The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-08-24

DIR. Smith Townshend, Health Officer for the
District, says that Washington is an unusually
healthy city this summer. The death rate is
much lower than it has been for several years
past. When asked why this was the case the
Doctor said
"The health of a city's population depends
more than anything else upon the drainage. 1t
Is only natural that built as Washington is,
with its wide and accurately constructed streets,
the drainage here should be good. That is the
case always but when there are few rains, no
matter how good the drainage may be, there is
some water that is bound to get stagnated in the
sewers and produce sickness. Typhoid fever is
in large degree the direct result of this condi-
ton of affairs. This summer, though, we have
had great many rains and our sewerage has
been in unusually good condition. The only
danger under circumstances of that nature is
that the heavy rains may wash into the cellars
and produce the germs of disease there. We
overcome this danger as far as possible by max
ing close inquiries into the condition of the
cellars after every rain approaching at all the
dimensions of flood. The utmost care is used
that no such case may go unreported.
1.-THE sewerage in the city is not so good as it
might be, but every year new appropriations
are being made toward its improvement. In a
like degree we find the health in certain locali-
ties to improve. OF course the death rate varies
with the season. Its annual variation is for tho
better, and every year the percentage of deaths
grows less. The months Of July and August
are the most fatal for children, and, indeed, for
people generally. The children especially
though, are stricken down during these months.
General weakness, diarrhGa, and summer COM
plants all serve to increase that rate of NOR
tality. In December and January the principal
ailments are those arising from the maaria
troubles of the preceding months. In March
and April the deaths among old people and
| those from throat and lung troubles swell the
| list.
| thousand less people here than in the winter,
| and, of course, there are fewer deaths. Our
| city is an exceptionally healthy one, and our
death rate would not be as high as it is but for
the number of people who pass through here
both for the North and South. Whether they
express it that way or not, it seems as though
| great many sick persons don't want to die be-
| fore they see the Capital of their country. So
| whenever an invalid Northerner comes South
| ward for warmer cimes he stops over in Wash
| ington. The Westerner coming Eastward is
| imbued with the same idea and we are called
| upon to entertain him. Likewise is it with the
| Southerner going North for his health. This
| city may not be a very large city, but everybody
| who possibly can wants to see it. In that way
! our population is sweled nearly always with
| strangers, many of whom suffering froLI
| some malady. In consequence our death rate
| is raised.
zone would think that from the number of
persons engaged here in close application to
desk work. as in the Departments, consumption
would be very prevalent The fact is that it is
not, and our rate of death from that cause is
comparatively low There is most assuredly
| nothing in our atmosphere conducive to the de
| yelopment of that disease. There is more or
| less malaria here, as there is in all Southern
cities. In fact, it is a cause of general com
plant all along the Atlantic seaboard The
extent of its influence broadens as we go further
South. New York contains more than Boston,
Philadelphia more than New York, Baltimore
more than Philadelphia and Washington more
than Baltimore. Further South it is a very
'evalent disease, especially in Richmond and
Savannah. We have our share of it here, but it
is by no means so serious
at would be natural to presume that the gen
orally unsettled condition of the weather during
the summer and spring, first cold and then hot,
would be the cause of much sickness. Such,
however, is not the case. 1t has been noticed
all through the East that the condition of the
people has been better this year than for years.
The people seem to thrive on the variety The
change from winter to spring, as | said before,
is the cause of many deaths, but these meteoro-
logical changes within few days of each other
seem to be accompanied with no very unfavor-
able results