The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-02-18

BIZ which the mortality among the negroes
can be diminished
N ASIE-BELLCM DAYS.
'sThe peculisrities Of the negro have led
| many even in the south, 10 believe tn at IL
Is impossible to reduce the mortality OF his
/ race 70 that Of the white, but an inquiry
into the state Of affairs existing before the
war, when the Negroes were slaves, and 1t
was the pecuniary interest OF owners 70
take care Of them as property, will sho v
at this is not the fact. Slaves had health =
quartz 9, wholesome food was provided, tht'
abuse Of ardent spirits was prev ented, per-
soaal cleanliness was required, marriage
was insisted upon, regular hours f0T siesp
| and for work we're kept, and the settle
msnts we're carefully policed. Lying-ln
women were tenderly looked after by the
mistress or the owners wife, and the chill
drea were nursed and reared under the most
careful management In case Of sickness
the best medical attendance was procured
10 fact all that couli be done, through sani-
tary measures, was done to prevent sickness
ana death Those amOlR the medical pro-
fassiOn who had charge Of negro slaves, can
easily remember how healthy and sturdy
they were; how prolific, when living III
| healthy localities; how small the mortality
| among them; how every plantation could
boast Of Its aged patriarchs. Looking over
| the mortality records kept in Savannah be-
/
| Duncan from 1854 70 1864, we find the ratio
Of death among the negro TO be smaller
than that among the white. How Is 1t,
then, that the relative mortality Of the
races has been reversed since the war;
DR. L'HARDY ANSWERS THE QUESTION.
The steady progress made in sanitary
| works wit in the city and the thorough
drainage Of the low lands surrounding 1t,
have had the effect Of diminishing sickness
and the death rate among the whites in a
most remarkable manner, but il any such
effect has been produced upon the negroes
it certainly has been Offset b. other Gauss.
| The removal Of the wholesome restrictions
| placed upon them while slaves has left
them free to 20 back toward the natural
propensities OF the race, and to drift into
bad habits.
AT the end of the civil war. when the
1 federal armies overran the southern coasts,
the negroes left their comfortable homes to
follow the army. Without provisions,
without clothing or shelter, they soon gath
cred pell NELL in great numbers. Want,
misery and hunger led them to steal aud to
! perform the most abject services. The
| intermingling of the sexes without restraint
led to the most revolving licentiousn IS"
| Pursuing the subject the doctor says a
loathsome private disease became dread
fully prevalent smallpox broke out among
them with fearful ravages; exposure to the
weather, disease and the lack OF proper food
depleted their vital powers. The genera
| ton which followed emancl patton was
weakly and worthless; lung dis eases Of all
forms appeared as consequence Of this
| physical condition and to this day consti-
tuts the most prolific cause Of mortality
among adultS"
THE NEGROES LIFE.
Dr. LeHardy argues that the life the
negroes lead is well calculated to produce
the large percentage of mortality among
them, aud while existing laws have bro ught
| them under peaceable subsection, the OBJ
servance of the laws of public health can-
not be enforced by existing public laws, the
negroes following their proclivIties lead
life which inures to the detriment Of their
own health and that Of their white neigh
bors. The doctor details at length the
mode OF life among the negroes.
he says: The negro is not provident; he
| lives from hand to mouth, spending the
best part of his wages before they are
earned. Irregular in his eating, he usually
gorges himself at night, goes to his work
| on al empty stomach, and bolts snack at
| noon. Not being aware of the danger of
eating unsound food, he buys his meat and
vegetables where he can get them cheapest,
| whether they are good or spoiled, and gen.
| orally they are not fit for food Sociable
in his nature, he spends the best part of the
/ night in drinking and carousing, or, if re-
| ligiously inclined, in shouting and praying,
thus depriving himself of the necessary
amount of sleep, and acquiring habits Of
licentiousness The necessity for making a
| a living forces the father and mother of the
| family to work out, and the children are
| left IN the care of other children or of old
women; they are stuffed with coarse and
I'm holesome food, badly clothed and, kept
filthy In tlelr persons and surroundings
THE MORTALITY ACCOUNTED FOR.
This, DR.. LeHardy SAYS, accounts for the
| great excess OF mortality tue first year Of
| life from diarrhoeal diseases and marasmus
The excess in mortality from consumption
and pneumonia is accounted for by DR.. Le-
| Hardy by the negroes sleeping in crowded
and lll-veatilated rooms, in an atmosphere
| filled with the gas from privy vaults, ex-
posure to the weather, loss of rest, improper
food and Inherited venereal disease.
| The excess in trismus is accounted for by
bad management, neglect Of mother and
child by ignorant midwives, with foul and
badly ventilated rooms
The excess in deaths without physician
in attendance; is attributed to the neglect to
call medical man and bad nursing
The excess from anasarea and dropsy is
chargeable to bad ventilation, over crowd
ing, foul air, improper food and lazy habits.
DR.. LeHardy does not call attention t.
the causes which combine to weaken and
| depopulate the negro race without suggest
| ing remedies, and on this score he says:
Comparing the present condition and
mortality of the negroes with their condi-
ton and mortality under slavery, it seems
to me that much could be done to diminish
sickness and death among them by proper
sanitary regulation, which the municipal
authorities have power to make and enforce.
HOW TO DECREASE THE MORTALITY.
Ordinances should be passed regulating
the building of small houses, prescribing
the area to be left unbuilt upon each lot, as
air space for each house, and requiring the
ventilation of every sleeping room; inter
dieting the building Of close fences around
and between yards, and preventing accu-
mutations of focal matter by abolishing
privy vaults and substituting the pail sys-
tenn. The yards and houses should be care
fully and regularly policed to prevent any
accumulation of animal or vegetable mat
ter. The eating of unwholesome food can
certainly be prevented by the appointment
Of officers whose duty should be to inspect
all meat, fish, vegetables, groceries, and pro-
visions of all kinds offered for sale. either at
stores, on the streets, or in the markets, and
having power to destroy every unsound ar
ticle and to bring the vendors before the
mayor for punishment All alcoholic bev-
erages offered for sale should be inspected