with typhus fever from the case of the fireman who was removed to North Brother Island suffering from typhus fever yesterday. This man had been employed in the cellar of the building on the easterly side, and his duties were to fire the boilers situated under the sidewalk at the point named. The only person with whom he came into close contact was the engineer, whom I have directed to be treated as a "suspect" at his home. The engineer states that he was in contact more or less close with the fireman for about two hours after the fireman had been taken sick. I have also directed that the elevator boys who have been in contact with the engineer, more or less, be replaced by boys who will be employed to-day who have not been in contact with any employees of the paper in any way. The two boys thus laid off will also be treated as "suspects." The conditions and surroundings in the rooms where the case in question was are such as to make the danger from infection practically nil. Moreover, these rooms are so cut off from the rest of the building as to make it possible to isolate a case of contagious disease in them without danger to occupants of other rooms in the building. The floors, walls, woodwork of closets and plumbing fixtures in the pressroom and business offices have been thoroughly disinfected and are now in a cleanly condition. I have the honor to forward herewith preliminary report of Inspector Sprenger,of this Department, on the sanitary condition of the plumbing of the building in question. This report will be supplemented as soon as possible with a full report, giving the result of peppermint test. I also forward a diagram showing the general plan of the building. Yours, respectfully, CYRUS EDSON, M. D., Sanitary Superintendent. HEALTH DEPARTMENT-CITY OF NEW YORK. Complaint and report of inspection in reference to premises junction of Park Row and Centre street by the Inspector on Special Inspection of Staats Zeitung Building: To the Board of Health: I, Frederick Sprenger, holding the position of a Sanitary Inspector in the Health Department of the City of New York, do report that on the 19th day of January, 1893, I personally examined and carefully inspected the premises situated at junction of Park Row and Centre street, and found the facts as follows: Said premises consist of a newspaper and office building, of which Oswald Ottendorfer of premises is owner, and in violation of section of the Sanitary Code were found in a condition dangerous to life and detrimental to health, for the following reasons, viz.: Owing to loose couplings in connections of vent pipes with water-closet bowls and loose and missing trap covers of two traps in the cellar a test of the plumbing could not be made. These defects are to be repaired at once and arrangements made to test the work on Saturday, the 21st instant. A large portion of the plumbing was put in new about two years ago, the fixtures renewed then were all separately trapped and traps separately ventilated. The portion of the cellar and sub-cellar occupied by the boilers and engine-room is almost entirely shut off from the rest of the building, thereby reducing the liability of the air from this portion of the cellar entering the upper part of the building. As far as can be seen at present, the only connection from cellar with upper floors is in openings for pipe lines and lift for type between the cellar and top floor. FREDERICK SPRENGER, Sanitary Inspector. Discussion followed, participated in by all the members of the Board. The Mayor asked: “Is there any danger now if the public should visit the building?" Mr. Wilson replied as follows: "None at all, so far as typhus is concerned. There are no persons in the building that have come in contact with the typhus patient. The history of the case is, a boy who slept at a lodging-house in Duane street on the night of December 31, 1892, slept in the engine-room of the Staats Zeitung Building, coming in contact with the fireman. The boy developed typhus next day and was taken away. I think he will recover." In reply to a question by the Comptroller, whether the building is now in a cleanly condition, Mr. Wilson said: “So far as danger from typhus is concerned, we consider it nothing." Hon. Edward P. Barker, President of the Department of Taxes and Assessments, asked that more convenient and commodious quarters be obtained for his Department upon the expiration of the present lease. On motion of the Chamberlain, the application of the Commissioners of Taxes and Assessments for lease of new offices, was referred to the Comptroller, with request that he confer with the Commissioners in the selection of such offices and report back to this Board. Adjourned. RICHARD A. STORRS, Secretary. COMMISSIONERS OF THE SINKING FUND OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. Proceedings of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund at a Meeting held at the Mayor's Office at 1 o'clock P. M., on Tuesday, January 31, 1893. Present-Thomas F. Gilroy, Mayor; Frederick Smyth, Recorder; Theodore W. Myers, Comptroller; Thomas C. T. Crain, Chamberlain, and Nicholas T. Brown, Chairman Committee on Finance, Board of Aldermen. The minutes of the meeting held January 20, 1893, were read and approved. The Comptroller presented a report on the insurance of the New Criminal Court Building, as follows: FINANCE DEPARTMENT-COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, January 31, 1893. } To the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund: GENTLEMEN-I present herewith for approval five policies of insurance by the various contractors on the New Criminal Court Building, aggregating $51,500, in the following companies: Q. N. Evans Construction Company, two policies in the Palatine Insurance Company, of Manchester, England, one for $5,000, expiring December 14, 1893, at noon; and one for $6,500, expiring December 31, 1893, at noon $11,500 00 Jackson Architectural Iron Works, in the Continental Insurance Company, 20,000 00 7,000 00 And also one renewal policy in the Insurance Company of North America, expiring January 21, 1894, by the Q. N. Evans Construction Company, in place of a similar policy which expired January 21, 1893, for...... $13,000 00 Total. $51,500 00 ==== The total amount of insurance now carried upon this building by the different contractors is as follows: Whereas, The Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, on December 29, 1892, approved of a policy of insurance for three thousand two hundred and fifty dollars, taken out by the Jackson Architectural Iron Works, upon the New Criminal Court Building, in the United Firemen's Insurance Company, of Philadelphia, expiring December 22, 1893; and Whereas, This Board is now requested to substitute for the said policy one of a similar amount taken out by the same parties upon the said building, in the Palatine Insurance Company, Limited, of Manchester, England, expiring also December 22, 1893; therefore Resolved, That this Board hereby approves of the said substitution. Which was unanimously adopted. The Comptroller presented the following: FINANCE DEPARTMENT-COMPTROLLER'S OFFICE, } January 31, 1893. To the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund: GENTLEMEN-At a meeting of this Board held on the 29th of December, 1892, a resolution was adopted to authorize the leasing to the City of certain premises required for the use of the Department of Public Works. It now appears that since the resolution was adopted the ownership of one of the premises, viz., No. 231 East Seventy |