The health office must warn people by public notice if, at any time, water should be boiled. If your plumbing or gas pipes are out of order, a city inspector will come for nothing to test them, and house owners must repair the pipes, or even tear them out and put new ones in, if necessary. If they refuse to do this the health office has the right to condemn a building, to allow no one to use it, or even to order it torn down. The law in most cities says that no man has any rights in property, above the rights of public health. If there is a "dirty stable or factory near you that breeds flies, the health officers will see that the place is cleaned, for flies carry disease. City inspectors watch bakeries, markets, dairies, cold-storage houses and commission houses, to see that no spoiled food is sold.
A well managed city forbids many things that cause accidents. They make speed laws for automobiles, railway trains and street cars. Merchants cannot hang swinging signs over sidewalks, or use the walks for boxes and barrels. People who are putting up tall, new buildings must put wooden sheds over the walks to catch falling bricks, bolts and plaster. Street cars must have fenders to catch people who may fall in front of them, and they are allowed to stop only in certain places, so people will always know what a car is going to do. When a street is being repaired, a hole must be enclosed at night, and a red light hung above. Theaters cannot crowd the aisles, and must mark exits in big letters and with red lights. In a number of cities, railroads are elevated. Even with all the things that are done to protect people, every city has thousands of accidents a year by which people are injured or killed. Many of them are caused by carelessness. One good thing to remember is, that there is more room behind a moving car than there is in front. Another is that a city street is not a safe playground for a child.
It really seems as if cities are more careful of children than many parents are. Many city health departments print little books telling mothers how to feed babies in the hot summer months, when so many babies die. The laws about milk are very strict, for milk is the only food of helpless babies and many sick people. Cities often have fresh air sanitariums in parks for sick babies, and bathing beaches for older people.
Within the last few years, big city school boards have hired school doctors, and visiting nurses, who work with the health department to keep school children well. These doctors examine children's eyes, ears, noses, throats, teeth and skin. They watch for contagious
