pose of treating tuberculosis in its incipient and curable stage, and shall each accommodate not less than one hundred and fifty patients.

Section 8. Said Commissioners shall proceed to erect said buildings, and complete the same, with such funds as may be appropriated, from time to time, by the Legislature; and shall make report to the Legislature of the amount of money expended by them, and of the progress made in the erection of the buildings.

Section 9. The land upon which the buildings are to be constructed, within the boundaries of the State Forestry Reservation, aforesaid, shall consist of not more than five hundred acres, in extent, for each institution. Upon the completion of said buildings, the said Commissioners shall be constituted a board of trustees, who shall serve without compensation except necessary expenses. They shall manage and direct the concerns of the institutions, and make all necessary by-laws and regulations, not inconsistent with the Constitution and the laws of this Commonwealth. Of the trustees first appointed, one of the physicians shall be chosen to serve for four years, and the other for two years; and at the expiration of the respective periods the vacancies shall be filleed by the Governor, by appointment, for four years, as hereinbefore provided; and should any vacancy occur by death, or resignation, or otherwise, of any trustee, such vacancy shall be filled by appointment, as aforesaid, for the unexpired term of such trustees. The Commissioner of Forestry shall serve as a member of the board of trustees.

Section 10. These institutions shall be specially and entirely devoted to the maintenance, treatment and cure of citizens of this Commonwealth, suffering from incipient tuberculosis, and to a special study of the disease, with a view to the protection of the population of this Commonwealth from further infection by persons already suffering therefrom. All inmates shall be subject to such rules and regulations as the board of trustees may adopt.

Section 11. The form of application for admission to said Sanatoria, and the necessary checks to improper admission, shall be such as the board of trustees shall adopt. All blank applications, when filled by the answers required, shall be sworn to or affirmed, either by the applicant or some one in his or her behalf, and in the case of minors said application shall be subscribed to by any parent or guardian.

Section 12. The board of county commissioners, directors of the poor, or the department of charities, of any county of this Commonwealth, in approving an application for the admission of persons to said institutions shall make a statement, under oath, as to their citizenship in this Commonwealth; and shall state whether or not such persons have an estate of sufficient value, or a parent or parents of sufficient financial ability, to defray the expense, in whole or in part, of supporting such person in said sanatoria; and shall state, if there be such means of support in part only, the amount which said person, parent or guardians may be able to pay. Any person or persons who may make application directly to said trustees of said sanatoria shall therein make statement, under oath, as to their means of support, if any; and said trustees, in accepting an application for admission, shall fix the amount, if any sum is to be paid for the treatment of the person admitted; said amount to be deter

mined according to the ability of the parent or guardian of the minor, or according to the value of such person's estate, if any; and shall require payments as a condition to the admission or retention of such person or persons. Where the indigence of the child, parent or guardian or person, is such as to entitle to admission upon the full beneficiary fund of the State, the support at the sanatoria shall be provided for by annual appropriation, at such per capita rates as shall be appropriated by the Legislature, on the application of the trustees. The employment of any or all patients shall, when possible and when warranted by their physical condition, be made tributary to the maintenance of the sanatoria.

Section 13. Said board of trustees shall have authority to receive, for the use of said sanatoria, such gifts, legacies, devises and conveyances of property, real or personal, as may be made, given or granted to or for such sanatoria, or in the name of the institution, or the name of said board of trustees.

Section 14. The said board of trustees shall appoint two skillful physicians, who shall be graduates of a legally chartered medical college, and shall have had an experience in the treatment of tuberculosis of at least five years, who shall be superintendents, one over each of said sanatoria, and shall be authorized to oversee and direct the medical, hygienic and other interests of the said institutions, and shall have charge and supervision of their respective institutions, both professionally and otherwise. They shall name for appointments such and so many assistants, nurses, attendants and employes as may be considered necessary by the said board of trustees; and, with the approval of the said board of trustees, shall appoint stewards, who shall, under the direction of said superintendents, have charge of the employment of all the employes except the physicians, nurses and hospital attendants. Said stewards to purchase and distribute all supplies, and keep accounts, under such rules and regulations as may be established by said trustees. All salaries to be fixed by the board of trustees.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

Executive Department, Harrisburg, April 6, 1905.

To the Honorable, the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania:

Gentlemen: I return herewith, without my approval House bill No. 180, entitled "An act to provide for the selection of sites and the erection of two State institutions for the treatment of incipient tuberculosis, and for the protection of the citizens of Pennsylvania;. to be located within the limits of the State Forestry Reservation; one in the South Mountain Reservation, this Commonwealth, and the second in the western portion of the State; and for the creation of a board of trustees to have charge of the same; defining their powers and duties; and making the necessary appropriation therefor."

This bill raises questions of very grave importance. It provides for a preliminary step in a movement the results of which are of the most extensive character. The provisions for charitable work

in this Commonwealth have already reached formidable propor tions. The demands for such purposes are increasing every year, and it behooves us to consider whether the time may not arrive when the resources of the State will not be sufficient to enable us to continue the policy. This bill would open up an entirely new field for the establishment of charities, for whose maintenance the State would be responsible. Its purpose is, "to provide for the selection of sites and the erection of two State institutions for the treatment of incipient tuberculosis." It assumes that it is the duty of the State to take care of those of the people who are suffering from diseases likely to be fatal, and, which being contagious or infectious, are likely to affect injuriously others in the community.

At the outset, and when making the first step, we ought not to shut our eyes to the fact that, if we are to provide for consumptives because of these reasons, we may have, in time to take care also of those afflicted with the dangerous and contagious or infectious diseases, such as small-pox, leprosy, cholera, yellow fever, the bubonic plague, typhoid fever, pneumonia, and many others. It must be assumed that the legislature has given to this branch of the subject full consideration, and concluded to commit the Commonwealth to such a policy; but its importance is so great that it may well lead to hesitation. Assuming that such a policy is to be adopted, the means to be used and the methods to be pursued and the extent to which it is to be carried ought to be most carefully considered. The purpose, as it is defined, is to be found in section ten, which provides, "These institutions shall be especially and entirely devoted to the maintenance, treatment and cure of citizens of this Commonwealth, suffering from incipient tuberculosis." The only limitation upon those having incipient tuberculosis, who may have the benefits conferred by the bill, is that they shall be citizens of this Commonwealth. The rich, therefore, are as much entitled to receive these benefits as the most needy. Tuberculosis is a very prevalent disease, and those suffering from it within the Commonwealth are very numerous. The bill purports to provide for only three hundred patients. This number will be a very small proportion of those so diseased. Since this is to be a charity, and is based entirely upon the thought of the performance of a duty, it seems to me that it ought, in the beginning at least, to be confined to those suffering from tuberculosis among the poorer classes of the people, who are unable to take care of themselves, and also most likely to affect others with whom they are brought into contact.

The bill provides for the appointment of a commission of three persons, who "shall select suitable tracts of land within the boundaries of the State Forestry Reservation," to erect thereon two institutions and necessary buildings, each tract containing five hundred acres, and after the completion of the buildings the commissioners shall be constituted a board of trustees to manage and direct the concerns of the institutions. The commission is to consist of two practicing physicians, to be appointed by the Governor, and of the Commissioner of Forestry. To enable the commissioners to select the tracts, prepare the plans and erect the buildings, the sum of $300,000 is appropriated; but this is not the end of it. The commissioners shall proceed "to erect said buildings and complete the

same, with such funds as may be appropriated from time to time by the Legislature." In extent, therefore, they are unlimited, and the commission is a continuous building commission. It seems to me that, in the consideration of the subject, the Legislature ought to have fixed an amount which would be sufficient to meet the needs of the object sought to be accomplished. The membership of the commission does not appear to me to be wisely determined. The commissioners are not only charged with the duty of the erection of the buildings, but thereafter they become the trustees to manage and control them. The Governor is limited in his selection to the class of practicing physicians. The work to be done would seem to require the experience of business men and artisans, rather than professional experience, and the matter becomes of greater importance because vacancies, as they arise, must be filled from the same class. The purpose in making physicians the commissioners and trustees could not have been to provide for the treatment of the patients, because the bill directs that these trustees "shall appoint two skilled physicians, who shall be graduates of a legally chartered medical college, and shall have had an experience in the treatment of tuberculosis of at least five years, who shall be superintendents." Therefore the necessity for professional supervision is provided for. Nor does the selection of the Commissioner of Forestry as the third member of the commission appear to be desirable. He is a trained expert in other lines, employed by the State to take care of her forests, and having in his charge already about 800,000 acres of land. His time is sufficiently occupied with attention to his special duties. The act of February 25, 1901, directs that the State Forestry Reservation Commission shall "have full power to manage and control all the lands which it may purchase," and further provides that these lands "shall be held by the Commissioner of Forestry." The bill under consideration would give a thousand acres of these lands into the control of another commission, for an entirely distinct and separate purpose, and there is no repeal of the prior act. This would necessarily result in a conflict of jurisdiction and authority. The difficulty is not overcome by making the Commissioner of Forestry one of the commissioners, under the bill, for the reason that he might always be outvoted by the other two members of the commission. At best, he is placed in the embarrassing position of representing two commissions having diverse aims and interests; on the one hand, as a forester, to plant trees, and, on the other, to erect buildings on the same lands. It is a question whether the forestry reservation ought to be encroached upon for other purposes, even if they be meritorious. If the forestry lands are to be laid bare for the purpose of the erection of buildings for one worthy purpose, they may be, in time to come, utilized for many other such purposes. The better way would be to keep distinct objects separate and apart, and, if we ought to have institutions for the treatment of incipient tuberculosis, then to get the lands necessary for them, or, if need be, to separate these lands entirely from the forestry reservation.

I am better satisfied with this disposition of the bill, because of the fact that at the present session a bill has been passed creating a Department of Health, and giving to it ample powers. Should this bill become a law the department may devise and prepare a well

digested plan for the treatment of tuberculosis and the protection. of the community from the evils which ensue from its prevalence. To create a commission and assign its work would be to take from the department the control of one of the most important of the matters which justify its creation, and much to increase the expense to the State.

For these reasons the bill is not approved.

SAML. W. PENNYPACKER.

No. 26.
AN ACT

To amend an act, entitled "An act to amend clause two of section thirty-one of an act, entitled 'An act to provide for the incorporation and regulation of certain corporations,' approved the twenty-ninth day of April, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four; providing for increased rates of toll upon bridges in certain cases," approved the sixth day of May, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and eighty-seven; authorizing an increase of said tolls in certain other cases.

Section 1. Be it enacted, &c., That clause two of section thirty-one of said act which, as amended, reads as follows, namely:

"When the said corporation shall have erected and completed a bridge over any creek or river, under the authority of this act, the property thereof shall be vested in the said corporation, and it shall have the power to erect gates and to demand and receive tolls for crossing said bridge, at such rates as the president and directors thereof shall, from time to time, determine, not exceeding the rates following, namely: For every score of sheep or swine, eight cents; for every score of horned or muley cattle, twenty-five cents; for every mule or horse, driven or led, five cents; for every horse or mule, ladened or unladened, with rider, five cents; for every twowheeled vehicle and one horse, six cents; the same with two horses, ten cents; for every four-wheeled vehicle, with one horse, ten cents; for every four-wheeled vehicle, with two horses, fifteen cents; for either of the last named vehicles, with four horses, twenty cents; for every foot passenger, two cents: Provided, That any bridge not wholly, or in part, within the limits of any city of the first or second class within this Commonwealth, that shall hereafter be constructed or reconstructed, and the cost whereof shall be increased beyond the minimum by reason of the demands and requirements of navigation, the corporation owning the same may demand and receive tolls, not exceeding fifty per centum in excess of above rates, in any case, where such increased rates do not produce a net revenue in excess of six per centum per annum upon the capital stock of such corporation: Provided further, That no such increased tolls shall be charged in any case until the same shall have been authorized by the court of quarter session of the proper county, or if a bridge be located over a stream dividing counties, then by the court of quarter session of the county wherein the office of the company may be situated, and in all cases said corporations shall cause to be put up and kept in some conspicuous place at the gate of said bridge a list of the rates of toll: And provided further, That all children going