The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1890-10-10

The value OF vital statistics and health reports
results from aud depends Oh thelf popular elf
culatiOn. Evidences Of this have already begun
TO multiply In this community, as shown BY tho
increased interest OF our citizens In all sanitary
questions.
Hitherto, II has been supposed that mottuary
reports were valuable only as guiding iriorms.
ton for health officers. saniiaiiAns, Legislators
aud economists. hut the Intimate relation OF
local health - local PROSPERITY Is instantly re-
lating effect upon every citizen, the moment
that comparative statistics, showing tho proper
ton OF mortality 10 population In every place,
begin 10 be publicly circulated all over the
country. Such publication Arouses local pride
aud Interest 10 enforce the sanitary laws with
zeal, and 10 support progressive legislation and
sanitary public improvements. Tho aid 10 be
thus afforded TO health officers, physicians and
EtnitArians In their work Is Simply Immense
The bringing homo thus 10 every citizens
pocket. oil the pecnniary damage incurred by
tolerAting. unsanltary conditions, and OF the
large pruhts 10 be returned TO all property for
every expenditure that Will reduce the local
death rate, Is goi1g t0.cteile n general competl.
ton everywhere for the mO.t favorable showing
IN the tables oi Vital satistirs, aud will thus at
c0mplish more for sanitary ptoatess and reform
In the next ten years than sanitary preaching
Gould effect 10 4 century.
While it's true that considerable interest has
been created already In this city upon the I'M.
mains much TO be done ln that direction.
There arc people In this community as In
every community, who are heartily IN favor Of
tauli0ty reform, and there are Others who Will
tell you that there Is nothing In all this talk
about bad water and dirty streets Ms a factor In
our heavy death nate. and will offer as M argu.
meut IN favor OF such Il statement that they have
lived here and drank the water complained OF
and endured tho same foul smells for a quarter
Of century or, more, without paying. tile zen.
think sAui.ary science Is good thug and has
done much good. but tina. II has also di.s.mina.
ted much NONSENSE. PeOplewh believe that II
half that has been written OF the danger In un.
sound p'ovisions-mcat, milk and water-were
the truth, there would be ITO further iced for
agitation, and that all the people would have
been dead long ago.
No doubt, 10 people who have never noticed
the difference between the aggregate OF danger
and the average Of danger, the theory that every
pa,lble with the fact that people continue To
live. II certain public persons, who arc rCsp0n
sble Tor the maintenance Of impure Sy.tem.
OF sewerage, water supply and other public nui
sauces. could be made 10 feel the public danger
US Il personal danger, by Its concentration on
TO remedy sucn evils. But 80 long as only abC u
| ten persons In Il thousand. or lilly thousand IN
all our vast hand, are slaughtered every year by
the filth in water, earth and air the danger dOei
therefore TO wiseactes tic cvIi seems to be
greatly overwhelmingly because they do moi
think. They are quite content 10 take the.l
chances with the 1879 go people who live on,
| the yesr or die from unavoidable CAUSES; and
who cares for the trile Of the odd O,CQ0: lIu,
| 81. V00 passengers annually, year after year.
Would there be no Srcat danger. aud no grea,
| need Of reform. In TINT matter: Nor Is sucn the
! worst practical aspect Of the matter. What II
one.third or cnc.hnlf OF all mankind were killed
| sooner or later, by railroad accidents? That
would furnish d true pRrallel 10 the fact about
zymolic diseases, which complete sanitary re.
form would abolish. That which Is writ.
ten on these subjec,s-not the half, Blu,
the whole OF 1t and nOte,-is scientific truth,
and can not be rallied out Of pathology. chemis
| try and biology by the shallow inference TIM,
nobody could CONTINUE TO live" II every body
were In danger. Military statistics show that II
takes several hundred musset shots TO kill one
soldier III battle, That is the average OF danger.
But the fact Is, also that one hhot Is enough to
XIII 8 soldier whea Il hts him. THAT is what
may happen 20 any Que. The grand fact, how.
ever, is that hundreds OF thousands will Ger.
tainly be killed In every engagement OF Hry con.
leIuence. That Is the aggregate OF danger, cor.
responding 10 the aggregate oi danger from our
infected water, earth, alr. milk, etc. The mental
popularity that makes u man q sanitarian, Is 10
care ,omeihing for the needless deaths oil ilIty
thousand fellow men, even though they
take place In hf.y thousand places aud III
365 days. II is rot expected or deslied 10 make
individuals look for teath In every drink OF
unpurifed water or breath Of foul air. Sanitary
science In It's most appalling revelations, sug.
g.sts no such thing, seeks no such thing. Ii
seeks to interest individuals In the danger and
In the protection OF the aggregate population, 10
whom these avoidao!e public evils mean fifty
thousand deaths year, though one of them
may probably not be yours, or mine, or his.
Since the first day OF january, 1880, there have
occurred in thus city, total OF III deaths. i Of
which were from preren,aLlc causes, distributed
as follows: