The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-07-21
MortaIity in Town and country.


To the Editors OF the Intelllgenccr,
What is the proportion OF death rate
between town and country one an
swers dten 10 ON" another equal, and
another asserts that his observations in
This direction leads him to the conclusion
That the mortality Of the country is much
greater than that Of cities, where an equal
1roportion is taken into account, Who
Is right We have just been examining
some reports of the American and British
Social Science Association touching upon
this point. Two facts prominent and
startling are made manifest in these re-
ports: The rapid decadence Of human
lite from congregation In large and crowd
ed cities, and the decrease Of population
among the higher and more refined
classes Of society, To illustrate the first
item, We mention the following facts,
which 90 to show that our cities are
maintained ut u more fearful cost OF hu
man life than is generally supposed. or
one hundred causes Of death, seventy.
eight act with greater intensity in cities
than in the country, some oil them pro.
duCing nlaety-six per cent or nearly
double as many deaths in the same
population in cities as In the country,
while the whole number OF deaths is forty
Eer cent more in the Cires. So great Is
the disproportion that our cities would
soon become depOpulated II left 10 them.
selves. They live at the expense OF the
country. Families are exhausted and die
out, and their places are filled by immi-
grafton from the rural districts. II Is
estimated by French writer in lS49,
that among 100000 people then living in
Paris, there were probRbly'not 900 who
could trace their families in that city back
two hundred years, According to English
statististiCians, 10000 people annually are
necessary to keep the population of Lon.
don IN to It's number. And 1t is estimated
that 700 fresh subjects from the rural
districts must flow annually into the city
of new York to supply the waste that
death makes in that city in excess Of the
death-rate of the country. Another
striking fact is the readiness with which
these thousands from the country flock
into the cities to fill up the broken ranks,
This is seen from the fact that the in.
crease Of population immensely sur.
passes that Of the rural districts. This
vast increase arising not from the
performance Of births over deaths,
but from immigration, both foreign and
domestic. DIR. Jarvis gives the following
statistics on this point From 1910 10 1860,
In the United States, tho gain Of cities
was 1877 per cent, and the rural gain in
the same time was ~ per cent. During q
period Of twenty-five years tho towns OF
France increased 80 per cent, and the
country 3 per cent. Paris In thirty years
gained 40 per cent; all the rest OF France
IL per cent. Another fact worthy of
mention IS, that the rate of mortality Is In
exact proportion to the COmpactness Of
the population. In 1858 the registrar.
general of England reported that "the
people Of districts living In England wide
apart experience low mortality and
their mortality increases In proportion as
their dwellings are brought In close prOXl-
nifty" Another report divides England
into two classes as TO density of pOpula.
ton. In the first class, where each per.
son had q quarter acre Of land the deaths
were at the rate of 1855 in 1000 for q
year; in tlle second class, where each per.
son had three and half acres amortality
oI twenty In 1000 was regarded an over.
estimate. A table condensed from one Of
these reports shows that the mortality
steadily decreases as the population de-
Creases. Thus the average mortality In
fifteen districts, when each person had
from 004 to .Ol of an acre, was 2O2 to
10000 of population. Sixty districts
where each person had one TO two acres,
shows rate of 2l4. In four districts,
where there was but one person to nine
or ten acres, the rate was 17j. In three
districts, where each person had seven.
teen to thlrty.three acres the rate was
100 to 1000 Of population.
Now, II Is true that the rates OF mortal
| Ivy given here as belonging TO many local
lies, WIFI not apply in full force TO oul
much favored city of Wheeling; but 1t Is
also true bytheso reports that our chances
Of securing health and prolonging life arc
very much reduced by choosing to rcmalr
herein preference to the country.
H. IHheeling, July 10, 1871. AN 3.
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