Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-11-08
Living and Dying i'm new Or.
leans.

IFrom the New Orleans Times, Oct. 27.l
New Orleans sits by the Father of Wa.
ters. at the very gates of empire. Her
natural advantages are as great if not
greater than those of any other city in the
world. and she must, in the course of time,
become the factor of the exterior and inte-
rior trade of half a continent. But with
all her advantages she has disadvantage 6,
not the least of which are, the cost of lil-
ing and the cost of dying within her coI-
porate limits. s--... -...t.
:. An eccentric preacher in the North once
declared that New Orleans was about the
hardest road that could be found through
which to travel to the world above. He
had probably heard sad stories of the manner
in which our African element was treated,
and to the sinful indulgences to which our
people were accustomed, especially on the
''day of rest" We presume therefore that
his reflections on our situation were alto
gether of q moral character, and that the
imaginary impediments, which made our
Jordan so hard road to travel, were temp
tations by the wayside, which the worthy
churchman-kncwing the weakness of the
tesL-deemed Il almost impossible to re-
sist. Had he resided among us for quar-
ter of a century or so, the prejudices of his
education would doubtless have been re-
moved, aud, instead of moral impediments,
he would have found others of very dill
ferent character.
ss New Orleans has always been an expen-
sive place to live in. Food for the inner
man, clothing for the exterior, and the roof
trees which furnish shelter are, in the main,
far more costly than they should be. AS to
food, we should have many articles cheaper
than they can be furnished I'm any North
ern market. 1t costs less to bring flour and
pork hither from the West than to trans
port them to Boston or New York. The
facilities tor raising beef, hogs and poultry
are far better here than at the North, and
there can be little if any difference in the
relative cost of raising vegetables in the
two sections. Fish and fruit can be pro-
duced here in great variety and abundance.
though hitherto the business of furnishing
them has been controlled for the most part
by set of heartless monopolists who have
always permitted their wares to spoil rath-
er than sell them at an equitable price
The other expenses incident to life in New
Orleans" need not be particularized, though
it will be evident to all persons of expert
ence that they require radical readjust-
ment.
1t is unnecessary to proceed to an elabo-
rate argument in this matter, for we believe
it will be universally admitted that in
many OF the departments of active indus
try among us, the cost of living is, beyond
all proportion, large, compared with the
rewards which industry secures. But if
our goedly city be, just now, hard place
to live in, what shall we say of it as place
season such as this has been. Business has
been dull; the usual sources of employment
have been cut off. and many who have been
reduced from aff1uence to poverty are too
proud to appeal to charitable institutions
for relief. To such, the cost of daily bread
is tax altogether too great for their poor
means, and when to this the extraordinary
requirements of the sick room and the last
sad scene of all are added, the burden
presses with so crushing force as to sweep
everything and leave beside unsettled
claims against the proceeds of future in
dustry.
When person is attacked with yellow
fever custom demands that a physician be
sent for forthwith. The fee per patient is
fixed by DIR. Highprice at from $75 to 500,
and DR.. Worthless, though the veriest
quack in existence, scorns to take less than
Dr. H. He knows that the profession is
shielded by secrecy; that the value of the
services rendered cannot be accurately
gauged; that the prescriptions are made out
in mystic characters, and he concludes that
the more he charges the more highly will
his skill and energy be priced.
1t is we'll known that there Is no disease
on which s'doctors disagr SO much as on
yellow fever, and experienced nurses have
long since arrived at the conclusion that in
the most of cases they can get along better
without a doctor than with one. But this
trouble stares them in the face: should the
patient die no burial certificate can be OBJ
tained, and great blame will rest on those
who employed the nurse and assumed so
unwonted responsibility in the premises.
Indeed. to die 'without the aid of q physi-
clan" is regarded, not only by the profess
sion, but by large portion of the public,
as criminal in the extreme.
We know that many of our doctors are
most worthy and considerate members OF
the healing art; that they place only a
reasonable value on their services, and
would be much more likely to assist the
poor than to oppress them. But these re-
marks do not, unfortunately, apply to all.
In thousands of cases our citizens have
been imposed upon by pretenders, whose
self-styled services are worse than useless,
and whose charges are to be measured only
by their impudence, which is boundless.
For all this there should be remedy. AT
present there is none.
When the pulse is stilled and the certifi-
cate obtained there are still extraordinary
expenses which make New Orleans hard
nlace to die in. A box for the poor remains
costs $40 or $50, though its actual value is
not over $40 or $l5, and the hole in which
Los oro CONSIGNED to ashes, and dust to