New-York daily tribune., 1865-06-13
SOME SANITARY FACTS.

however. demonstration does not bring with It
reform: yet it must be admitted that the na,ure
and extent of the causes which haze made the
City den Of disease have not been revealed
until now. The Citizens Association has Yin-
dcatcd both tie necessity for its organlzaron
and IFS right to survive the denunciation OF Mu'
nicipal Reports by nstituting the first system
attic, complete and unshrnkiDg sanitary In
spection ever performed in the City, The results
of which are embodied in large oetayo volume,
just issued by the Applctons. The subject has
no attraction for most readers. The book is not
30 interesting Us the Magazines for the month,
nor can we writo anything upon it as subject
that will have special charm. either in style OF
matter; but since the vast majority are certain
not to look at it, although every one OF the IN
telligent payers of New-York ought to, we
hope to present somo statements which may
catch the eye and provoke examination OF the
volume itself The report Of the Council Of
Hygiene, devoted to general survey oi the
subject, occupies about a third of the whole
spaces the remainder is given to testimony
being the reports of personal inspections by as
many Inspectors. From the mass OF evidence
il is difficult to make selection.
First of all, let us say, emphatically, that the
witnesses ale uninpcachable. No iDnuendos Of
annual reports can weigh for moment against
their direct personal testimony. The council,
under whose auspices the inspection was carried
on. is composed of the most eminent physicians
of the City; the field itself was divided into
twentv.nine districts, each assigned to prac-
ticng physician, who personally did his WORK.
with no reward out the CONSCIOUSNESS OF dong
A publc service. The survey extended over thc
whole of Manhattan Island, and was conducted
upon one essential plan throughout. Generally,
the tone of complaint from the various districts
is much the same. Bad drainage, filthy streets,
nusances of dozen different sorts, overcrowded
dwellings. insufficient sewerage or none at all
and scanty water.supply, are reported every
where. Tins. the number Of tenemcnt-houses,
none of which contain less than three families.
is l5.5Ii, while the total population in these and
in CELLAR is sol ga or half the total residents
upon the Island. the houses averaging It faini-
lies each. OF these houses, 3,9l2 are without
sewers. and 100, 1913 persons inhabit them. 1t is
hard to tell how they 1.-Two without violating the
deceucies Of language, but we will give few
suggestive extracts further on.
The Fifth Ward has A death-raio Of III
10: the Fileenth--a crowded and busy
Ward-of I in 80, while that OF the City
at large is about l in 30. Were the
whole of New-York To be- brought up TO this
standard, over 1000 lives might be annually
saved. The following random extracts may
present some faint idea of what must be the
places IN which these thousands of lives are
lost:
House Nos y and - Park-st is six stories
IN hight makirg complete eui-de-Sae with
another one of seven stories, while there are
stibiss at the rear Ga common adiunct). There
arc 6j families, and &7 persons: ] III being
constantly sick, while the yearly mortality is
in ~, smallpox and typhuS being never absent.
In Mulbcrry-si. is a - model house, where the
sitLncos-rate is | III 4. ana the death-rate in
u. Another on Pear-st.-st0b!es being the
foundation hcre-has ] IN 3 10 sick, and kills
every year / ia 1914 A "levcr-ncst" on
MonrOc-st. 80 far exceeded this as To reach
death-rate of | in = In Riyington place,
rear Of Nos. BIG and 3ls Riyington-st., ~
persons died of cholera in three weeks,
in lsi9. and not one recovered that was
taken III. And now the 200 inmates
hlyt no other waller supply than that furnished
by two hydrants in tho yard, and .or the whole
there are hut two pnvy yanltS the condition
Of which may be left undescrbed. In re-
spectable-looking house on Sevcntconth-st., the
only drain was found 10 bc an open trough at
iachcd 10 the wall of the house, but an OBJ
stuction occurring, tho contents naturally went
INTO the cellar: and other like eases are cited
At No l0o West Nmetconsh-st., more than 100
persons have but single prlyy. III the Fourth
Ward, "thcrc are more than i00 families whose
homes can be reached only by wadng through
% disgusting deposit Of filthy refuse" Less
han 30 per cent OF the pfyicS IN this Ward
have any direct connection with drains or
.cwers: IL per cent are in the Easements of
houses occupied as dwellings. Less than one
half the IA tenement houses in this Ward
nave any direct connection with the sewer
liquid refuse being left TO take lis own course.
being cmptiod ''on the Sidewalk, or into
ihc street, or, in some instances, into
sinks in the domicilcs Communicating with a
common Pipe which discharges lis contents nio