New-York tribune., 1875-02-03

latiOn is fighting death hand-tO-hand. we
hardly think that the change of climate pro-
duced by the clearing away OF the vast
forests of the Northwest Is enough of itself
to account for the increased mortality which
has followed these changes. Nasve-born men
and women Of from 90 to 80 years Of age who
have always lived in farms and villages, are
to-day better able to bear the sudden rise and
fall of temperature than their grandchildren
in the cities. The London journals, too, have
contained during the last month, anxious and
unsatisfactory examinations into the causes
why the English people are no longer able to
bear the Winters which they used to welcome
in song and story with such hearty gusto.
Instead of rejoicing in the Christmas snow
storms with carols and holly and yule logs,
they betake themselves In droves to Nice or
MentOne, or sit shivering in damp Roman pal
aces, their feet upon scaidini. With us, much
of our increased susceptibility to lung and
throat diseases may, Of course, be ascrbed TO
the use of hOt-air furnaces and our sedentary
lives. Hercules himself. if he had been born
in room with "a register pouring ont dry
poison and spent his days over an office desk
graphing pen in lieu of a club, would have
found his bronchial tubes more troublesome
than the hydra, and his stomach and liver
harder to keep in order than tho Augean
stables. Our grandfathcrs, however well-built
their houses, found the open fires insufficient
to warm them; no matter how the logs or
bituminous coal roared and blazed there was
always a gust of cold oxygenated air waiting
to rush in through door or window. The
temperature, however uncomfortable, was
measurably equazed, indoors and out; while
we, every time we open our own hall-door,
make an instantaneous change of from 30 to
co.. None of the natural changes of the eli
mate against which we inveigh can be so
frequent or fatal as this; the proof Of which
lies in the fact that in cases Of tubercular
consumption life has been heightened for years
by the experiment of teDt-life for the patient
from May until October in Minnesota. the
cure being wrought by the simple absence OF
the impure air of house and the changes
consequent upon living under roof.
We question, however, whether even furnace
heated houses will explain the problem, as
the population of our smaller towns, and, we
may add. of England, arc yet unblesscd with
their fatal comfort. We suspect that the
reason why we are hot able to bear the
that we are not able. Eight American men
out of ten are victims OF some nervous aflec-
ton, latent or discovered 0here is no need or
making percentage OF the women; they go In
en- mdSSe). Every disease of the nervous
system interferes with the chemical action OF
the body, and consequently lowers Its temper
ature The American of to-day who works
with his brain instead Of his body, goes out
into the nipping cold with salow face, torpid
digestive organs and clogged lungs, and can
not meet it because of the lack Of inward
heat; his grandfather with his Ak or gun. his
red blood and ostrich stomach, kept COM
Portable fire burning pcrpetually in his body.
What is to be done about IL 7 Are we to
take up the Ak again instead of the pen, to
60 back to fires instead Of furnaces, to let
OUT brains Cor our children'S brains) lie fallow
while we look after the lOng-negleCted bodies
Or are we to keep up this yearly fight with
the hydra-headed Notwithstanding Old Proba-
bilities each morning to find what hour 1t VIII
be upon us, until the whole population JOIN
the large class that now fly from it, migrat-
ing from Santa Barbara to St. Augustine, to
Aiken in the Spring, and 50 home only to
perch and fly again 2 There is no one key
word to solve the riddle for the whole coun-
try. Neither Allopath, nor HydrOpath, nor
Homeopath, can ward off this growing danger
by any of their secrets. There must be prac-
teal everyday effort to lessen each of its
causes by each man for himself, first of which
should be the avoidance of tho dry furnace
heat for our children at least. Let the next
generation have a chance if we have none.
There is no help for the rapid increase of
neural diseases other than tightening of the
worry and strain, social and domestic, under
which our lives are now dragged tighten
ing any man may attain tomorrow, but which
will come to us as o people, only through
our growth in culture and common sense
The climate-a temperature in July Of 1902,
falling to g. below zero in December-still re-
mains to combat with, but there science in our
house building and personal care as TO bathing,
nourshin; diet, and exercise, can do much
for us, as fashion has already done in drag
ging us to sea-beacl and mountain in Sum-
mer, and clothing even our delicate women in
homespun and seal, and thick shoes during
these February frOSts and thawS.
The crownng feature of the public charitable fes-
+vitias Of the vear il the Charity Ball lLJ dis