Proceedings of Sixth Annual Meeting I 



65 



The Joint Project for Mosquito Control in Camden and Glou- 

 cester, Undertaken to Protect the War Workers at the 

 New York Shipyards, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey 

 Shipyards and Camden Forge. 



BY GEORGE J. H. GUSHING, EXECUTIVE IN CHARGE OF THE 



PROJECT. 



Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen : When Dr. Headlee 

 had me appointed as one of his assistants, in order to take charge 

 of the work of mosquito control around the various War Indus- 

 tries adjacent to Camden, I felt kind of hopeless, for it was late 

 in the season, the latter part of July. Upon my first inspection of 

 the district I found the night work, that was absolutely essen- 

 tial, carried on under conditions that were causing the superin- 

 tendents of the plants considerable worry. They were insistent 

 that relief be given them at once, so you can see what work was 

 cut out for me. 



The work was to be carried on under a fund to be subscribed 

 by the New York Shipbuilding Corp., the New Jersey & Pennsylvania 

 Shipyards, the Camden Forge Co., and the Woodbury Bagloading 

 Plant. The whole project to be under the direction of the New Jer- 

 sey Experiment Staion, and the fund to be administered and under 

 written by the United States Shipping Board, Emergency Fleet 

 Corporation, through its Department of Health and Sanitation. 



The New York Ship promptly subscribed $5,000, the Camden 

 Forge $500, but owing to the rather complicated relations existing 

 between the U. .S. Ordnance Department and the contractors, the 

 Bag Loading Plant was unable to participate in the fund, so their 

 section of the territory to be protected was eliminated. The New 

 Jersey & Pennsylvania Yards refused to donate to the work, but 

 the Fleet Corporation took over their share to the extent of $5,000, 

 thus giving a fund of $10,500 to carry on the work. 



I will not burden you with a recital of the difficulties of securing 

 competent inspectors, workmen, equipment and supplies, sufficient 

 to say that with the help of Lt. Col. Philip S. Doane, Director of 

 the Health and Sanitation Department of the Fleet Corporation, I 

 was able to actively proceed with the work within one week after I 

 took charge. And right here I want to say that if there was ever 

 the right man in the right place at the right time, Col. Doane was 



