Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-30

The Boston EreRiRG IrduelieF Of April
"a publishes a letter about Savannah.
The writer is evidently one of the many
travellers who pass through this city dur
ing the winter and spring on their way
to and from Florida. There is only one
statement in the letter TO which we desire
to call attention. 1t is the following:
"The climate at Savannah is very un.
healthy. A damp fog hangs over the city
at night and early morning, which m axes
malarial diseases very prevalent, and the
death rate is high"
If these occasional writers for newspa-
pers realized how much injury they do a
city by derogatory statements about it
they would hesitate to make them unless
very certain about their correctness.
Is it true that the climate of Savannah
is very unhealthy, and that the death
rate of the city is high? Would it not
have been much more satisfactory if the
Tr0UejteTS correspondent had hunted up
ew statistics relative TO these important
questions? The health officers report
contains all the Information that any one
could desire relative to the clty's health.
1t certainly does not show a high death
rate among white people. The reportis-
sued last January for 1885 makes this
statement: ''The death rate of
the white population has not
been high for any single month Of
/ the year, while several months make ex-
/ hibit of astonishing low rates, January
| and October having the greatest, April
/ and December the lowest. The mortality
/ of the black and cOlored population of this
! city is less by IS than it was last year,
but noticeaoly high compared with that
Of the whites. and so it is wherever the
negro race is congregated, be it North,
I South. East or Vest
For 1855 the death rate Of whites in Sa-
vannah was only 49,, Der 900. while that
of the negroes was 35.4. Is there any city
IN the country which shows smaller
death rate OF white people than this city
shows for last year? The death rate Of
the negroes is quite large, but in what
city is it small? They do not take proper
means for the preservation or their health,
and frequently do not seek the services OF
physician until they are beyond the help
of medicine.
The negro population in savannah is
almost as large as that OF the white popu-
lation and, therefore, when the death
rates OF the two races are Jumped and an
average made, the death rate Of the city
appears to be quite nigh. For 1885, al
though the death rate of the white people
WAS remarkably low, the death rate Of the
city, "a il appears in the compilations of
the death rate reports Of the cities Of the
country, seems tn be high.
The Health Officer in his last report
points out that the negro populations OF
Boston and New York, for instance, as
compared with their white populations,
are small, and hence, although the negro
death rate Is large, IL has hardly per-
ceptible effect upon their death rates.
Justice" says the Health Officer. "to
Southern cities demands that vital stats
tics should plainly snow deaths per white
and black races separately"
Under the system OF compiling death
rate statistics in Northern cities the
death rate Of savannah might be larger
than that Of Boston, although the death
rate OF the whites and OF the blacks sepa.
rately might each be much smaller.