The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-04-14
An Increased Death Rate.
WHY MORE HAVE DIED THIS YEAR
THAN IN THE SAME PERIOD IN 1880.

DIR. John T. Nagle, Registrar OF
Vital Statistics, has just completed the
record of deaths in the city of New
York for the first three months of the
present year. The total number OF
deaths was 9,l05, which was 2,29l
more than for the corresponding period
of last year. The records show that
there was an increase of 4l6 deaths
from scarlet fever, 1876 deaths from
diphtheria, "a deaths from cerebro.
spinal fever, S8 from smallpox, 100
from Group, and AZ from malaria. The
number of deaths in January of the
| present year was 3,138 in February,
2,826; and in March, 3,l41.
With the purpose of ascertaining
the cause of this apparently alarming
increase of mortality in the city, a Sun
reporter called upon Health Commits
sioner Janeway yesterday and in
qured whether there was any official
explanation. DR.. Janeway said;
New York City is not alone in its
increased rate of mortality this year
as compared with last year. The
records show that many other cities
have had the same misfortune. The
Board has caused table to be pre-
pared showing the comparative death
rate of foreign and American cities for
| the first three months of 1880 and 1881. .
1t appears that the death rate of
the first week in January in New
York in 1880 was "a in 900. In 1881
it was ~ in ] 900. In Philadelphia
the death rate was 1853 in 1880, and
24.3l in 1881. In Brooklin the death
rate 23.45 in 1880, and 24.12 in 1881
In st. Louis the death rate was IL "a
in 1880 and 1877 in 1881. In Baltimore
the death rate was 1858 in 1880 and
22.96 in 1881. All these cities show an
increased death rate in some cases
greater than that of New York
These figures refer only to the first
week in January, but the figures for
other and later weeks show a similar
state Of facts. Taking the week end
ing February 10, the death rate in
| New York was "a. 80 in 1000 i'm 1880,
| and 30. t3 in 900 i'm 1881. In Phila-
| delphia the death rate in that week in
1880 was 1894, and in 1881 it was %. 81,
so on through the other cities there is
corresponding increase in the death
rate as compared with that of last
year"
How do you account for this?',
There are many things that have
| contributed to the increase. In the
case of diphtheria, which has prob
| ably been no worse than in 1875, the
! cause has been defective plumbing and
the extreme cold winter as much as
anything. Diphtheria has been pre-
valent in Boston and Brooklyn, even
more than i'm New York"
How as to malaria ?"
II think there has been some de-
fective classification in that respect. I
have known several cases where the
deaths resulting from other causes
have been attributed to malaria. One
cause of malaria has been the neces-
sity for Keeping houses closed. People
have sacrificed ventilation to keep
warm. In some cases | think the air
in the house worked up from the
ground aud produced malaria. There
has been some digging that always
contribute to malaria, especially in
SUMNER
"How about the filthy streets ?"
at is difficult to say how much the
| filthy streets contribute to ill health.
They are less injurious in cold weather
and the temperature has not yet been
warm enough to produce much fer
| mentation or putrefaction. AS the
| weather grows warmer the filth of the
streets will undoubtedly be fruitful
cause of death. But the condition of
the streets does not account for the in
creased mortality in this and other
cities"
"What other causes are there?"
"In the cases of smallpox we know
! that that disease was the result of con-
| tagion from some wOrkmen who came
from Philadelphia and some Italians"
"How about the lung troubles ?"
"The extreme cold weather is re-
sponsible for much of the pneumonia
and bronchitis. Such severe season
also carries off an unusually large
number of old persons"
"ElOw about the fever3 ?"
1--WE have observed that scarlet
fever sometimes skips IL year. We
have appointed an additional number
of inspectors to follow up and investi-
gate the causes of fevers. These in
spcctors are going into lodging houses
and other places where fever cases
abound, and not only taking care of
patients, but removing the prolific
causes Of fever"
"Do you find that the increased
death rate is among the poorsn
"Much of it is owing to the bad
ventilation of tenement houses. The
poor must save coal in the winter, and
they kept their rooms shut tight.
Children run from these warm rooms
to cold halls without adequate pro.
lection, and lung troubles result.
There is also much sickness among
the adult population of tenement
houses from this cause. But bad ven
tilation produces disease, whether
in the houses of the rich or the poor.
The rich, however, have q great ad-
vantage because they generally get
more water. 1t is prolific source OF
disease i'll tenement houses that they
do not generally have water on the
upper floors during the winter. There
are some rich peoples houses on high
ground that suffer from this cause
Pneumonia and bronchitis are not
confined to the poor.n
do you think of any other cause OF
the increased death rate.n
''Ihere is, of course, the natural in.
crease to be allowed. Our population
is growing all the time. Then you
must recoilect that the immigration
this year has been unprecedented,
do not know how much exactly, but
know that some of the increase in oul
death rate is due to our increased i'm
migration. The deaths in our public
Institutions have increased. Then the
lodging houses, which are centres o
disease in many cases, have contributed
great many. On looking over the
death rate of London found that in
some weeks their rate for pneumonia
and bronchitis was greater than ours. )