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15
established about the age of 18. The mortality-rates given previously clearly show
that in the early years of adolescence the resistance to pulmonary tuberculosis is
far lower among young women than young men and it would therefore be expected
that when adverse economic conditions are added at this period of life the young
women will be much more affected than young men.
If this is the explanation of the facts, an improvement in economic conditions
affecting young women wage-earners should be followed by a decline in the present
excessive mortality from pulmonary tuberculosis among them.
Administration.
The supervision of the 151 common lodging houses licensed by the Council
under the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1902, entailed 5,674 day
visits and 170 night visits by the inspectors. The supervision of the 22 seamen's
lodging houses licensed under the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, entailed 475 visits
by day and 22 by night.
Common and
seamen's
lodging
houses.
A census of homeless persons in London was taken on the night of Friday, loth
February, 1931. The area covered extended over the whole of the county, except
such of the outlying portions as are not usually the resort of such persons. The
night was very cold with a north-east wind. No persons were found sheltering
under arches or on staircases. In the streets 60 men and 18 women were found,
compared with 47 men and 25 women on the night of the census in 1930. In the
common lodging houses 14,970 persons were accommodated compared with 14,855
in 1930. In the free shelters and labour homes not licensed, 1,057 men, 137 women
and 17 children were accommodated compared with 631 men, 117 women and 18
children in 1930. The number of persons in casual wards and in the associated
hostel on the night in question was 689 (674 men and 15 women). In London Rowton
Houses, 5,007 men were accommodated and there were 38 vacant beds.
Census of
homeless
persons.

Note—The area covered in 1904 was less than in later years—to be comparable with other years the
figures in the " Homeless " column should be 2,000.
A full account of the action taken under the various Housing Acts will be found Housing,
in Volume II of the Annual Report of the Council, 1931.
Disinfestation.
At the institutions transferred to the Council by virtue of the Local Government
Act, 1929, it was found that disinfesting was, in some cases, done by a contractor,
and in others by the hospital staff. In order to obtain some idea of the extent of the
work involved, thirty hospitals were visited, and it was found that 14 had contracts