Evening journal., 1889-06-17
SCOURGE OF PHTIIISIS.
APPALLING DEATH RATE IN PRIs-
oNS AND The CAUSE.
Or. Won -ziemsssn Says That There Ought
90 30 More Air and Exercise for Prison
ers and Beautiful Recreation for scheol
Children.

DO Be More Air and Exercise for Prison
ess and BoaithfuI Recreation for scheol
t'vThe effect Of lack OF fresh air and insult
cheney Of outdoor muscular exercise can be
best studied fu prisons, asylums, converts
and similar Institutions This Professor Dr.
Il Won Ziemssen declares. 'sThe curtafl-
uscnt o< freedom and the privation OF open
air entail row. of factors declares the
learned doctor, ''the potency Of which In in
dividuaIs Is not easy to estimate The air in
the closed rooms, and especially in the dor
mftories, Is not pure; It contains dust and
Fungi, is poor Ia oxygen. but rich ln carbon,
diStxide and bad odors On account OF the
sedentary life, respiration Is not deep enough
and the lungs arc not well expanded The
absence Of outdoor movement and OF vigor-
Gus muscular work diininishes assimilation
and reduces TIE need Of nourishmenr, while
the rnonotonous diet impairs the Appetite
sI.AYNe PRISONERS
Continuing, the writer charges that the
diet Is often poor, and that in jails there u
penitenoe and longing for homes; in penften-
tiaries contact with the dregs Of mankind,
and IN cellular prisons there is solitariness
and absence d all Indictment Under such
weakening faculties the organism sinks intoa
depraved condition, and wide doorisopened
for tnbercle bacilh, winch are ubiquitous in
prisons
DR.. Won Ziemssen declarge that tho huge
proportions In which inmates Of prisons sue
eImb to consumption are not sufficiently
known. lie quotes from Baer TO show that
mortality from that disease in prisons is three
or four times what It is on the outside In
the race generally it is computed at IA to 45
per cent, while in prisons from 40 TO 30 per
cent Of all deaths Is due TO consumption.
This rafe varies greatly, however. In Aus
trian prisons during four years the mortality
from consumption was 81 per cent In the
prisons of Bavaria it was but 50 per cent. The
death rate seems to vary with the conditions
Of the buildings and of discipline In Ameri-
can prisons DIR. Won Ziemssens statements
are fully borne out
After somewhat extended consideration Of
destructive tendencies of prison life, the doc
tor asks: why are not prisoners put at out
door workl Why are they packed together
in close working rooms and impure atmos-
pheresl II has been found practical to put
the insane at rural employmentsand to watch
over them; why should it not be possible in
the case Of prisonersH Why not allow prison
ers to indulge In athletic and other exorcisesg
Surely II is not the intention of the law that
the criminal, whose removal from society is
necessary for its safety, shall become SICK and
def The penal code aims TO punish and i'm
prove, not to make sick and slay."
He points out that while the condition OF
prisons has been immeasurably improved,
and that in consequence those terrible epi-
denies of typhus, scorbutus, dysentery, etc.
which once decimated them have disappeared,
tuberculosis remainsa veritable scourge, be-
ing three or four times greater than that
among the general population
SAVE THE CHILDREN.
DR.. Won Ziemssen especially condemns the
cellular system, where he says the highest
mortality from Tuberculosis il found He as
serts that IN collective prisons and houses of
correction, where the detsriorated atmosphere
OF working rooms and dormitories is breathed
In common by tho prisoners, although the
volume OF air furnished Is less than In the
cellular system, and the healthy prisoners
are associated with the diseased ones, still the
mortality from consumption Is less. This
fact he escribes to tho ubiquitous nature Of
the tubercle basiln and TO the deprivation OF
outside cir and outdoor work Under the
cellular system, az we'll as 10 psychical causes,
ing after freedom, etc. He insists that the
considerations cited deserve tho attention OF
law makers. The alarming evil. he repeats.
cannot be got rid OF without changing the
manner Of working and increasing tho sup
ply Of fresh air.
By DIR. Doherty confession is made that the
criminal classes are more liable on account
Of their dissipated and vagabond lives tocon-
sumption and other diseases, bat, he adds,
that regard for the welfare Of society, il not
for the health Of the convicts, should compel,
since consumption II contagious, an earnest
effort 70 diminish or destroy the danger from
such prolific breeding places Of the disease
He also treats at length Of the health Of
pupils In the public schools, suggests reform
and points out the need Of it, declaring that
the oase Of cloister like seminaries, orphan
ages and educational institutions is similar to
that Of all trades and ayocations which bring
together a lumber of persons in crowded, un-
healthy rooms and deprive them Of fresh air
and freedom, and that what has been said Of
the prison applies mutatis mutandis to all of
these. he suggests a state supervision Of
hygiene in seminaries and similar institutions,
especially In girls boarding schools
He declares that 1t Is shown in all cases that
the more the free exercise Of youth is limited
In such institutions the more frequent is tu-
berculosis present He highly commends the
practice I'm English schools Of the pupils de
voting all their time out Of school 20 outdoor
exercises, and equally condemns the German
curriculum, which compels too pro6racted
hours OF study leaving but little tinlo for ox-
ercises OF any kind The advantage is, he as
ser.s, with the English children, who show
differences for the better in color Of skin,
bright glances and active movements. He
thinks 1t Is high time that school children
should have a sufficiency OF recreation, and
that regular investigation, at leas. once a
quarter, should be made into each pupils VII
tai capacity, a systematic noting Of his
weight in relation to size, TO his muscular
power, and also into the choice and super
vision OF gnmes Such regular Investigations,
made at least quarterly, would, in his judg-
ment, furnish valuable information for the
training Of youth. Every catarrh every
swollen gland, every skin affection, every
trouble, though apparently unimportant and
hardly worthy Of notice in n child free from
q hereditary disposition, should receive care
ful attention and treatment. Chicago Her
aid
Cat Adopts n Chicken.
While councilman John A Gormley was
in the cellar Of his house be heard the peep OF
a chicken Making an investigation, be
found that an old cat belonging TO him was