For convenience the investigation will be considered under the following heads:

1. Plan of the Investigation.

2. The Condition of the Air.

3. The Dangers of the Dust.

4. Description of the Subway Employees.

5. Results of the Physical Examinations of the Employees.

6. Results of the Analyses of the Sputum, Urine and Sweat.

7. Results of the Autopsies.

8. Possible Causes and Consequences of the Pleurisy.

9. Conclusions and Recommendations.

(General Details.)

Certain specific recommendations seem to be required under the circumstances.

1. Care should be taken that persons employed in the subway are free from respiratory disease or a tendency toward it. This rule should be extended to all grades and positions and made to apply, also, to the women who operate the news stands.

2. Thorough physical examinations, especially of the respiratory apparatus and heart, should be made of all employees when they are first engaged and at yearly intervals subsequently.

3. While the dust was not proved to have produced harmful results, sanitary considerations require that it be prevented as far as practicable from getting into the air. To this end (a) sand and sawdust should not purposely be scattered on the stairways and platforms, as at present, (b) sweeping and cleaning should be done in a more strictly sanitary manner, preferably in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Board of the Department of Health, and (c) investigations should be made to determine whether it is feasible to reduce or collect much of the iron dust.

4. The city ordinance against spitting should be enforced to the letter. Although some progress has already been made in preventing it, spitting is still practiced occasionally on the platforms and on the roadbed. Not only passengers, but employees are offenders in this direction.

Respectfully submitted,

GEORGE A. SOPER, Pí. D.

Dr. Soper presented in detail a report on the result of his investigations, and the principal conclusions reached by him follow:

1. The air of the subway, as judged by analyses and by careful studies of the health of the men, was not injurious.

2. The most objectionable feature of the air was the dust which consisted chiefly of angular particles of iron. It was possible, also, that injurious bacteria might sometimes be associated with these metallic particles. Strict enforcement of the city ordinance against spitting and the want of skillful care in cleaning the subway made this danger greater than it need be.

3. The odor and heat of the subway, although very disagreeable, were not actually injurious to health. The strong draughts and changes of temperature which occurred at the stations were the most objectionable atmospheric conditions, so far as health was concerned.

4. The employees submitted by the company for physical examination were a particularly robust lot of men. From their excellent physique, it appeared that they had been carefully selected, a fact which was explained when it was found that a large majority of the men had previously been engaged in railroading, where capacity to do hard manual labor was required. It was safe to assume that the employees examined represented a fair average of all of those who came in close contact with the passengers, at least so far as resistance to disease was concerned.

5. There had been very little sickness among the employees during their period of subway employment, judging by the accounts which the men gave. No information with respect to this matter was obtainable from the operating company. Many of the men claimed to have gained weight since they had been working in the subway, a fact due apparently less to any peculiarly healthful property of the air than to the easier work required.

6. Most of the men spoke of drowsiness. This was perhaps to be explained on account of the comparative darkness of the subway, the monotony of the work and fatigue to the eyes. The drowsiness was never sufficient to keep the men from performing their duties properly.

7. A large number of employees complained of yellow stains which came upon their underclothing, as they supposed, from their sweat. This caused considerable inconvenience. The stains probably resulted from iron particles upon the body which were acted upon by the sweat. Investigation excluded the probability that the sweat itself was discolored.

8. Careful physical examination showed that an excessive amount of dry pleurisy, without pain or other physical discomfort, existed among the men. Pleurisy occurred to the extent of 53 per cent. among the employees and to the extent of 141⁄2 per cent. among persons not engaged in subway work.

The cause of the dry pleurisy was not at first apparent, but upon investigation it appeared to have been in no way due to the subway. Nine per cent. of the men had medical histories which accounted for their condition and 28 per cent. had worked for many years under conditions known to be favorable to the occurrence of this disease. The pleurisy had no visible effect upon the health of the men and was not likely to be injurious to them in the future.

9. Congestion and inflammation of the upper air passages were prevalent. Rhinitis and pharyngitis in acute or chronic form occurred in about 70 per cent. of the men examined. Laryngitis was less common, occurring in about 55 per cent. These figures are somewhat above the normal, considering the degree of severity represented. No case of bronchitis was discovered. The prevalence of the minor respiratory affections noted was due apparently more to the previous employments of the men than to their present surroundings, although the excessive use of the voice made by the conductors was likely to aggravate these affections.

10. Analyses of the sputum, urine and sweat of the men showed that iron dust was given off only in the sputum. This sputum was derived mostly from the mouth and throat, where most of the iron particles drawn in with the inspired air were caught.

11. The findings at autopsy threw no light upon the possibly evil effects of the dust. The men whose bodies were examined had worked too short a

time in the subway for information of value in this direction to be obtainable. Iron was found in the lungs of all, but to an extent which had produced no evil consequences.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

Certain specific recommendations seem to be required under the circumstances.

1. Care should be taken that persons employed in the subway are free from respiratory disease or a tendency toward it. This rule should be extended to all grades and positions and made to apply, also, to the women who operate the news stands.

2. Thorough physical examinations, especially of the respiratory apparatus and heart, should be made of all employees when they are first engaged and at yearly intervals subsequently.

3. While the dust was not proved to have produced harmful results, sanitary considerations require that it be prevented as far as practicable from getting into the air. To this end, (a) sand and sawdust should not purposely be scattered on the stairways and platforms at at present, (b) sweeping and cleaning should be done in a more strictly sanitary manner, preferably in accordance with the recommendations of the Advisory Board of the Department of Health, and (c) investigations should be made to determine whether it is feasible to reduce or collect much of the iron dust.

4. The city ordinance against spitting should be enforced to the letter. Although some progress has already been made in preventing it, spitting is still practiced occasionally on the platforms and on the roadbed. Not only passengers but employees are offenders in this direction.

WORK OF INSPECTION DEPARTMENT.

For the Manhattan-Bronx and the Brooklyn-Manhattan railroads, known as Contracts Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, all structural material, rolled steel, has been completed. The steel required for the construction of the West Side viaduct to Van Cortlandt Park, work on which commenced in the latter part of 1906 and is now nearing completion, has been shipped, excepting that required for the stations at Two Hundred and Thirty-first street, Two Hundred and Thirty-eighth street and Two Hundred and Forty-second street, and for the signal tower on this extension. A small additional order for steel required for guard-rail protection of columns on the sharper subway curves, Contract No. 1, also remains to be completed.

Some cast-iron work, principally column footings for the Van Cortlandt Park extension, is yet to be shipped, as well as columns for the Atlantic avenue station on Contract No. 2.

The total weight of steel accepted at the mills since commencing work

amounts to:

For Contract No. 1.

168,115.560 pounds

For Contract No. 2.

Weight accepted during 1907 up to and including June 30:

For Contract No. 1...

For Contract No. 2.

26,226.169 pounds

1,855,981 pounds

1.108.705 pounds