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Prosecution of the president of the society
PROSECUI'ION OF THE
PRESIDENT
PROSECUTION OF THE PRESIDENT O F T H E SOCIETY. THE prosecution at Rothbury of Dr. Henry Armstrong by the Rothbury Rural Sanitary Authority must be classed as "malicious." It was from no sense of public duty, from no burning zeal to carry out the Health Acts, but from the far lower motive of antagonism to an officer who had dared to cast a stigma on the sanitary condition of their district that the Guardians resolved to prosecute. This seems to us a fair deduction from the published evidence. The facts disclosed are simple enough. On Sunday, August i I th, Dr. Armstrong's daughter develops symptoms of scarlet fever, and is promptly isolated, the conveyance disinfected. On Monday, August i2th, Mrs. Armstrong exhibits doubtful symptoms; the medical attendants could not diagnose the disease ; nevertheless, as a matter of precaution, she was removed to hospital, and shortly afterwards the disease was diagnosed to be scarlet fever. I n the last instance there was no intimation to the owners of the various conveyances, because the nature of the malady was not definitely known, and until a diagnosis has been effected there is decidedly no legal obligation cast upon doctor or layman ; indeed, probably infection in such cases does not exist until the disease is further developed. The prosecution, although heard before justices, some of whom were ex-officio members of the very board which had passed the resolution, failed, as it was b o u n d to do. Nevertheless, Dr. Armstrong m u s t , in addition to the mental anxiety incidental to domestic affliction, have suffered considerable pecuniary loss. It will be a pleasure to the members of the Society, and to that large section of the public in his own district, who recognize his meritorious work as a health officer, to offer their congratulations on the collapse of this frivolous case.
THE
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF T H E L A B O U R I N G CLASSES. A ~ instructive Blue-book, entitled " R e t u r n s of Expenditure of Working Men," has been recently published. I n the return there are particulars o f income varying from .~28 12s. t o . ~ 15o per annum. The returns are printed as they were received, without any trimming or cooking. The occupations of which they are examples are miners, joiners, engineers, shoemakers, printers, clerks, weavers, and kindred trades, agricultural labourers, stokers, and engine tenders. The amount of wage and the way the wage is spent are intimately connected with sanitary condi-
OF THE
SOCIETY.
235
tions ; or, to put it in another way, the method of living among the poorest in our climates, especially in towns, of a necessity, is more or less insanitary ; want of money means living in a slum ; it means deficient food, deficient clothing, impure air, and even little facility for bodily cleanliness. Returns of domestic expenditure are very difficult to obtain, and therefore it is not surprising that, although considerable efforts were made, and 73 ° requests issued, only 36 returned the forms filled up, and of these 34 were alone accurate enough for publication. The sanitary condition is not mentioned in the return, for this was not the direct object of the inquiry, but this can in part be gathered from the number of rooms occupied. It is noticeable that only in one instance, that of a stoker, any of the 34 families occupied a single room. It is the single room population in towns where the hygienist finds the hi.g.hest death-rate, which demand the most supervlsaon, and in which tuberculous maladies, together with ordinary infectious diseases, are most readily communicated. Any correct information as to the details of life in one room will be useful both to the social economist and those that have charge of the health of a community. T h e stoker appears to have lived in London, to have been married, and to have had no children ; his rent was 3s. 6d. per week, and the income and output is thus detailed : INCOME. Nominal weekly wage . . . . . . . . . Hours worked per week. . . . . . . . . . . . Total yearly income . . . . . .
;~I I o 54½ 54 I2 o
EXPENDITURE.
Rent (weekly) . . . . . . . . . . . . Fuel and light . . . . . . . . . . . . Bread or flour . . . . . . . . . . . . Oatmeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meat
o o o o
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vegetables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fish ............... Butter ............... Milk ............... Tea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sugar ............... Salt and seasanings . . . . . . . . . Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washing materials'" .. . . . . . . . ]Boots and clothing ......... Bedding, furniture, and repairs . . . . . . Trade society .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Total yearly expenditure. . . . . . Surplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . These details may be arranged percentages as follows : 4 Rent ......... Fuel ariel"light ::: . . . . . . . . . Food ............. Clothing" ............ Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . Insurance ............ Surplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 I 2 o
o
5
o o o o o o o o o 2 o
o o o o I o o o o 15 6
I
I
6 3 11 I~ o
9 3 Ix 4½ o 4 o~ IO½ 4~ o o 8
;~5o 3 6 ,~4 8 6 in classes and 17 per cent, 6 ,, 61 ,, 5 ,, I
,,
2
,,
8
,,
PRESIDENT
PROSECUTION OF THE PRESIDENT O F T H E SOCIETY. THE prosecution at Rothbury of Dr. Henry Armstrong by the Rothbury Rural Sanitary Authority must be classed as "malicious." It was from no sense of public duty, from no burning zeal to carry out the Health Acts, but from the far lower motive of antagonism to an officer who had dared to cast a stigma on the sanitary condition of their district that the Guardians resolved to prosecute. This seems to us a fair deduction from the published evidence. The facts disclosed are simple enough. On Sunday, August i I th, Dr. Armstrong's daughter develops symptoms of scarlet fever, and is promptly isolated, the conveyance disinfected. On Monday, August i2th, Mrs. Armstrong exhibits doubtful symptoms; the medical attendants could not diagnose the disease ; nevertheless, as a matter of precaution, she was removed to hospital, and shortly afterwards the disease was diagnosed to be scarlet fever. I n the last instance there was no intimation to the owners of the various conveyances, because the nature of the malady was not definitely known, and until a diagnosis has been effected there is decidedly no legal obligation cast upon doctor or layman ; indeed, probably infection in such cases does not exist until the disease is further developed. The prosecution, although heard before justices, some of whom were ex-officio members of the very board which had passed the resolution, failed, as it was b o u n d to do. Nevertheless, Dr. Armstrong m u s t , in addition to the mental anxiety incidental to domestic affliction, have suffered considerable pecuniary loss. It will be a pleasure to the members of the Society, and to that large section of the public in his own district, who recognize his meritorious work as a health officer, to offer their congratulations on the collapse of this frivolous case.
THE
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE OF T H E L A B O U R I N G CLASSES. A ~ instructive Blue-book, entitled " R e t u r n s of Expenditure of Working Men," has been recently published. I n the return there are particulars o f income varying from .~28 12s. t o . ~ 15o per annum. The returns are printed as they were received, without any trimming or cooking. The occupations of which they are examples are miners, joiners, engineers, shoemakers, printers, clerks, weavers, and kindred trades, agricultural labourers, stokers, and engine tenders. The amount of wage and the way the wage is spent are intimately connected with sanitary condi-
OF THE
SOCIETY.
235
tions ; or, to put it in another way, the method of living among the poorest in our climates, especially in towns, of a necessity, is more or less insanitary ; want of money means living in a slum ; it means deficient food, deficient clothing, impure air, and even little facility for bodily cleanliness. Returns of domestic expenditure are very difficult to obtain, and therefore it is not surprising that, although considerable efforts were made, and 73 ° requests issued, only 36 returned the forms filled up, and of these 34 were alone accurate enough for publication. The sanitary condition is not mentioned in the return, for this was not the direct object of the inquiry, but this can in part be gathered from the number of rooms occupied. It is noticeable that only in one instance, that of a stoker, any of the 34 families occupied a single room. It is the single room population in towns where the hygienist finds the hi.g.hest death-rate, which demand the most supervlsaon, and in which tuberculous maladies, together with ordinary infectious diseases, are most readily communicated. Any correct information as to the details of life in one room will be useful both to the social economist and those that have charge of the health of a community. T h e stoker appears to have lived in London, to have been married, and to have had no children ; his rent was 3s. 6d. per week, and the income and output is thus detailed : INCOME. Nominal weekly wage . . . . . . . . . Hours worked per week. . . . . . . . . . . . Total yearly income . . . . . .
;~I I o 54½ 54 I2 o
EXPENDITURE.
Rent (weekly) . . . . . . . . . . . . Fuel and light . . . . . . . . . . . . Bread or flour . . . . . . . . . . . . Oatmeal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meat
o o o o
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vegetables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fish ............... Butter ............... Milk ............... Tea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sugar ............... Salt and seasanings . . . . . . . . . Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washing materials'" .. . . . . . . . ]Boots and clothing ......... Bedding, furniture, and repairs . . . . . . Trade society .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Total yearly expenditure. . . . . . Surplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . These details may be arranged percentages as follows : 4 Rent ......... Fuel ariel"light ::: . . . . . . . . . Food ............. Clothing" ............ Sundries . . . . . . . . . . . . Insurance ............ Surplus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 I 2 o
o
5
o o o o o o o o o 2 o
o o o o I o o o o 15 6
I
I
6 3 11 I~ o
9 3 Ix 4½ o 4 o~ IO½ 4~ o o 8
;~5o 3 6 ,~4 8 6 in classes and 17 per cent, 6 ,, 61 ,, 5 ,, I
,,
2
,,
8
,,