PREVENTIVE MEASURES 211 



fixed at a sum which will enable the city or town to 

 provide the receptacles (tub, pail, etc.), the disinfectant, 

 and the service for cleaning. The expense involved 

 will vary according to local conditions, such as cost 

 of labor and density of population. If the "chain gang" 

 can be utilized for cleaning, the expense for labor is 

 reduced. 



'The importance of taking the responsibility for the 

 care of the privy out of the hands of the family is 

 evident when one considers that one careless family 

 in ten or in a hundred might be a menace to all. The 

 removal of garbage and of ashes is recognized as a 

 function of the city or town in all better-organized com- 

 munities, and the idea is constantly spreading that this 

 service should extend to a removal of the night-soil 

 also. 



"In correspondence with certain cotton mills, esti- 

 mates for privy cleaning (once a week) vary from 

 about twenty to twenty-five cents per privy per month. 

 A privy tax of $3.50 to $5 per privy per year ought 

 to give satisfactory service, including receptacle, but 

 the exact amount of the tax must be determined by 

 experience in each locality. 



'Tt is probably the exception that an economical pub- 

 lic privy-cleaning service can be carried out in the open 

 country, on account of the distances between the 

 houses. To meet the difficulties involved, several sug- 

 gestions may be considered, according to conditions : 



"A country privy tax can be levied, the county can 

 furnish the pail and the disinfectant, and ( i ) one mem- 



