The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-08
New York chronicles for the past year 1851
Ieaths by violence and accident, or about one

New York chronicles for the past year 1851
deaths by violence and accident, or about one
In twenty Of the total mortality. This is as
tonishingly high, although not as high as last
year, when 1889 persons persisted in other
ways than by diseases. 1t is not wholly unin-
tercsting to study the various causes of this
large mortality as showing some Of the dam
gers Of city life.
The old adage that death is always present
was never better illustrated than in this list
OF deaths by accidents. A citizen of New
York, In walking from his house to his office,
encounters more dangers than Ulysses in all
his wanderings, and should consider himself
exceedingly lucky If he gets home safe and
sound.
The following gives some faint idea OF the
risks daily run by citizens OF New York, and In
fact of all cities, and shows the exact number
OF persons killed in 1876 by accidents OF one
kind or another:
Scalded to death, 80 persons; burned to
death by clothing catching fire. 4; burned in
buildings, 26; burned by kerosene, 4; run
over, by steam cars q, by horse cars 26, by
carriages 9; killed by collisions Of vessels s;
by falls downstairs 81; by falls on the street,
20, QOWu uhbCuWdyS, ~, oub Va HAhaoWo, ~,
through skylights, 6; inside OF rooms, IL;
from roofs IS; from masts, II; into pits, 8;
from wagons, IS; through fire escapes, 6;
killed by blasting g.; kicked to death by
horses, O.; died Of hydrophobia, 4; of sun
stroke, II; killed by explosions, 7; shot by
accident, II poisoned by accident, 8; drowned.
1863; suffocated, principally infants overlaid
In bed, 95; killed by other accidents, 81. The
homicides numbered 4S and the suicides 1872
large increase from last year. OF the sui
cides 40 were by shooting, 90 by hanging, 10
by cutting their threats. by body wounds,
by stabbing, II by jumping out OF windows,
16 by drowning and 80 by poison.
Among the curious accidents were, man
gored to death by wild steer in the streets
of New York, and two killed by falling tele-
graph posts.
The showing is decidedly unpleasant for u
large and civilized city like New York, and it
Is manifest that the authorities fail to provide
adequate protection for human life in the
largest city Of the United States. 1t is quite
probable also that number of deaths
are Indirectly caused by the fact that acct
dental homicides, resulting from careessness,
are not punished in this country as they are
In England and elsewhere and as they ought
to be-
In nearly half Of these cases death resulted
from criminal carelessness. In others, from
the economic carelesSness Of rich corpora
tions OF late revulsion Of feeling has taken
place on this subject, and the probabilities
are that these great corporations will no
longer be allowed to trifle with human life as
h0x A fnru foyuc
ject and the awarding of severe punishment
to those whose carelessness cause the loss Of
human life will very soon reduce New York's
mortality from accidents to reasonable limits
I Wells IL Fargo's report Is very good
argument in favor Of a bi-metallic currency
and shows very conclusively that the demone-
tization of silver would have disastrous
effect upon the value Of gold and upon all
the indebtedness of the world.
This report shows that the obtaining Of
gold from gold-qualtz and placer diggings
has ceased to be profitable; that two-thirds OF
the gold obtained annually to-day comes
from silver quartz. The bonanza silvermines
of Nevada, for instance, which produce the
greatest amount of silver of any mines in the
world, produce at the same time, more gold
than silver.
If silver were demonetized, therefore, by all
countries as 1t has been by Germany and the
United States, and ceased to be Of any use
save in the arts and Sciences it would soon
descend to the level of iron, and be Of no
more value than that metal. This would
have most disastrous effect on gold as well,
for silver, being then worthless, silver
quartz would no longer be mined, and the
gold supply would consequently diminish
at least one-half.
AS it is now too small to supply the de-
mands OF commerce, gold would soon in
crease extravagantly in value and cause the
general unsettlement of all the values and in
dustries of the world.
Black Cashmere Silks