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54
cottage is away from all public thoroughfares; but a small railway
footpath runs past the door. It consists of three rooms, two downstairs
and one upstairs, with a lavatory on each floor, and was
originally built as an Isolation Station.
Three clean.sings of adults and 1,087 eleansings of children were
carried out by the Council's Attendant at the Cleansing Station during the
year, and, whilst this was in progress, their clothing were thoroughly
disinfected by being passed through the disinfecting apparatus.
During the year, as a result of {be action of the Sanitary Inspectors,
72 verminous rooms in 48 houses were cleansed and freed
from vermin.
In addition, the Council's disinfectors disinfected 70 verminous
rooms, 179 articles of clothing and 50 beds.
Hitherto Sanitary Authorities in London have been empowered by
Statute to insist only upon the cleansing or destruction of filthy, &c., or
verminous articles, and the cleaning of houses infested with vermin.
By the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1922, Sections
59 and 105 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, were extended
to, and applied to, the provision of means for removing, cleansing and
destroying articles, and cleansing houses under the Act of 1922, and to
the borrowing of money for the provision of such means.
Public opinion has, however, not been sufficiently strong in favour
of the compulsory cleansing of verminous adults as to justify legislation,
but it would appqar that the advisability of this course of action
being more understood as the general public realise the close
association of dirt and disease. The great increase in public transport
facilities in recent years, in which there are no "class" distinctions,
together with the gradual abolition of such distinctions in railways,
has probably had an indirect influence on public opinion, which would
now appear to be moving in the direction of compulsory cleansing.
As an example of this, in December last the Borough Council
considered a report from the Public Health Committee in which they
stated that they had considered a letter from the Clerk of the London
County Council with regard to the cleansing of verminous persons,
stating that in 1921 the County Council considered the question of
obtaining power to compel the cleansing of verminous adults, when it
was stated that a general power to compel such cleansing appeared to