Cities must of course consider the economic side of any new enterprise. I believe that such stations, outside of the cost of original construction, could be made almost if not quite self-supporting, in the following way. Lease the shoe-blacking privilege to an individual for a good round fee, said individual to be subject to certain rigid rules and regulations, and the place to be subject to periodical inspections. The lessee should be required to keep the place in perfect sanitary condition. In addition to his income from blacking shoes the lessee might be allowed to rent a few closets, ordinarily kept locked, and charge a small prescribed fee. If the patronage of the station in Boston Common is a criterion it would seem to me that the city could demand a fee from the lessee that would cover all ordinary running expenses. A woman attendant in the ladies’ station could be allowed the privilege of renting closets, and could also be provided with pins, buttons, and other necessaries such as are kept in the ladies’ waiting rooms at department stores. As a public health measure the subject must be considered from two standpoints, the health of the individual, and the health of the community. Physiology teaches us that the normal adult bladder, when fully distended, holds twenty ounces, but that a discomfort begins when it contains more than four ounces. As one advances in years prolonged retention of urine causes ammoniacal decomposition, with consequent irritation of the bladder. If the retention is frequent, disease of the kidneys must follow. At present in most American cities there are few convenience stations available to the public outside of hotels and saloons. In nearly all hotels one finds a sign stating that the toilet facilities are for the exclusive use of the guests. This makes a stranger feel unwelcome. Saloons are open to the public, but one dislikes to make use of the sanitary privileges offered without purchasing something. To a man of mature age, who is perhaps in the habit of taking an occasional drink, this phase of the subject has little importance; but for a young man in a strange city, driven for lack of comfort stations into a saloon the question assumes a moral side. The only way to avoid the saloon is to make use of an alley or other dark place, thereby breaking a city ordinance and creating a nuisance which gives the offence a public health aspect. The frequency with which this is done is evidenced by the familiar sign “Commit No Nuisance.” In London I saw a sign that to my mind was much less objectionable and equally effective; it read simply “Decency Forbids.” The establishment of comfort stations at convenient points would I think contribute greatly to public health. JOTTINGS INFANT MORTALITY RATE IN N. Y.