THE LIGHTING OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

243 the law in on Wednesday announced a further gain in strengthwhich is at The story therefore is now one of steady improvement.fault. Some reformers would welcome a more although, after the ordeal which has been passed,.’that story may be a prolonged one. But it is vigorous attack upon the traffic in abortifacient legitimate to hope that the strides forward will drugs. They point to the shameless and unrestricted become more rapid within the salubrious environ-advertisement of preparations which claim to " remove ment provided on the south coast. all female obstructions, however caused," and which, as LORD RIDDELL has observed, must be either frauds or abortifacients. They advocate the supTHE LIGHTING OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS. pression of such advertisements by statutory prohiA REVIEW of the current practice of the lighting bition for which a precedent exists in the Venereal of school buildingsin the United States has recently of a Act this is matter Disease which might 1917 ; well be pressed upon the attention of the Home been published by Mr. James E. Ives, physicist to the codes of’ Office. Another suggestion, to restrict the use and the Public Health Service, in which the education authorities requirements specified by supply of lead and other abortifacient drugs by in 39 of the States and 9 of the principal cities are extending the schedules of the Poisons Act and set out. So far as natural lighting goes, the main Dangerous Drugs Act, requires more caution. Many recommendations concern the ratio of window area drugs used for the purposes of abortion are also to floor area, unilateral or other lighting by windows,. required for purposes entirely innocent. Moreover, preferred exposure of windows and height of windows to make drugs less easy to obtain may merely have above the floor. The primary necessity is for the the result of driving abortionists into a more frequent quantity of light to be sufficient, and in this connexion The it must be borne in mind that the colour of the walls use of instruments or electrical treatment. in the class-room must have a or smaller present difficulty of enforcing the law is significant ; effect in absorbing the light enteringlarger the windows. by would a more rigorous law obtain better resultsz? The best test is whether or not the lighting is sufficient The prospects of improved legislation must certainly on a dull winter’s day for a normal or optically be explored, but too much is not expected of an corrected eye to read the 6/6 line on the standard Act of Parliament. test-type easily at six metres. As a rule 1 sq. ft.. No remedy will succeed without the support of of glass for every5 sq. ft. of floor space is sufficient for this but this should be a minimum and public opinion, which for this purpose means largely it must purpose, be remembered that the height of always the opinion of women. Does public opinion condemn surrounding buildings must be taken into account.abortion as vigorously as heretofore ? Those who The direction of the lighting should always, where are in a position to know tell us that women, married possible, be from the left in order that the shadow and unmarried, demand abortion often without being of the child’s hand should not interfere with the conscious of any moral or legal offence. Birth control, light on the paper when writing. For the same cross-lighting and sky-lighting are undesirable.. nowadays canvassed without the old reserve, is reason With regard to the exposure, it is rather remarkable essentially distinct from abortion ; but the change of that the majority of the American authorities prefer view towards birth control may be a symptom or an any aspect to a southerly one. For warm climates an encouragement of other changes. Are we coming east, west, or even north aspect may be preferable,. to a time when prudential considerations will be but it is certainly most desirable that, if possible. deemed to justify the interruption of pregnancy, the class-room during some part of the day should at any rate in its early months, as though this werei be bathed in sunshine. If necessary, during hot merely an extended form of contraception ?1 Soviet weather the windows can be shaded, and in any case Russia has legalised abortion upon condition that a the desks should be arranged so that neither children An important medical commission approves and that the operation nor teachers face the windows. recommendation of the American authorities is that is performed by a doctor in a public hospital. What there should be a distance of from 4 to 8 ft. from are the consequences to the health of the mother the front wall of the room to the first window on theand to infant mortality ?‘? We lack the positive left-hand side of the class-room. It must never be knowledge which would provide a medical contri- forgotten that, so far as general health and mental alert-bution to a moral question ; the pursuit of evidence ness go, the nearer the conditions of the class-room, is distracted by non-medical issues. Yet it is to the approximate to those out of doors the better, and medical profession that the public will look for in this connexion the access of the ultra-violet through special glass, in cases where the expense guidance. At present, unfortunately, some reformers rays is not prohibitive, must be recommended. The first look askance at that profession, accusing it of shielding essential for the school-room is the admission of the abortionist by maintaining its ancient tradition of sufficient light without the dazzling effect of direct secrecy. sunlight on the children’s eyes, for without sufficient light or with the dazzling effect of direct sunlight the tendency is to cause the children to stoop and develop myopia and round shoulders. While the avoidance of dazzle is of the first importance, we are of opinion that it would be mistaken policy to secure it at the expense of depriving the children of the tonic effect Ne quid nimis." of direct sunlight in the school-room during some part of the day on those comparatively rare occasions when it is possible to obtain it in this country. For THE KING’S HEALTH. this it might be considered worth while to sacrifice, IT is significant that the bulletin issued on Friday where necessary, an arrangement of windows which of last week was the first official intimation concerning from the point of view of ocular hygiene alone might the health of the KLXG that had been made public for be ideal. With a little trouble it is possible to shade four days, and the abatement of perpetual anxiety south windows or even sky-lights by suitably

impunity. Competent judges aver that itself is adequate ; it is the enforcement

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Annotations. "

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was at once recognised. That bulletin informed us coloured blinds on a hot summer’s day. W’ith regard that, while improvements previously noted continued, to artificial lighting, there is no objection to electric bacteriological examination showed the right chest lights so long as proper precautions are taken against to be free of the infecting organism. On the following the dazzling effect of unshaded lamps which in any day a bulletin, signed only by Lord Dawson. confirmed case should be placed well out of the ordinary line of a record of slow progress, and the one which appeared vision.