[256]. The city of Glasgow obtains its supply of pure water from Loch Katrine, immortalized in The Lady of the Lake.
[257]. The choice between the two kinds of filtration depends upon local conditions. Where the raw water is excessively turbid or bad-colored, the rapid sand filter is more commonly used. The chemical treatment of water involves the use of chlorinated lime (better known as bleaching powder) or some other chemical disinfectant which kills the noxious bacteria. Only small quantities are required in proportion to the volume of water used. Chemical treatment is not commonly used except in emergencies; it is not regarded as a satisfactory permanent plan of water treatment.
[258]. These housing regulations now provide, as a rule, that houses designed to accommodate more than two families shall not occupy more than two-thirds of the lots upon which they are built, the remaining space being left for light and air. They also require that such houses shall not be of highly inflammable construction, that they be provided with lighted hallways, that sanitary equipment be installed, and that no rooms be used for ordinary living purposes unless they have one or more windows. A further provision in some of these tenement-house laws is that houses may be condemned as unsanitary if they contain less than so many cubic feet of air space for each person living in them. This last provision is difficult to enforce except by frequent inspection, yet it is very important because no matter how well a house may be constructed, there will be a danger to the public health if it is seriously overcrowded.
[259]. At the Peace Conference in 1919 the protection of the public health throughout the world was considered so important that provision for it was included in the Covenant of the League of Nations (see p. [638]).
[260]. An exception to this must be made in the case of the negro population of the South. The amount of poverty among the Southern negroes is large, although most of them live in rural communities.
[261]. Poverty, in a way, reproduces itself. Some years ago a New York social worker gave the following rather cogent description of the way in which one generation passes its poverty on to the next. “A child, reared in a poor home, is taken out of school and sent to work at an early age. He drudges away, brings home every cent of his pay, is allowed to keep little or none of it, and gets no fun out of life. After a while he gets tired of this; he meets some girl who has been brought up in the same way; they get married; but neither of them has saved any money nor has the slightest idea of how to manage a home. They rent a small flat, buy some furniture on the installment plan, and then find that they are not able to pay for it. They get into debt and when either falls sick or the husband is out of work there is nothing to eat. When children come they grow up on improper nourishment; they are slapped in the face and scolded at all hours; they get no home training and very little schooling; as soon as they are able to earn a few dollars a week they are hauled out of school and put to work—and so history just repeats itself.”
[262]. The marriage of feeble-minded or other mentally defective persons ought to be prevented, for the results of such marriages are bad for the whole community. They help to fill the poorhouses, the asylums, and the jails. There are some who believe that the government ought to go further and lend its influence towards the promotion of greater care in determining the marriage of persons who are not mentally defective. Marriage, as has been shown in an earlier chapter, is the basis of the home and hence the foundation of the whole social order. It is an institution of exceedingly great importance to the well-being of society. Yet we leave the whole thing to the caprice of individuals, or their passing fancy, or to the accidents of chance friendships. Whatever may be the inspiration to marriage it can truly be said that many unions of man and woman contribute nothing to the well-being of present or future society. Is it right that an institution of such importance to the human race, both present and future, should be so little controlled by law, by custom, or by public opinion and so largely left to the discretion of individuals? Can the race be improved in that way? Beyond preventing the marriage of mentally degenerate persons is there any further action that society ought to take?
[263]. Many explanations are offered for this. We are a relatively new country, with a population made up of many races. Court procedure is slow and cumbrous; it takes a long time to punish offenders, and they have a fair chance of escaping punishment altogether. Police have been under the control of politicians and have been lax in enforcing the laws. We have emphasized the idea of liberty so strongly that it has benefited even the criminal. We have not made punishment certain enough or severe enough to deter people from evil-doing. All these excuses have some force, no doubt, but do they fully account for our poor showing in comparison with other countries?
[264]. The reformer who first educated the public to this doctrine was Jeremy Bentham, an English writer on social topics who lived in the early years of the nineteenth century.
[265]. The most conspicuous figure in this branch of prison reform during recent years is Mr. Thomas Mott Osborne, who was for a time in charge of the state prison at Auburn, N. Y. Mr. Osborne entirely abolished the old system of discipline and established a scheme of self-government among the prisoners. But public opinion was not quite ready for such a radical experiment as Mr. Osborne inaugurated, and his work was bitterly criticised in many quarters, although it was commended in others. In the midst of the controversy he gave up his post and his successor did not continue his policy.