#4116 Unknown Photographer Note the outdoor W.C.'s behind the little girl. "The Tenement House Problem" (edited by Rohert W. DeForest and Lawrence Veiller, 2 Vols., cl903), describes back yard W.C.'s and their construction at pages 306-309, Vol. 1. At page 306 it is stated, "These in general are confined to very old reconverted buildings or to those built prior to l88l." At page 307, it states, "Th e majority of the old buildings have 'school sinks' built beneath the seats," and goes on to give a graphic description of a school sink and how it operates for those who may care to read up on the subject. Why were they called school sinks? According to the "First Report of the Tenement House Department of the City of New York, 1902-03" [Robert W. DeForest, Tenement House Commissioner], p. 65, "It was called a school-sink because it was first adopted for use in the public schools. The first reference that can be found in the records of the Health Department in regard to its use outside of the public schools and in connection with a tenement house, is to be found in the report of the Board of Health for the year 1868 . . ." This report also has a splendid description of school- sinks, beginning at page 6l.