New Orleans Republican., 1875-10-03
aths of the First Born.

The diseases of children under a civilize
state of soci. ty Ia the subject of some star
ling statistics from the pen of DR.. Stephe
Smith. He addressed a meeting of ii
Ladies' Aid Society of Grace Chapel, in til
city, during the summer, and his remarl
were little circulated at the time, becau
the people were of pleasuring. They M
we'll be noted now. since the SdnitariO
Magazine has just reproduced them.
Five years of age IS the dividing line b
tween the junior and The elder dead. Ha
the yearly deaths 10 New York are of ch
dren under five. There are 100000 childrt
iu New York; Of these as many die as of tt
1000 900 grown inhabitants. The mortalil
Of one-tenth the whole populace, and th'
the helpless tenth, is equal to that of ii
nine -tenths remaining. Well does the ph
sician say that if such mortality exist
among sheep the country would be alarme
1t is not SO with the little children, of who
three fOuith OF the one-half we have cit
die under one year old. The nursery, ther
fore, and the mother must be at fault. o.
of the 10000 infant dead-none over III
years Old-S000 or one-half, die of foul air
filth diseases, and two-ifths die in tenemel
houses. Two-fifths also die in the war
months from April to eptember-July al
August taking off 5000 little people. D
Smith iormulates his position, therefore,
follows:
"rhe children die in excess while confint
to the nursery of diseases contracted in
aggravated by the nursery, especially
the tenement houses, and in the war
months of the year"
DR.. Smith proceeds to examine an or,
naty sa,. sas OF apartments; the garbage, d
drs;ns tGa ,'rst on the mantel and area
on the wall. the = rongy decaying floors, i
erevices Of dirt, the unwashed streets al
unbsthed bodies of the sleepers, the U
summed mattress, the bundles OF old g
ments hidden away, the Closets crammg {,
the pantry smelling. the tN'utea milk' y \
indigestible parts OF the butc. eers meat !. \
huckstered and overlooked veg etaoies, U
rancid cooking fats, the bottlefed onsprip9
the unwashed, unexercised childr. N:
adjures the Ladies' Aid Society to vis.'t y
city BY districts, leaving no part W.
spected, and to inform the 100, 900 mothel
OF New York how to purify their household
and save their babes. Lime and carbol
acid to cleanse the walls, dry scrubbing fG
the dirty floors, rubbing for the turnitur
air and holiday for the little occupants! n
says that it is no difficult thing, with ef
cient and organized missionary work,
save the lives of seventy-five per cent
the 10000 dying children of Manhatts
Island, and remarks that an enterpris
which reduced the annual mort ality to 40l
funerals instead of four times four woul
dwarf all other municipal improvements
In these times we are learning anew tA
lesson we had disda n ed, that modern id
provements do not dispense with daily an
constant labor, and that great parks an
arehitectures do not permit mis- siOnary won
to stop. The wickedness of the poor elass(
in New York is intimately associated wid
their condition in childhood. Clean tA
child and the integument of the criminI
is softened, Give air and light to the dwd
ling and you put window In the soul. til
physical condition of the average child 4
Ghetto Of Rome or in old 81. Giles su|
Drury Lane Of London. Our women Al
too idle and volupta0us. Let them orgsl
ize with ladies' aid societies like that
Grace Chapel, and findlwork for the brail
body, and the heart.-Nep York Gruphic