VIEWS OF MR. EDGE. First, it must be understood that this is only a preliminary, or introductory, report and by no means embodies all the findings, nor. virtually any of the concrete, constructive recommendations the committee proposes to present. There is little question in my mind that some legislation will be required to straighten out the fuel situation, especially as it affects the average home and the people as a whole. The people must have coal, they must have it in adequate quantities, it must be of first-class quality, and it must be sold at a reasonable, legitimate price. From the evidence presented at the committee hearings it seems doubtful if the coal industry can bring order out of the prevailing chaos and give reasonable relief to the suffering people. If it can not I am ready to modify somewhat, in this case, my opposition to Government intrusion into private business and to advocate legitimate scrutiny. As to the nature of the necessary legislation, the details must be worked out by common counsel, so that the best results may be obtained with as little delay as possible, and the remedy be made permanent instead of only temporary. The legislation, too, must be as simple as it can be made, to preclude red tape and court entanglements, but it must be absolutely effective. It is high time that we put business clarity into our legislation, and not make it merely a bone over which the legal fraternity can wrangle. In a general way, it looks to me as though revision or amendment of the Interstate Commerce Commission law might be necessary. At present, that body seems to have almost autocratic powers and to be virtually free from accountability to the executive or legislative branches. It apparently acts on its own initiative through ex parte orders on lines which were not contemplated in the theory on which it originally was constructed. Its present judicial powers might well be transferred to the courts, and its administrative powers to some agency to be established to take them over. For instance, a division on fuel and another on transportation might be opened in the Department of Commerce. Such departments could be empowered to see whether contracts were respected in the coal industry, as they are not at present; they could cure the crying evils of reconsignment as now practiced by the coal men; they could detect monopoly of cars by producers or dealers, and any scheme by which some groups might be deprived of cars-there are a thousand and one evils that might be exposed. Then, evidence could be presented to the appropriate prosecuting authorities for action under existing laws against restraint of trade, and so on. I believe we have enough laws now on the statute books for the punishment of most of the wrongful action that might be exposed, if only these laws were enforced; if not, further laws can be provided for the purpose. Production, transportation, and distribution are the three chief points involved, and I think Congress can provide reasonable Government superivsion and the regulatory powers without Government bureaucratic control or participation in private business, and with protection for the people without oppression of any industry. EXHIBIT. AS TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND MORALS. The American Health Association, which is composed of the commissioners of the boards of health of the largest cities in the United States, convened in Detroit, Mich., on November 30 at the request of this committee and submitted the following statement based upon surveys recently made in each city: Hon. WILLIAM M. CALDER, Senate Committee on Reconstruction, DECEMBER 4, 1920. 29 West Thirty-ninth Street, New York City. MY DEAR SENATOR CALDER: At the request of the Senate Committee on Reconstruction, I called together the health commissioners of this country from cities having a population of 200,000 or more. We met in Detroit on November 30 and remained in session for two days. Reports were received from a considerable number of the cities of this size, and the representatives discussed the housing situation very seriously. It was rather remarkable that there was unanimity of sentiment regarding the problem. The fruit of our labors is shown by a formal statement which was unanimously passed by the conference. I was directed to transmit our conclusions to your committee and to state that the health commissioners stand ready to support the Senate committee in their campaign for conditions which will make it possible to build houses in the cities of the United States. I can not speak too strongly of our conviction that the present housing situation is a real menace to the public health of this country. Here is the formal statement: "The housing survey undertaken by the health authorities of American cities of 200,000 persons or more has been completed. Several cities have submitted their information, and these reports hold in common certain outstanding features: "1. In every city there is abnormal overcrowding. From 20 to 30 per cent of the population of the cities studied is thus affected. "2. These surveys show an average diminution of 80 per cent in the normal volume of new buildings for residential purposes. This condition has continued for three years. "3. As a result of the abnormal overcrowding, thousands of families are forced into insanitary and dangerous quarters. Health authorities are powerless because it is impossible to vacate such premises under present conditions. This usual legal remedy is useless to cope with the situation. It can not be used because there are no other and better places to which such families can remove. "4. Overcrowding means close contact, and has resulted in a marked increase in the infant death rate. The relation of bad housing to child health is startling. Infant mortality is 50 per cent higher in districts where there is the greatest overcrowding. 66 5. Overcrowding has propagated and spread tuberculosis. This disease is at least twice as prevalent in overcrowded quarters as in areas of normal housing. Our records show that 80 per cent of the tuberculosis patients are obliged to live at home. Overcrowding makes it impossible to segregate the patient and thus to protect other members of the family. "6. All communicable diseases, especially those affecting the respiratory tract, are rapidly spread by overcrowding. Influenza and pneumonia are conspicuous examples of this evil. It is needless to mention the difficulty of controlling communicable diseases in the face of overcrowding, because of the impossibility of maintaining quarantine or isolation. "7. Overcrowding bears an important relationship to the social diseases. This is evidenced by the undue prevalence of venereal diseases in communities where this situation is most acute. Lodgers are intermingled with the family, with all the obvious evils of such social arrangement. "8. Living under the strain of unusual and insanitary conditions increases mental and moral degeneracy. The lack of privacy is conducive to physical and moral suffering, and the lack of comfort so necessary to long life and happiness. "9. It is the sense of this gathering that the ideal housing conditions to meet health, comfort, good morals, and good citizenship demand that every American family occupy a single dwelling. In communities where this is not feasible, single separate quarters or apartments, well lighted and well ventilated, must be placed within reach of the poorest of our citizens. “10. This survey shows not only overcrowding and very limited building operations, but also a conspicuous absence of coordination of effort in reaching a solution. Efforts should be made to acquaint the public with the urgency of the housing danger. We must earnestly petition the Senate committee to take cognizance of, and to give publicity to the lamentable situation which is undermining the public health, the public morals, and the social stability of the Nation. "11. It is imperative that your committee shall give attention to the influx of immigrants. Thousands of new arrivals have been brought into communities totally unable at the present time to decently house their present population. Europe, is overrun with infectious diseases. Typhus fever, bubonic plague, cholera, smallpox, and various intestinal disorders threaten America. Immigration bears an important relationship to the entrance into our country of these diseases, and, with the present housing conditions, the danger is vastly greater. "12. The entire housing problem is so urgent and its danger so imminent that decisive and immediate action is imperative. We beg of you to lose no time in finding a remedy for the conditions that threaten the lives of our people and the stability of our Government." Respectfully, ROYAL S. COPELAND, M. D., S R-66-3-vol 1—2 |