New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1860-05-14
DELAVAN ON DISEASE.

DELAVAN ON DISEASE.
City Inspector Delayan sent communication
TO the Board of Health few days ago. in which
he makes some remarkable and some deceptive
statements. As the head of the Department which
il supposed to have charge of the sanitary welfare
of the people, he follows the example of his prede-
cessors, in irving to show how much he has done
to prevent pestilence and promote health; but the
figures are mnfayorablc, and he can only assert
that " the general health of the city, save In cases
" above mentioned, is about the same as last
year." The " cases above mentioned, how
ever, seem to be rather serious: they show all IN
crease of mortality within four months of this
year, "a compared with 1889, of 1856 from scarlet
fever, 1872 from consumption, % from bronchitis,
aud 81 from croup--in all 1923 more deaths from
four causes than in 1859. Other triHes bring the
total increase up to 1919 for one-hrd of the year,
or to the rate of "a per cent. Bnt this Is
not correct statement. Mr.. Delavan has shown
moderate weekly total of deaths, since he came
into Office, by emitting the number OF g still
:. born" from his tables. These added (and they
have UP to the presentyear always been cOunted),
we must put the four months total at about 8,o75,
instead of o283; on increase of 2, 400 over the
first four months of 1859. So, in reality, our
death ratio is thirty per cent higher this year than
last. M wonder the City Inspector is driven to
comparisons with London when New-York will
rot bear comparison with herself.
But the London comparison is also calculated to
mislead Mr. Delavan takes the first l3 weeks of
the year, and makes Il, 5I4 deaths in London to
6,2O9 in New-York. He puts the population of
London at 300, 900, and of NewYork at 9OO, 900,
or 0ne-third. He finds that in Tendon the deaths
have been Mt the rate of I0l to 100 in New Ork--
not very marked difference, after all. The great
error however, is that he compares the healthiest
three months in New-York with the unhealthirst
three in London. The bills of mortality Of that
city for seven years show for the quarter ending
March 81 an average of IL, 500 deaths, while the
average for the quarter ending Sept. 30 was only
H. $50. In New-York the ease is just the other
way. Where London, in 1857, shows 1891 in
Winter to ,4i6 in Summer, New York has 1893
in Winter, and 1891 in Summer. In 1855, the
year Of the last census, the mortality in NewYork
FOR the September quarter was Al in every 200
inhabitants; while for the same period in London
it only 81 TO 900, less than one-hali that
Of this city. Last year there were ,SS4 deaths in
the frat quarter and z, lI2 in the Summer quar-
ter-a proportion even more remarkable than in
1855.
The only legitimate deduction from these I'M
pleasant facts il that the ratio of mortality in this
city, more especially among children, is increasing
Mt fearful pace Nearly C3 per cent of the
deaths last year were of persons under five years
of age, and probably over 40 per cent of persons
under one year. This is in a great degree
owing to crowded, filthy, unyentiated houses,
and the founess OF the streets. Mr.. Delavan
knows this well enough; and he knows that
for three or four years past there have been efforts
at Albany to establish some sort OF Sanitary
Reform to meet and abate this waste of human
life, every one Of which efforts has been defeated
mainly by the money and active personal efforts Of
the City Inspector and his subordinates. Was
there not heavy assessment collected in his
Department less than two months ago TO defeat
the Sanitary bill And was not one of his clerks
the active and determined opponent of the bill
on the floor of the House : Mr.. Delayan
speaks with severity OF ignorant doctors az the
indirect cause of great many deaths. If an igno-
rant doctor kills ten children year, how many
hundreds Of deaths shall We lay at the door Of the
head Of the Health Department, who does not even
pretend to know anything Of sanitary science or
medicine, yet who uses his utmost political and
personal power TO prevent any competent man from
being put into the place True, there were some
objections to that bill; but they might have been
easily removed, and the bill passed in sucha shape
as to initiate great reform and improvement in
public health.
The City Inspectors Department has system.
atcally and purposely violated the charter for the
last six years, by refusing to make or to carry out