the Army go down there and drain that site and put up cantonments, you do not propose to do any work there; or do you? Dr. BLUE. We propose to do work on the outside of the camp itself. Mr. CANNON. How far outside. Have you got to go to work all over that swamp? Dr. BLUE. The operations in draining that area are going on now. They are ditching and draining that camp site there at the present time, but we are only looking out for the protection of the civil population and guarding against the spread of disease on the outside by the incoming recruits; not in the camp; and there will be a malarial problem on the outside as well as on the inside of the camp. Mr. CANNON. But if you are down in that southern section in the summer season the mosquitoes are bound to cover several counties. Dr. BLUE. We propose to organize what we call a sanitary unit there consisting of a Federal health officer and State and local authorities for the purpose of controlling malaria by up-to-date antimosquito measures such as oiling, draining, filling, and screening. Mr. CANNON. Will you provide screening on the outside for the civil population? Dr. BLUE. We can only recommend it, and it is then up to the State and local authorities to enforce it. Mr. CANNON. I am not at all antagonistic, but I just want to see what the extent of the work is to be. Now, there is an aviation cantonment in the county of Champaign in Illinois which is extensive and will soon be occupied. There are mosquitoes there now, but of course not like it used to be before it was drained out. Now, would you go to all these cantonments? Dr. BLUE. We propose to work in cooperation with State and local authorities at 32 camps, 16 Federal and 16 State. We have been requested by the State and local authorities and also by the military authorities to cooperate with them in excluding communicable disease from these camps. Mr. CANNON. That is an official request, is it? Dr. BLUE. Yes, sir. Mr. CANNON. I have very great confidence in your service and you have done a great work. This request comes from the military authorities? Dr. BLUE. Yes, sir. Mr. CANNON. And the naval authorities? Dr. BLUE. And the naval and the State and local authorities. Dr. RUCKER. The Federal appropriation will be expended for travel expenses and for salaries. The CHAIRMAN. Salaries of whom? Dr. RUCKER. Salaries of sanitary engineers, sanitary bacteriologists, inspectors, and public-health nurses for inspection work. The States will take care of the matter of supplies and things of that sort, and it will be a cooperative plan, and in the great bulk of these places the expenditures made by the States will be greater than those made by the Federal Government. The CHAIRMAN. What are sanitary engineers paid? Dr. RUCKER. Sanitary engineers are paid from $1,600 to $2,500. The CHAIRMAN. And bacteriologists? Dr. RUCKER. Bacteriologists are paid from $1,800 to $2,400 a year. Dr. RUCKER. The nurses are paid from $900 to $1,200 a year. Dr. RUCKER. These public-health nurses are female nurses, used in the follow-up work. Mr. SHERLEY. As I understand it your work is on a cooperative basis similar to what has been done heretofore in connection with rural sanitation? Dr. RUCKER. In a measure. You see the rural sanitation work can only be done in the rural districts according to the law, and this must include urban districts as well. Mr. SHERLEY. I did not mean that. I meant there is the same sort of cooperation and the same direction of activity between State and local agents under the United States authorities? Dr. RUCKER. Yes; that is the idea. Mr. SHERLEY. If I understand you, the idea contemplates, in connection with all the cantonments, the careful survey and sanitation of an area of 10 or 15 miles contiguous to that cantonment? Dr. RUCKER. Yes; contiguous, in a sanitary sense. INCREASED MARITIME QUARANTINE FACILITIES UPON ATLANTIC SEABOARD. The CHAIRMAN. For increased maritime quarantine facilities upon the Atlantic seaboard, to continue available until expended, $559,270. Dr. BLUE. Mr. Chairman, we desire to place several of our quarantine stations in a condition to meet any situation that may arise as a result of the war. The facilities at Boston, Reedy Island, which is on the Delaware River, Norfolk, and Savannah are very much in need of improvement and additions. Mr. GILLETT. Was not this submitted to us before? Dr. BLUE. Part of it, but not this entire estimate. The CHAIRMAN. We would like to have the details of this. Dr. BLUE. For the details I would like to refer you to Dr. Creel, of the bureau. The CHAIRMAN. Have you a statement showing the details? Dr. CREEL. I have a detailed statement here; yes, sir. I may say, in the first place, Mr. Chairman, it is apprehended that during the course of the war that inevitably, from time to time, transports, troop ships, and supply ships will be coming back to this country with a certain amount of infection of a quarantinable nature on board, and it is desirable, in so far as practicable, to avoid the experiences in the Spanish-American War when from first to last a large number of transports and troop ships were held up in quarantine and detained a number of days, simply because we had not adequate detention facilities at the stations. The quarantine law contemplates that when infections appear on board a vessel that the vessel with its personnel shall not enter the port until after detention of a certain number of days; for smallpox 14 days from time of last exposure, typhus fever 12 days, cholera 5 days, plague 7 days. Now, if we have ample capacity at the quarantine stations we can take off the troops, or the crews, or the personnel, disinfect the ship and release it, whereas otherwise we would have to hold that vessel to accommodate the troops or the crew that are on board. We have no reliable reports as to the prevalence of disease in Europe, but in general, we know there has been considerable cholera in the southeastern part of the country and even as far as the western battle front. The same applies to typhus, and even in Germany where they have been remarkably well vaccinated, they had various outbreaks of smallpox. Plague has been reported as more widely prevalent in England in the past year than at any time in the past 30 years. Infection has been reported from Liverpool, Hull, Bristol, and London. REEDY ISLAND (DEL.) QUARANTINE STATION. The CHAIRMAN. The first place is Reedy Island quarantine station. That is in Delaware? Dr. CREEL. Yes, sir. It is the quarantine station for Philadelphia and League Island, and as that port has been used as the port of embarkation for a number of troops, I presume they will be returned at various times to that same point. The CHAIRMAN. Now, for this station you are asking a total of $32,000-$6,000 for attendants' quarters. How many attendants will this accommodate? Dr. CREEL. That will practically double our present capacity. It would house, all told, probably 20 men. OFFICERS' QUARTERS. The CHAIRMAN. The next item is for officers' quarters, $9,000. Dr. CREEL. We have two officers on duty there at present, but there is only one set of quarters, and the junior officer is living temporarily in a building that is intended as The CHAIRMAN (interposing). What type of building do you erect for an officer costing $9,000? Dr. CREEL. A frame cottage one and a half stories. I may say that construction at Reedy Island is costlier than at many places, because it is more or less made ground and is swampy and the construction has to be placed on piling. The duplication of the present set of quarters at Reedy Island was estimated for by a contractor in Delaware City, and his tentative bid was $9,000. It provides a six or seven room cottage one story and a half. The CHAIRMAN. And that will cost $9,000? Dr. CREEL. That was the tentative bid received from a contractor at Delaware City. Piling work is involved and that is costly, and, furthermore, Reedy Island is isolated and there is a question of transportation. The supervising architect had an experience this past summer in expending an appropriation of $8,000 at Cape Charles quarantine, and the plan had to be revised a number of times to come within the $8,000, and it provided a very modest building. BLANKETS, PILLOWS, SHEETS, ETC. The CHAIRMAN. You are also estimating for blankets, pillows, sheets, etc. Dr. CREEL. That is for the accommodation of 1,500 persons or rather the maximum capacity of the quarantine station which would be between ten and twelve hundred. CAPE CHARLES, VA., QUARANTINE STATION. The CHAIRMAN. The next is Cape Charles quarantine station, Norfolk, Va. Dr. CREEL. This amounts to $225,826. It contemplates the establishment of an entire quarantine station. The Government owns Craney Island, which is midway between Cape Charles and Norfolk. The present quarantine facilities at Cape Charles are on a floating hulk, and there are hospital facilities there for eight persons and no more. In 1884 the Government acquired for quarantine purposes Fishermans Island, which is located 20 miles from Cape Charles. At that time is was selected chiefly on account of its isolation as a yellow-fever detention camp and it has probably served its purpose. The CHAIRMAN. Twenty miles in what direction? Dr. CREEL. Twenty miles up the Chesapeake Bay. Dr. CREEL. It probably served its purpose at that time for lightdraft vessels for the West Indies that might have been yellow-fever infected; but with the increase of trans-Atlantic trade and deepdraft vessels, it has fallen into more or less disuse and it has been impracticable to get a ship anywhere near the island; that is, it has been of no practical use from a quarantine standpoint, certainly for the last 10 years. I may say in addition to facilitating the movement of transports and troop ships and anticipating various conditions that might arise in the course of the war, Norfolk has increased very greatly as a shipping center. In 1910, for instance, the number of ships inspected and passed through quarantine were considerably less than 300. In 1914 this number had increased to somewhat less than 600. During the past year it has increased to more than 1,900. The quarantine operations have increased more than threefold, and we have not even the facilities we had in 1884. Mr. GILLETT. Would that cover the whole bay or just Norfolk. For instance, would it cover Baltimore? Dr. CREEL. Not Baltimore; no, sir. It would cover Norfolk and James River, Richmond and the harbor of Norfolk, Newport News, and the new naval station that they are establishing there. BARRACK BUILDINGS. Mr. SHERLEY. You contemplate putting up seven barrack buildings there with a capacity of 300 beds each? Dr. CREEL Yes, sir. Mr. SHERLEY. What character of buildings? Dr. CREEL. Of the cheapest possible frame construction. Mr. SHERLEY. Then, you do not contemplate making this a permanent quarantine station? Dr. CREEL. Yes, sir; we do; but even the cheapest frame construction, while it would not be as desirable as more permanent construction, yet at the same time it would probably last, with ordinary repairs, 20 or 25 years. While it is more or less temporary construction, it is cheaper construction than the Supervising Architect's Office would recommend for permanent structures, but at the same time it would serve its purpose for 20 or 25 years. Dr. BLUE. In a mild climate. MESS HALLS. Mr. SHERLEY. "Three mess halls, $12,000." Is that the same construction? Dr. CREEL. Yes, sir; the cheapest construction. OFFICERS' QUARTERS. Mr. SHERLEY. "One officers' quarters, $10,000." What is that to be? Dr. CREEL. That will be practically a duplication of the officers' quarters at Fort Monroe, for which an appropriation was made some three or four years ago. Mr. SHERLEY. What kind of a building will that be? Dr. CREEL. The building that is now in the course of construction at Cape Charles is a frame building. Mr. SHERLEY. Is not that rather expensive, $10,000 for a frame house? Dr. CREEL. The expenditures are to be made under the Supervising Architect's office. I know that they had to change the plans three or four times, covering the lapse of an entire year, before they could get the cost of construction under $8,000. Certainly it is not a very pretentious building. REMODELING OLD BRICK BUILDING FOR ATTENDANTS. Mr. SHERLEY. "Remodeling old brick building for attendants, $4,000." What sort of a building is that? Dr. CREEL. An old brick building, one of the large barracks now on the island. That is for remodeling, partitions, etc. HEATING PLANT AND PLUMBING. Mr. SHERLEY. "Heating plant and plumbing, $20,000." That covers the plumbing for all the buildings? Dr. CREEL. Yes, sir; for the entire station. STANDEE BUNKS. Mr. SHERLEY. "667 Standee bunks, triple, at $18 each, $12,006.” What are those, beds? Dr. CREEL. They are bunks which are made of canvas, with springs, suspended from the ceiling. Ordinarily the Standee bunk is a threetier bunk with supports of piping, and the framework also of piping. It requires a mattress. Mr. SHERLEY. Do you keep people housed that closely? Dr. CREEL. Yes, sir; it can be done, if the proper ventilation is furnished. BLANKETS, SHEETS, ETC.-LIGHTING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT. Mr. SHERLEY. Then you have "4,000 blankes at $4 each," "4,000 sheets," "2,000 pillows," "plumbing and lighting, $10,000." You have an item above that for plumbing. Why this item? Dr. CREEL. The plumbing and lighting refers to the other building. Mr. SHERLEY. It does not say so. |