Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/502

 484 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

to terms. In New York city many of the stores where milk was sold, especially the petty grocery shops on the East Side, were found to be in a dirty condition and connected with the living- rooms of the storekeeper's family. Accordingly, the Board of Health ordered, under pain of the revocation of the permit, that every store where milk was sold should be thoroughly cleaned and separated by a sealed door from all living-rooms. And so vigorously was this order enforced by the inspectors that by the end of January, 1903, 550 milk dealers had been compelled to close all direct communication between their stores and apart- ments; 210 other dealers had been obliged to remove further violations of the law; while ten stores had been vacated after notice of violation.

Such has been the activity of New York's Board of Health under the present administration. And if the amount of work which it found necessary to do "is a condemnation of the depart- ment's methods during the previous four years of the Tammany regime, it only serves to show the tremendous opportunities for doing good or harm which the citizens have seen fit to put into the hands of their health officials. Does it not behoove them, therefore, to understand clearly the methods of administration, and, for their own sakes, see to it that the health laws are honestly and efficiently enforced?

Besides the milk inspectors, there is a special corps of fruit, fish, and meat inspectors numbering over a dozen men in the borough of Manhattan. The fruit inspectors, like the milk men, are kept especially busy during the warm summer months when many tons of decayed produce are destroyed. If anyone wants to see an interesting sight, let him accompany one of these gentlemen some hot summer day on his round of inspection among the fruit and fish peddlers of the East Side. Many of these petty venders deal in the very finest quality of fruit and vegetables. Especially is this true of the Italians who seem to have a special knack for the business. Most of them, too, are persons who do not expect to waste a single cent, if they can help it; consequently they do not hesitate also to sell their decaying goods wherever possible at reduced rates. And the