Morning journal and courier., 1881-04-06
SanrnaI aalb Galrier.
Morning, April 6. 1881.
Local News.
lFor other Local News see Second Page.l

Local News.
 For other Local News see Second Pagel
 Health of New Haven.
 President Brewers Letter to che Board
 -Lowest Death Rnte of Any Seaport
 -The Death Rate to be Reduced Fur
 ther-Sanitary Science as a Science.
 At the meeting of the Board of Health held last evening, Professor Brewer, of Yale College president of the Board, submitted 8 letter in reference to the work and objects of the Board and the claims of sanitary science as science He remarks: ''New Haven has still the proud distinction of having the lowest death rate of any seaport of its size in the world' (so far as can learn), but that it is practicable to reduce this already low rate as firmly believe as do in any other fact demonstrated by science. The work of reduction has already begun, and is now going on as part of the progress of our city. and the only reason why it does not go faster IS, that in this busy age everybody cannot keep up with therapid progress made in modern scientific knowledge, of which sanitary sci ence is but one phase" After remarks as to the reliability of sanitary science as sci ence, the letter goes on to speak in high terms of the method in which the vital sta tistics of this city are kept adding that thorough investigation of the figures pointed all one way, viz:
 1.-The present number and boundaries of wards have prevailed for four years of vital statistics, during which time 4,389 deaths have occurred. If we take these ward by ward, and ye1r by year, and compare the mean death rate of the first two years of the present arrangement Q877 and 1s7s) with that of the last two years (1679 and 188O) we find that the mean rate is lower for the last two years than for the previous two years in eleven out of the twelve wards. The only case where the average has increased (and that but slightly is in the Fourth ward, where rapidly increasing population is feel ing year by year the need of better sewer ac- commodations, and where I trust that fu- ture appeals for sewers will be listened to. s'The 9th, 7th, 9th and 10th wards, all of them populous, have shown a very marked decrease in their average death rates for the last two years (since the sanitary Inspectors began work) from the previous two years s'The Board of Health has now been organ ized eight years. While. no one can claim that all sanitary improvement in the city during that time is due to it's work and the consequent agitation of the subject, still it is fair to show what those eight years have &C., complished The death rate of the city for the four years previous to the organization of the Board C1S69 to 1872 inclusive) was respectively 23.4, 25, 19.7 and 22.3 per thou sand of population. The average of these | Is 22.6, and the total number of deaths re- corded during those four years was 4,676. | The death rate for the last four years (1877 | to 1880 inclusive) is respectively 19.7, IS, \ 167 and IFS, the average of the four is 1S.1 l, | and during the four years there was total | of 4 1889 deaths. The population of the city \ from 1870 to 1880 increased twelve thousand, \ but the deaths for the four years were 2S7 \ less than in the former four years.
 \ ''With death rate equal to the average \ (22.6) for the four years before the organiza- \ tion of the Board, population of Sd, COG \ would call for l, 1856 deaths yearly the actual | average for the last four years has been 1, ,097
 deaths yearly. Here then, is already a say. ing of about two hundred and sixty lives per \ year as the actual result of better sanitation
 'If we take special diseases we find the facts just as instructive. For example, enteric (typhoid) fever was formerly a very common \ disease here. During the six years, 1868 to 1873 inclusive, there were 315 deaths record
 ed from this cause, an average of over s \ per year. The victims were largely people
 in the prime of life, carried off by unsanitary
 conditions. Now, with population IF, ,OOO \ greater, the average deaths by this disease
 for the last four years are less than 15 per year, a reputed number believed by most
 medical men to be higher than the actual
 facts justify. An eminent medical man has
 stated within a month ''that true enteric \ (typhoid) fever, formerly so common in this \ city, has become so rare as to become GU \ riosity in ordinary medical practice, /" and the
 statement was acquiesced in by company o1
 g score of practitioners. I trust that thif
 residuum of fifteen will be done away with
 and we have only imported cases.
 ''Just so soon the public will become ! alive to the fact that diphtheria is as truly { preventable disease the typhoid fever is,
 we will then take effective means to reduce
 it's ravages, and such reduction will as surely
 follow.
 "Another very instructive class of facts re-
 late to infant mortality. Not having the
 figures at hand have not carried the caleula ! tions farther back than the eight years fol ! which the tables of our Board furnish the
 data. If we divide these eight years into two
 periods of four years each, we find that dur.
 ing the first period, 1873 to 1876 inclusive
 there were 1,284 deaths of infants o1
 less than one year, and 279 deaths
 was the smallest number for any one
 year Gin 1874) For the last four years, ! 1877 to 1880 inclusive, the total deaths of in.
 fants amounted to 959, the largest number in
 any one year being 26S Gin 1S77). That is, l with much larger population, the number
 of infant deaths in the worst year of the I four years was actually less than during the
 best year of the previous four years in g \ smaller population.
 'If we compare the deaths of all the chil-
 dren under five years of age, during the
 same period, the facts are seen in even 6
 stronger light. During the first four years ! an aggregate of Z, ,031 died during the next
 four years but 1,653 died, or 37s less in a ! population some thousands greater.
 ! "A variety of other calculations show the | same fact. that some hundreds of human lives can be saved or lost at will in our city every yesr." Prof. Brewer then compares the death rate in the best sanitary wards of
 shown in period of years, in further illus tration, of the claims of sanitary ! science, viz, ''The mean of the death \ rates of the First Fifth and Eighth wards
 for the whole of the last four years, 1877 to ! 1880 inclusive, is 131 per 1000 inhabitants.
 The aggregate population of these wards is | between 13, GOO and IA, ,OOO. For the 7th, 9th and 18th wards, having an aggregate of about ! 1000 greater, the average death rate has | been 2.O4 With the same death rate all over | the city as in the last named wards the popu lation, 6, ,OOO, would call for 1,294 deaths pel
 year in those four years instead of l, ,097, the ! actual average" Prof. Brewer further argues to show that the death rate, can be still re
 duoed The speaker said that clean as ou,
 city is. that there are hundreds of covered ul privy vaults and cesspools that are inimica
 to o-health, and that many years might elapse before these would cease to be sources of dis | ease-how many, science could not yet tell.
 ssHow to take care of that which is incl dental to our daily life and habits is the most
 difficult problem presented to modern cities.
 Our sanitary inspectors tell us that they have
 visited in our city about thousand stables,
 over two thousand hencoops and two hun. ! tad fhroa nd md