Tuberculosis Reported to the Princeton Board of Health from January 1, 1912, to December 31, 1916, 40

XVII Tuberculosis in Princeton and 10 other New Jersey Cities of Five to Ten Thousand Inhabitants, November 1, 1911, to December 31, 1916. Also, Per cent of Foreign Bom and of Negroes in these Cities in 1915, 40

XVIII Typhoid Fever Cases and Average Number per 10,000 Mean Population, 1910 to 1915, for Certain New Jersey Cities, 43

XIX Typhoid Fever Cases in Princeton, 1902 to 1916, 45

XX Number of Cases and Deaths from Certain Diseases xp. 11 New Jersey Cities, from November 1, 1911, to December 31, 1916, 49

XXI Statement of Total Revenues and Sources Thereof, ' also, of Per Capita Appropriations..

Princeton Board of Health, for a Series of Years, ... 52

XXII Resources and Disbursements, Public Poor Relief,

XXIII Amounts and Purposes of Disbursements from Bo-

rough Funds for Poor Relief 1908 to 1917, 59

XXIV Appropriations from Private Sources for Poor Re-

lief and General Social Service, 1915-1916, 63

XXV Showing Causes of 41 Investigations in 40 Families by N. J. Children's Home Society, Disposition of Cases; also. Race of Family, 68

MAPS.

I Section Covered by Study of Housing Conditions, 77

II Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Showing Approximate Location of Residences from which Were Reported to the Local Board of Health 90 Cases of Tuberculosis, from January 1, 1912, to December 31, 1916, 78

Preface

The following .study of certain community problems in Princeton, New Jersey was begun in the spring of 1916 at the request of a committee of the Town Club, a social welfare organization of that community. A preliminary investigation was first made which was continued a year latter with a more detailed study of conditions with special reference to problems of Housing, Public Health and Dependency. Data relating to these topics are contained in the following pages.

Much information was collected bearing upon other topics than the ones presented in this volume, especially upon Recreation, Occupations, Schools, Government, the Foreign Born, and Negroes. Data relating to these subjects are .to be found scattered through the pages of this study, though not under special heading. It was considered that th-3 material concerning Housing, Public Health, and Dependency was the most important from the point of view of community welfare; hence, attention is directed mainly to these subjects.

Many unavoidable delays have occurred in the publication of the study, so that it might seem not entirely to reflect present conditions. The writer has reason to believe, however, that the housing situation remains about as it was three years ago, and that such thoroughgoing measures of public health, as are suggested in this study, have not been undertaken. If such be the case, there is herein suggested much food for throught on the part of those who have tlie community welfare at heart.

Difficulty was encountered in compiling the vital statistics to be found in Part II. This was due in part to variances to be found between the records of the State and Local Boards of Health. It was also due to frequent lack of agreement between the population estimates of the Federal and -State Census, and of the State Board of Health. These differences are indicated in the text, and where communities are compared the same source is taken for estimates of population. Where data for morbidity and mortality are presented their value depends upon the accuracy of reporting cases of disease and death.

The utility of such a community study depends upon follow-up work. There is a great deal of public spirit and generosity in Princeton, and this study is put forth with the (hope that it may assist and encourage those who are working for the improvement of their community.

Chapter I An Earlier Survey

Inasmuch as an extensive report was made upon the housing conditions among the negro employees of Princeton University several years ago, it will not be out of place to preface the investigation made more recently by the writer with an account of the earlier survey. This report on conditions among university employees was in three parts: One section was by Mr. Bowen, Sanitary Inspector of the State of New Jersey; another was by Mr. Andrew C. Imbrie, Financial Secretary of Princeton University; and a third section wa3 by Lucy F. Friday, Sanitary Inspector of the University. The region covered by the earlier report was identical with that covered by the writer in the spring of 1917; viz., the area that lies within the limits of Witherspoon St. on the East, John St. on the West, Nassau St. on the South, and Leigh Avenue on the North.

Mr. Bowen's report covered 32 1 family dwellings, 17 2 family dwellings, and 5 tenement houses. The following is a summary of the findings:

Cleanliness of Yard

Cleanliness of Rooms occupied by University Employees

Cleanliness of Dwellings outside of rooms occupied

by University Employees

Excellent .

4 premises 11 premises 15 premises 24 premises

6 rooms 19 rooms 42 rooms 19 rooms

3 premises 15 premises 21 premises 15 premises

Good

Bad

54 premises

86 rooms

54 premises

Explanation of the above terms is made in the following quotation from the report:

"The terms 'excellent,' 'good,' 'fair,' 'bad,' being general, are not expected to convey any general description, but are merely used for sake of comparison. The term 'excellent,' has been applied to rooms that were scrupulously clean, well lighted and ventilated, comfortably furnished, and supplied with facilities for proper bathing of the body. The term 'good' was used in cases where the rooms were reasonably clean, but showed no particular neatness, in which light was sufficient, ventilation not noticeably neglected, and in which bathing facilities were available. The term 'fair' was given to rooms not cleanly swept, too much and too wide a variety of floor coverings, bedding not invitingly clean, insufificient light and ventilation, because of numerous shades and curtains covering the windows. The rooms designated as 'bad' were unclean, walls covered with dirty paper or darkened with accumulated smoke, greese and dust, two or more shades or curtains obscuring the light from each window, soiled hangings covering door openings, bedding unclean, no facilities for bathing, rooms supplied with useless and unnecessary articles of furniture, serving no useful purpose in sleeping apartments, overcrowding, and air impregnated with objectionable odors, due to the lack of cleanliness, ventilation and light. It should be noted that in making the above classification a reasonably low rather than too high a standard was set."

In regard to overcrowding the report states:

" overcrowding was found to be frequent. In fact, the

result of the inspection shows that 145 persons were lodged in 86 rooms referred to in the tabulations.

Mr. Bowen's report further states:

"Upon the whole the inspection shows that the buildings in which a large majority of employees are housed are not constructed and supplied with facilities to encourage or promote cleanliness in those who occupy them, nor are the dwellings maintained in a manner to permit hygienic living on the part of one merely stopping

there as a lodger, there were a number of dwellings

situated in close proximity to stables and their filthy fly-breeding manure piles."

Accompanying this report of Mr. Bowen were , two additional reports, one by Mr. Imbrie, and the other by Miss Friday, as above stated. Each of these reports confirmed in a general way the findings of Mr. Bowen, and recommended that the University begin with a policy of building inexpensive but sanitary domiciles for the employees.

The above reports were typed and bound together, but the volume had only a very limited circulation. Since this investigation was made, the University has built a commodious and cleanly building for its Greek employees, who were brought in to take the places of the negroes, who are no longer employed.

Sewers have since been put through this section of the Borough, and toilets connected with them installed; but aside from this improvement conditions remain very much as they were when the Bowen investigation was made.

It may be noted that the emphasis of the Bowen report was perhaps somewhat different from that made in the following survey by the writer. In the former case, a little more attention is paid to personal habits of the occupants, and to the furnishings of the rooms; in the latter case, as one can see, the emphasis is more emphatically upon the condition of the houses themselves. Both sorts of emphasis are necessary.

Chapter II •The Situation in 1917

In the spring of 1917 another investigation of housing conditions was made by the writer in the same section of the Borough that Avas covered by the earlier inquiry already referred to; viz, the region bounded by Nassau St. on the south, Witherspoon St. on the east, John St. on the west, and the Borough limits on the north. This section is lived in by the greater part of the unskilled laboring population of the town, and though easy of access, is almost unknown to the casual visitor in Princeton. No street runs from this section to the west end of town where the best residences of Princeton are located. West of John St. high fences and hedges form effective barriers between the two sections. One must approach this area from Nassau St. on the south or from the east by means of Wiggins or Spring St. Attention is called to the isolation of this section as possibly having something to do with the fact that it has been so long neglected from the point of view of housing and sanitation. It also accounts for the surprise to Princetonians and others when the fact that Princeton has a housing problem is mentioned.

The section has the general appearance of shabbiness. The houses are with few exceptions old and run down. The streets are in bad repair, and some are without sidewalks. Ashes, rubbish, and sometimes garbage are scattered over the lots. "Clean-up Week" makes some impression on the side of betterment; but the defects of the region are too great and fundamental to be removed by spasmodic and temporary civic effort. What some of these defects are will be suggested in what is to follow. The first need is for .responsible people in the community to face the facts. Only so can they be seriously and constructively dealt with.

Characteristics of Dwellings and Evidence as to Congestion

The investigation under discussion covered 152 dwellings.^ An apartment that occupied part of a single house is classified as a dwelling. There are somewhat more than 300 separate dwelling houses in this section of Princeton; so, the present inquiry includes slightly less than half the total number of dwellings in the district. Of the 152 dwellings surveyed the houses are with two exceptions of wooden structure, and are for the most part two stories in height. It would be difficult to classify all of them according to definite housing types, as many of them on account of remodelling and makeshifts defy precise classification. The following is suggestive:

*Two dwellings were out side the general district, viz. &S Ewing, and 38 Humbert Sts.

TABLE I

CHARACTERIZATION OF DWELLINGS INVESTIGATED, WITH NUMBER OF FAMILY OR NON-FAMILY GROUPS ACCOMMODATED

Number and Kinds of Dwelling

No. of Family or Non-Family Groups Accommodated

10 Apartments

65 Single Houses (entire house occupied by family)

19 Double Houses (38 Dwellings)

8 Tenements (24 Dwellings)

12 Row Houses

4 Cabins or Shanties

65 38 24 12 4

By 'apartment' is meant a part of a single house, as rooms upstairs or down, accommodating a family group. The word 'tenement' covers double apartment houses of this type, as well as houses that have been remodelled or built on to for the accommodation of three or more families. Some question might be raised as to the classification of these double apartment houses as tenements, as the two families on each side had usually separate entrances; but the frequent use of toilets in common, the inadequacies of partitions, and the general lack of privacy for families would seem to justify the use of the word tenement to describe these places. Indeed, they give rise to some of the worse features of tenement life that have been forbidden in some of our large cities. In four instances, at least, the requirements of precision and of connotation demand the terms 'cabin' or 'shanty' as the only ones applicable to these human abodes.

In 12 instances the tenants of these dwellings were individuals who occupied them either with or without additional lodgers. In the remaining cases the occupants were family groups with or without additional lodgers.

A total number of 724 persons occupied the houses. Of these 12 were individual tenants, 628 were living as members of families, and 84 were lodgers.

TABLE II

DISTRIBUTION OF FAMILIES BY RACE, NUMBER OF LODGERS AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF LODGERS PER FAMILY

Race

No. families

Indiv. occupants or family members

Av'g per family

Lodgers

Avg. No. Lodgers per family

164 (inc. 1 indiv.

occupant) ....

5.82

1.035

362 (inc. 11 indiv.

occupants).. .

4.01

.611

4.76

.115

That the average Italian family took in more lodgers than the white or colored families was, perhaps, to be expected. It is quite possible that the number of lodgers was even larger among the Italians than is indicated, owing to the difficulties of conversing with Italian housewives who talk but little English, and to the further difficulty that sometimes the Italians conceal the real situation as to lodgers. The average number of lodgers for each household that kept lodgers for the dififerent groups is seen from the following table:

TABLE III

NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS KEEPING LODGERS, NUMBER OF LODGERS, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF LODGERS FOR EACH HOUSEHOLD BY RACIAL GROUPS

Race

No. households keeping lodgers

Number of lodgers

Average per household

29 '

2,416

1.733

In the above table the word "household" instead of family is used, as in five instances, one Italian and four colored persons, the responsible tenant or owner was a single individual who took in lodgers. It will be seen from Tables II and III that a larger proportion of the Italian households or families keep lodgers than is the case for the negroes or other white groups; and that the average number of lodgers per household is considerably larger for the Italians.

One Italian family of 7 persons had 4 lodgers; another of 5 had 3; one of 9 had 4; and one of 5 had 5 lodgers. Considering that the houses and rooms are small this means congestion. This congestion is further seen by the tables showing the number of persons per house, per room and per sleeping room.

TABLE IV

NUMBER OF DWELLINGS, OCCUPANTS AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF OCCUPANT^S PER DWELLING BY RACIAL GROUPS

Race

No. of dwellings occupied

No. Occupants

Avg. No. occupants per dwelling

6.65

4.20

4.70

6.65 persons were the average for the Italian dwellings, which was nearly two more than prevailed among whites, other than Italian, and more than two more than prevailed among the negroes. It is interesting to note that the number per dwelling was slightly greater among the whites than among the colored people, being 4.7 persons in the one case and 4.2 in the other. Table II, page 9, which shows the average size of families, reveals the fact that the colored families in the group studied were somewhat smaller than the white families, being 4.01 in the one case and 4.76 in the other. Italian families were, on the average, the largest, consisting of 5.82 persons. The largest single family, however, was that of a colored household which contained 12 persons in 5 rooms with 2 sleeping rooms. The next to the largest was an Italian family of 11 persons, living in 6 rooms with 2 sleeping rooms. The situation generally concerning room or sleeping congestion is seen in the following table:

TABLE V

NUMBER OF ROOMS, AVERAGE NUMBER PERSONS PER ROOM, NUMBER OF SLEEPING ROOMS, AVERAGE NUMBER PERSONS PER SLEEPING ROOM BY RACIAL GROUPS;

Race

No. rooms occupied

Avg. No. persons per room

No. sleeping rooms occupied

Avg. No. persons per sleeping room

138 ,

1.39

2.75 1

.86

1.70

.95

1.78

^The Italian sleeping room congestion is greater than that found among the immigrants of our large cities by the Immigration Commission. It found the average sleeping room congestion among immigrants of 7 large cities to be 2.S2 persons per sleeping room. (See Jenks and Lauck, The Immigration Problem p. 461.)

It will be seen from the above table that, as in case of the averages for dwellings, the average for rooms and for sleeping rooms was highest among the Italians, being for this group 1.39 and 2.75 respectively; and that the average for the whites exceeds those for the negroes. The whites had .95 persons per room as compared with .86 persons for the negroes; and for sleeping rooms the whites had an

average of 1.78 persons, while the average for the negroes was 1.70.

Among all groups the total average of persons per dwelling was 4.75; per room, .90; and per sleeping room, 1.91.

The concept of congestion is a variable one, depending upon the size of the houses and of the rooms, upon the physical and sanitary condition of the premises, and upon the standards of living of the groups involved. Considering these factors with reference to the groups of people and houses under consideration, it is safe to say that, generally speaking, undesirable congestion prevails among them. The averages of persons of each group per room and per sleeping room as given in Table V gain in significance if we regard 41 cases where congestion was found to exist most severely. These instances are tabulated as follows:

TABLE VI

41 INSTANCES OF CONGESTION, SHOWING NUMBERS IN FAMILIES, LODGERS, ROOMS, AND SLEEPING ROOMS, BY RACIAL GROUPS ITALIANS

Instances

No. in family

Lodgers

No. rooms

No. sleeping rooms

Instances

No in

No. rooms

No. sleeping

Family

Lodgers

rooms oo ZZ

U oo 16

IT net

o o o oi

U

A q

n

Q O

These 41 cases of greatest congestion may be summarized according to the three groups as follows:

TABLE VII

SUMMARY OF 41 CASES OF GREATEST CONGESTION, SHOWING NUMBER IN FAMILIES, NUMBER LODGERS, NUMBER OF ROOMS, AVERAGE NUMBER OCCUPANTS PER ROOM, NUMBER OF SLEEPING ROOMS, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OCCUPANTS PER SLEEPING ROOMS, BY RACIAL GROUPS

Race

No. in families

No. lodgers

No. of rooms

Avg. No. per room

No. sleeping rooms

Avg. No. per sleeping roopi

1.76

3.35

1.54

3.09

Other White.

1.73

3.33

Total. . . .

1.66

3.17

In these cases that represent greatest congestion it will be seen that the averages per room and per sleeping room are more nearly equal for the three groups than was found to be the case where all families of all groups were included (Table V). The order for the three groups, however, is the same in the two tables, Italians showing the greatest amount of congestion, whites, other than Italians, the next greatest, and colored families the least. It might be objected, however, that the number of white families selected for comparison with others in Table VII was too small to be of value. It simply means that a smaller percent of white families showed extreme congestion than of Italian or colored families. 20 out of 28 Italian families showed great congestion; 18 out of 85 colored families; and 3 out of 26 white families.

The figure 1.66 as the average per room for all these 41 families is to be compared with the results of the survey made a few years ago by the University authorities of the houses of the University employees. In that survey it was found that 145 persons were lodged in 85 rooms, or an average of 1.68 per room. This average was declared by that survey to constitute bad overcrowding. If it was so then, it is so now, for it is a situation which, if let alone, does not improve by age.

Bath Rooms — Water Supply

Before passing to a detailed discussion of some of these premises a few general facts are submitted. 25 of the 152 dwellings had bathrooms and 24 had bathtubs. Of the houses that had bath rooms 6 were occupied by Italians, 14 by colored people and 5 by whites, other than Italians. It is significant that in 16 of the 25 cases where bath rooms existed, the families owned their own homes. These homes owned by the occupants were among the better ones of the district, and further mention will be made of them. Where there were no bath rooms toilet facilities were usually outside the houses; but, as the condition of these toilets constitute one of the most serious aspects of the housing problem in Princeton, they will be discussed apart from these general remarks.

The water supply of the 152 dwellings was furnished as follows:

Spigot in kitchen with sink 126 cases

Spigot in kitchen without sink 8 "

Cellar, no 'sink, 2 "

Pump in Yard 2 "

Well 4 "

"Downstairs"' 1 "

(In lower apartment)

"Elsewhere" 9 "

(From neighbors or spigot outside the house)

In few instances were there any provisions for heating water except on the stove. In many cases the sinks were very small and inadequate. In cases where sinks did not exist with the inside spigots the water frequently dripped, keeping the floors constantly wet. Pumps or wells in the yards cannot with precision be called "conveniences," and the Princeton typhoid fever rates, as the section on Health of this study will show, cannot bear with safety needless aggravation. The term "elsewhere" means that these families get their water from the neighbors or from spigots outside the houses. In one case a family's well went dry in May, and thereafter they lived on what they could get from their neighbors' metered water services. In another case a man walked 200 yards to a well behind a neighbor's house for the water supply for his family. In this case the plumbing of his house had been out of order ever since he moved into it. In another case a spigot sticking up out of the ground outside was the only supply for 4 dwellings. The importance to a laboring population especially of a cheap, plentiful and convenient water supply cannot be overestimated. But in Princeton, as we have seen, in many cases this supply is not convenient; and it is neither cheap nor plentiful, for according to the New Jersey Public Service Commission Reports Princeton has one of the highest water rates in the state of New Jersey. This is especially a burden upon the colored families where the women take in washing to aid the family income. Complaints that the water rates added materially to the cost of living were frequently made by the housewives.

Dampness and Its Relation to Health

In 45 instances the roofs leaked; in many cases badly. In 31 cases there was water in the cellars. 29 houses had no cellars. Cement cellars were found in 21 cases; elsewhere cellars had dirt floors. Cold, damp, poorly protected houses are all too frequent in this section of Princeton, and they undoubtedly have something to do with the fact that Princeton has had one of the highest death rates from tuberculosis of any city over 5000 in the State of New Jersey. The situation as to tuberculosis in Princeton will be extensively commented upon in the section of this study upon Health; but it may here be stated with efifect that in the report of the New Jersey State Board of Health for 1911, giving deaths for 1910 from tuberculosis per 10,000 of population in 47 cities of over 5000 inhabitants, Princeton, one of the smallest of these cities, has by far the highest tuberculosis death rate of them all with 31.15 per 10,000 of population. The next lower rate than Princeton for 1910 was that of West Orange with 22.61 per 10,000. Jersey City had a rate of 16.54; Trenton 19.32; New Brunswick 17.10; Camden 11.95.

There is evidence for believing that the situation with regard to tuberculosis in Princeton has not materially improved since 1910. Of course, there are other factors leading to tuberculosis besides bad housing; but it would be folly to deny that this is one of the factors, and Anti-Tuberculosis League of the Borough would do well to concentrate for a period of years upon the housing problem. From 1912 to April 1917 there reported to the Borough Board of Health 18 cases of Tuberculosis just from these 152 dwellings under discussion. Three of these 18 cases were reported from one house, 315^1 Lytle St.

Again, in the year 1916, 32 of the 78 deaths recorded on the records of the Borough Board of Health were of children under 5 years of age. 20 of them were of infants under one year. Of these 32 child and infant deaths 8 were from Pneumonia or Broncho-Pneumonia, 3 from Bronchitis, 1 was from Tuberculosis, and 1 was from Inflammatory Rheumatism. 5 of these deaths from the foregoing diseases were of Italian children, 4 of white, and 4 of negro children. Unquestionably, the housing conditions have something, at least, to do with this situation.

Toilet Facilities

It has been stated that the condition of the toilets in the district constitutes a menace to good housing and sanitation. This statement may now be explained. Following the investigation by the University authorities, to which reference has been made a large number of privy vaults were done away with; and toilets were installed connected with the sewers. The Revised Sanitary Code for 1916 declares to be a nuisance "any privy on any property which is adjacent to the public sewer or the streets or alleys for which public sewers have been constructed — ." (Section 61 c). There was but one privy vaull found in the present inquiry within the Borough limits, and this was in connection with a house that is outside of the particular district under discussion. (83 Ewing St.) In this district, then, privy vaults have been done away with. The toilets in this section were found to be located as follows:

36 were in the yards back of the houses. 53 were on back porches. 15 were adjacent to kitchens.

8 dwellings had none, the families of these using toilets in the neighboring yards or houses.

2 families living in upstairs apartments, used the toilets of the lower apartments, in the yard or on the porch.

25 toilets were in bath rooms.

12 toilets were elsewhere, either adjacent to halls, or in sheds at the rear of the houses.

The maintenance of 8 dwellings with no toilets is in direct violation of Section 90 of the Revised Sanitary Code which reads,

"Any person or persons renting, leasing, or causing to be rented or leased, a plot or plots of ground, for any purpose or purposes, which from the nature of the occupancy would make desirable the necessary use of toilet facilities, shall provide adequate toilet facilities for the use of the person so occupying, and shall maintain such toilets in a manner approved by the Board of Health."

Frequently there was not a separate toilet for each family. 12 toilets were used by 2 families each; 1 by three families, including 9 persons; 4 were used by 4 families each, including 43 persons; one was used by 5 families, in three of which only there were 19 persons. Even where there was ?> toilet for each family often the large size of the family and numerous lodgers gave rise to inadequate toilet fa* cilities.

The menace of this situation will be more fully realized by a consideration of the conditions of some of these toilets. The writer was informed that when they were installed the specifications regarding materials and workmanship were not met with. However that may be, at present the flow of water through many of them is exceedingly weak, so that it is impossible to flush them properly. In addition to this, where the toilets are on the back porches or in the yards, the pipes and boxes are exposed to cold weather and are, as a result, constantly freezing. In 57 of the 152 dwellings investigated the toilets had been frozen at some time during the previous winter, and as a consequence had been out of order, in some cases for a few days or weeks; and in two instances, at least, for several months; and in one case the housewife stated that the t;oilet had not been in order for a year. Meanwhile, these defective toilets are used and unspeakable filth accumulates. In the case of one house, owned by the Chief of Police of the Borough, excrement and rubbish had accumulated in the toilet to the height of a half-foot above the seat. In this house li\jed a colored woman with 6 children and a lodger. Two o7 her daughters have recently given birth to illegitimate children, and the children have been reported to the County Court in Trenton for truancy and to the Borough Board of Health for infecting other children of the neighborhood with impetigo.