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35
The recommendation for the prevention of the spread of
infectious disease contained in the memorandum on closure of and
exclusion from school, 1927, hive been closely followed. It was
not necessary to close my school owing to infectious disease, or
on public health grounds during the period under review.
5. COMPLAINTS.
As one might expect, the number of complaints received
fell off considerably during the weeks immediately following the
outbreak of war, but the reduction did not persist more than two
or three months. It is strange, but nevertheless true, that a
few people have considered it incumbent upon them to register
complaints regarding comparatively minor defects in their houses,
when at no great distance from their homes, other houses have been
destroyed or so seriously damaged that they were rendered uninhabitable.
Often complaints refer to defects or conditions which
have obviously given the housewife a good deal of unnecessary worry
e.g. the presence of ants or beetles inside the house, or of rats
or mice on the premises. In all such cases, every assistance has
been rendered, and where it has been possible to do so, the cause
for the complaint has been eradicated.
The total number of complaints received and recorded
respectively each year was as follows:
1939 1940 1.941 19A2. 19.43
207 257 257 436 466
The work which may follow an apparently simple oomplaint
is exemplified by the following brief record. Complaints of
obnoxious odours were received from a few business premises in
the centre of the town. By an eliminating process and certain
common features in each case, the smell was eventually traced to
drain inlets. At the same time, the character of the odour was
recognised as being very similar to that which had given rise to
complaints in connection with a factory at the other side of the
town. A close investigation at the factory disclosed that foul
water was being discharged through an old drain into the surface
water sewer instead of into the foul or soil sewer. There was
not sufficient rainfall at that time to effectively wash and scour
the surface water sewer and the foul liquid gradually found its
was through the town to the sewer outlet. The gases had escaped
through gully traps in which the water seal had been broken by
evaporation. The necessary remedial worics were carried out and
there has been no repetition of the cause for complaint.
It is interesting to note that there was a large increase
in the number of complaints regarding rodents in 1943. This
increase coincided with the publicity campaign of the Ministry of
Food*
RODENT CONTROL.
This is the official designation for work which had
previously been known more generally as rats and mice destruction,
and it is a section of the work which has been carried on by
your Corporation for several years through their own staff.
Apart from loaning the services of staff for rat destruction on
private property, work which is self supporting financially,
an intensive campaign was carried out in the autumn of 1943
in connection with the public sewers in certain parts of
the town. This work was carried out