Executive Order 421

by President of the United States

In accordance with the report and recommendations of the committee appointed by Executive order of December 7, 1905, to prepare a plan for the prevention of tuberculosis in the Government offices and workshops, I hereby promulgate the following order, with the object of eliminating and preventing tuberculosis among employees of the public service:

It shall be the duty of the head of each of the Executive Departments in Washington to cause to be printed and transmitted to all of the Federal buildings under his control the rules prepared by said committee to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in the buildings, and to require their display by the custodian in such manner and in such number as is necessary to carry out the intent of the rules.

It is hereby required of each Department to ascertain the names of any persons in the service in said Department afflicted with tuberculosis and to present to them the printed, rules prescribed by said committee for their observance.

The nonobservance of said rules shall, in the discretion of the head of the Department, be considered a just cause for separation from the service.

Whenever there is doubt with regard to any person in the Government service as to whether said person is afflicted with pulmonary tuberculosis, an order shall be issued for said person to present himself (or herself) at one of the Government laboratories for examination and to present the Department from the director or other authorized officer of the said laboratory a certificate showing the result of said examination. If a Government laboratory is not accessible, the laboratory investigation shall be made at Government expense.

The Surgeon-General of the Army, the Surgeon-General of the Navy, and the Surgeon-General of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service are hereby directed to cause a thorough sanitary inspection of the public buildings and workshops under their respective Departments; and they are authorized to detail from their respective medical services a sanitary board, or boards, for this purpose. The inspection of the public buildings and workshops other than those under the War and Navy Departments shall be conducted under the Surgeon-General of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service. The sanitary board, or boards, thus appointed shall report upon—

First. Insanitary conditions immediately remediable.

Second. Insanitary conditions requiring structural changes.

The said board when entering upon its duties in any Department shall report to the executive head of said building or workshop, who shall, on the request of the board, give such assistance as may be required.

The sanitary board, or boards, will make reports to the Surgeon-General of their respective services, who shall bring these reports before the committee appointed by Executive order of December 7, 1905, and said committee shall transmit a full report, with recommendations, to the President.

These duties to be additional to, and not taking precedence of, the regular duties of the members of the committee.

Theodore Roosevelt.

The White House,

February 28, 1906.