CONVICT LABOR FOE ROAD WORK. 91 



digging in the same place twice. Furrows made with the ordinary 

 plow are entirely satisfactory. In cold climates the trenches for 

 winter should be about 2 feet deep, and a sufficient number should 

 be dug before the ground freezes. They should be filled with earth 

 as soon as the ground thaws out enough to permit it. 



Privies and Pits. 



A great majority of convict camps use privies and pits for the dis- 

 posal of human excreta. At only 4 camps out of the 30 at which 

 some form of pit privy was in use was there any attempt to manage 

 the disposal of excreta along sanitary lines. At three of these 

 camps sanitary fly-proof privies were in use, while at the fourth a 

 trench 2 feet wide, 12 feet long, and 12 feet deep was provided with a 

 latrine box and the contents burned out each day with kerosene oil 

 and hay. 



At the other camps, insanitary privies of varying degrees of filth 

 were provided, while flies were present everywhere and had easy 

 access to the accumulation of filth. At two camps where men were 

 confined in cages toilet seats had been placed over holes in the flooring 

 and pits dug 4 feet deep and 18 inches in diameter to receive the 

 excreta. The cages were not screened, nor were the pits. Over this 

 mass of sewage human beings lived and ate their meals. At other 

 camps where the men were locked in cages a tub was placed on the 

 ground under the cage to receive the excreta. The tubs frequently 

 contained a httle disinfectant, but at only one camp was any attempt 

 made to protect the excreta from flies. 



At several of the largest camps, pits about 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, 

 and from 4 to 6 feet deep were provided for 50 men. A pole, sup- 

 ported on cross logs at the ends of the pit, was used as a seat, while 

 burlap or canvas surrounded the pit to afford privacy. There was 

 no overhead protection. 



These pits are objectionable because they are freely accessible to flies, 

 while the filth may be carried quite a distance on scraps of toilet paper 

 and on the feet of the men. In order to make pits as unobjectionable 

 and harmless as possible, it is the consensus of opinion among Army 

 sanitarians that the pits should bo boxed and converted into closed 

 vaults, from which flies may bo excluded. The pits should be as far 

 as possible from the water supply of the camp, and so located that 

 they will not bo flooded in rainy weather. Drain ditches should be 

 dug around them or on the side from which drainage water might be 

 expected. Pits should be about 2 feet wide at the top and about 6 

 feet deep. When they are filled to within 18 inches of the surface 

 they should bo covered with earth and other pits dug. 



