[3] U. S. Pub. Health Serv. Bul. 121, Preliminary Report on Proposed
Antiplague Measures in Massachusetts.
Section 1. _Be it ordained, etc._, That it shall be unlawful for any
person, firm, or corporation hereafter to construct any building,
outhouse, or other superstructure, stable, lot, open area, or other
premise, sidewalk, street, or alley, or to repair or remodel the same
to an extent of -------- per cent of cost of construction within the
city of --------, unless the same shall be rat proofed in the manner
hereinafter provided for.
Sec. 2. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That for the purpose of rat
proofing all buildings, outhouses, and other superstructures in the
city of --------, except stables, shall be divided into two classes,
to wit, class A and class B, and the same shall be rat proofed in the
manner following, to wit:
_Class A._--All buildings, outhouses, and other superstructures of
class A shall have floors made of rat-proof material or of concrete,
which concrete shall be not less than 3 inches thick, and overlaid
with a top dressing of cement, mosaic, tiling, or other impermeable
material laid in cement mortar, and such floor shall rest without
any intervening space between upon the ground or upon filling of
clean earth, sand, cinders, broken stone or brick, gravel, or similar
material, which filling shall be free from animal or vegetable
substances; said floor shall extend and be hermetically sealed to
walls surrounding said floor, which walls shall be made of rat-proof
material or of concrete, stone, or brick laid in cement or mortar,
and each wall shall be not less than 6 inches thick and shall extend
into and below the surface of the surrounding ground at least 2 feet
and shall extend not less than 1 foot above the surface of said
floor; provided that wooden removable gratings may be laid on such
concrete floors in such parts of such buildings, superstructures,
and outhouses as are used exclusively as sales departments, provided
that wooden flooring may be laid over the concrete wherever the
intervening space between such flooring and the concrete shall not
exceed one-half inch; provided further that any sleepers that are
sunk into the concrete shall be creosoted.
_Class B._--All accidental and unnecessary spaces and holes,
ventilators, and other openings other than doors and windows in every
building, outhouse or other superstructure in the city of --------,
shall be closed with cement, mortar, or other material impervious to
rats or screened with wire having not more than one-half inch mesh,
as the case may require, and all wall spaces shall be closed with
cement, mortar, or other material impervious to rats, which closure
shall extend the full thickness of the wall and shall extend upward
at least twelve inches above the floor level, and the whole in such
manner as to prevent the ingress or egress of rats; or the ingress
or egress of rats from such double wall or space may be prevented by
protecting the junction of said wall with the floor or other wall
with metal flashing of galvanized iron of 28 or 30 gauge, provided
that where such double wall is open beneath or is in communication
with foundations of the house that said opening shall be effectively
closed or said junction with foundations flashed with metal as
provided above: _Provided_, That in all buildings, outhouses, and
other superstructures of class A and in all stables where there are
any spaces in walls between the wall proper and the covering on
same, or in ceilings between the ceiling and floor, or other ceiling
covering above, said spaces shall be eliminated by the removal of
said covering, or so closed with cement, mortar or other material
impervious to rats as to prevent the ingress or egress of rats:
_Provided_, That all such wall spaces shall be closed with cement,
mortar, or other material impervious to rats, which closure shall
extend the full thickness of the wall and shall extend upward at
least twelve inches above the floor level.
The cellar of every building hereafter erected within the building
limits shall be made rat proof by the use of masonry or metal. All
openings in foundations, cellars and basements In such buildings,
except for doors and hatchways, and except also for such windows
wholly above ground as may be exempted by the -------- in his
discretion, shall be completely covered with screens of metal having
meshes of not more than one-half of an inch in least dimension and
constructed of rods or wire of not less than twelve gauge.
All buildings, outhouses, and other superstructures of class B
separated from any other building on three sides by at least ten
feet and lacking any basement or cellar may be rat proofed in
the following manner, to wit: Said building, outhouse, or other
superstructure shall be set upon pillars or underpinning of
concrete, stone, or brick laid in cement mortar, or may be set upon
underpinning of substantial timber, such pillars or underpinning to
be not less than eighteen inches high, the height to be measured
from the ground level to the top of said pillars or underpinning;
and the intervening space between said building and the ground level
to be open on three sides and to be free from all rubbish and other
rat harboring material, or may be made rat proof by constructing at
the margin of the ground area of said building a wall of concrete or
brick or stone laid in cement; such wall to extend into and below
the surface of the ground at least two feet and to meet the floor of
the building above closely and without any intervening space, to be
at least four inches thick and extend entirely around said building
_Provided_, That said walls may be built with openings therein for
ventilation only: _And provided further_, That such openings for
ventilation may be all of such size as the owner may elect and shall
be securely screened with metallic gratings having openings between
the bars of said gratings of not more than one-half inch or with
wire mesh of not less than twelve gauge, having openings between the
wires of said mesh of not more than one-half inch and the whole so
constructed and closed as to prevent the entrance of rats beneath
such building.
Sec. 3. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That every restaurant
kitchen, hotel kitchen, cabaret kitchen, dairy, dairy depot, dock,
wharf, pier, elevator, store, manufactory, and every other building,
outhouse, or superstructure wherein or whereon foodstuffs are stored,
kept, handled, sold, held, or offered for sale, manufactured,
prepared for market or for sale, except stables, shall be rat proofed
in the manner provided for hereinabove as class A: _Provided_, That
such part of any structure hereinabove defined as of class A that
shall be entirely over a body of water may be rat proofed as of class
B, as hereinafter provided for.
"Foodstuffs," as used in this ordinance, is hereby defined to be
flour and flour products, animals and animal products, produce,
groceries, cereals, grain, and the products of cereals and grain,
poultry and its products, game, birds, fish, vegetables, fruit, milk,
cream, and products from milk or cream, ice cream, hides, and tallow,
or any combination of any one or more of the foregoing.
All other buildings, outhouses, and superstructures, except stables,
not hereinbefore specified as class A, and all buildings used
exclusively for residential purposes, shall be rat proofed in the
manner provided for hereinabove as class B: _Provided_, That the
owner of any building, residence, outhouse, or other superstructure
in class B may, if he so elects, rat proof same in the manner
provided for in class A.
_Provided_, That in any case where, under the foregoing provisions,
any building, outhouse, or superstructure is required to be
rat proofed as of class A and the said building or outhouse or
superstructure is used in part for residential purposes, and the part
used as a residence is effectively separated from the part falling
within class A, by permanently and effectively closing all openings
above and below the ground floor, or by constructing a new wall,
and in either case the whole in such manner as to make such wall
whole and continuous in its entirety, without doorways, windows, or
other openings between the part used as a residence and that used
for such purposes as makes it fall within class A, then in such case
and for rat-proofing purposes only, the said building will, after
such separation and closure of the openings, or by the construction
of such new wall, be deemed to be two buildings; and that part used
exclusively for residential purposes may be rat proofed in the manner
provided for as a class B building, and the remaining part of said
building shall be rat proofed in the manner provided for a class A
building.
_Stables._--Stables and all buildings hereafter to be constructed and
used for stabling horses, mules, cows, and other animals shall be
constructed as follows:
Walls: The walls of such buildings shall be constructed of concrete,
brick, or stone, laid in cement mortar, and shall be not less than
four inches thick, and shall extend into and below the surface of
the surrounding ground not less than two feet, and shall extend
above the ground sufficient height as to be not less than one foot
above the floor level. All openings in such foundation walls shall be
covered with metal grating having openings not greater than one-half
inch between the gratings.
Floors: The floors of stables and stalls shall be of concrete not
less than three inches thick, upon which shall be laid a dressing
not less than one-half inch thick of cement or stone, laid in cement
mortar, or shall be constructed of floated concrete not less than
four inches thick, in such way as to prevent ingress or egress of
rats, and such floors to have a slope of one-eighth inch per foot to
the gutter drain hereinafter provided for.
Stalls: The floors of stalls may be of planking, fitting either
tightly to the concrete floor or elevated not more than one-half inch
from the stall floor, and so constructed as to be easily removable.
Such removable planking shall be raised at least once a week, and the
said planking and the concrete floor beneath thoroughly cleansed.
Gutters: Semicircular or =V=-shaped gutters shall be constructed in
such manner that a gutter shall be placed so as to receive all liquid
matter from each stall, and each of these gutters to connect with the
public sewer or with a main gutter of the same construction, which
in turn shall be connected with the public sewer or public drain.
All openings from drains into sewers shall be protected by a metal
grating having openings not more than one-half inch between the
gratings.
Mangers: Each manger shall be constructed so as to have a slope of
two inches toward the bottom, shall be covered with tin or zinc, and
shall be at least eighteen inches deep, to avoid spilling of food.
Feed bins: All feed bins shall be constructed of cement, stone,
metal, or wood, and with close-fitting doors. If constructed of
wood, the bins shall be lined or covered with metal, and the whole
so constructed as to prevent the ingress or egress of rats. All
grain, malt, and other animal food, except hay, stored or kept in any
stable, must be kept in such feed bins. Said feed bins must be kept
closed at all times, except when momentarily opened, to take food
therefrom or when same are being filled. No feed shall be scattered
about such bin or stable, and all such feed found on the floor or
in the stalls of said stables shall be removed daily and placed in
the manure pits. No foodstuffs intended for or susceptible of human
consumption shall be kept or stored in any stable or any other place
where animals are kept.
Sec. 4. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That the construction
and materials used in rat proofing shall conform to the building
ordinances of the city of --------, except and only in so far as the
same may be modified herein.
Sec. 5. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That all premises, improved
and unimproved, and all open lots, areas, streets, sidewalks, and
alleys in the city of -------- shall be kept clean and free from all
rubbish and similar loose material that might serve as a harborage
for rats; and all lumber, boxes, barrels, loose iron, and similar
material that may be permitted to remain thereon and that may be used
as a harborage by rats shall be placed on supports and elevated not
less than two feet from the ground, with a clear intervening space
beneath, to prevent the harboring of rats.
Sec. 6. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That all planking and plank
walks on and in yards, alleys, alleyways, streets, sidewalks, or
ether open areas shall be removed and replaced with concrete, brick,
or stone, laid in cement, gravel, or cinders, or the ground left bare.
Sec. 7. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That it shall be the duty
of every owner, agent, and occupant of each building, outhouse, and
other superstructure, stable, lot, open area, and other premises,
sidewalk, street, and alley in the city of -------- to comply with
all the provisions of this ordinance.
Sec. 8. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That it is hereby made the
duty of --------, and particularly through its health department, to
enforce the provisions of this ordinance.
Sec. 9. _Be it further ordained, etc._, That any law or ordinance in
conflict with the provisions of this ordinance be, and the same is
hereby, repealed.
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