Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-07-16
Local sanitary Conditions.


The investigation of Richmonfs DEATH
rate ought to be made as speedily az pos
s,ble. II is not an agreeable subject to
keep before the people year In and year
out.
The public discovery Of our condition was
made in 1890. when the United States nu-
thoritics, rejecting our" estimatod" popu-
lation. calculated our percentage oil deaths
TO population upon the basis OF the popu-
lation a. reported by the census enumefa-
tors.
The DrspArcn always thought, and has
frequently said. that that enumeration ala
us iniusticc. We are Of the same opinion
still Richmond should have been given
Ave or six thousand more of population
than was accorded her. But there was
general complaint OF this sort from cities
ali over the country. and perhaps we were
not injured much moro than other places
were. In this view tho figures are rela-
tiyely right. Whether they are or not. they
have been fastened on US by law.
A great mistake was made by Richmond
many years ago wnen her health authorl-
ties began calculating her mortality upon
the basis OF l01, 600 population. The DIS
PATCH only claimed for this city (within
its corporate liues) $1,000 prior to the Gen.
sus OF of 1890. But all that is past and
como. The present questions are, Are our
mortality reports now properly prepared
and what can we do TO increase the health
fulness of the city
We think our mortuary reports are pro-
perly made out. We charge ourselves
only with such deaths as the city should
charge itself with. Bat it may be that all
other cities do not give honest counts"
We cannot say as to that. We, ourselves,
were liable to that charge during all those
years when we figured our percentage on
the basis of 100000 population.
However. the health of our community
has been unusually good this summer. and
it is fair to assume that this is due In some
measure to the great efforts on the part OF
the authorities to keep the city clean and
to the unusual degree of prudence exer-
cIsed by the people in eating early Vegeta-
bles, melons, &c. In short, 1t IS probably
due to the cholera scare"
If we had not had that scare" last
September the whole country might now
DO worse off than it is. II compelled the
National Government to adopt stringent
quarantine regulations; it put the port au-
thorities of New York. New Orleans. &c.
on their guard, and it inoIted boards OF
health everywhere to unwonted activity.
We have not only kept the cholera out OF
the United States, but we have succeeded
in making our cities freer than usual from
ordinary diseases.
Nothing but a great scare could have
moved the public authorities to act a
they have acted. Our only regret is that
the power of tho scare" has not beer
great enough to force our Richmond folks
to have their much discussed inyestiga
ton and be dones with it.
Let US now work t. this end. 1t is the
desire of the Chamber OF Commerce, we
believe. to secure the services of two cele
brated hyglenists to examine our streets
and alleys, our hills and ravlnes, our rivers
and creeks-in short, our topography and
sociology with the view of recommending
nsedful sanitary legislation.
The idea Is good one provided tina
these bygienists are equipped with thu
preliminary facts. The most important o.
all these facts are buried out OF react
in the reports of our health Office. These
annual reports have now been published
for more than quarter of q century. and
if they we're now condensed into ono table
we should know from quarter century,
experience what diseases are most preya-
lent here, at what seasons. among what
ages. classes. &c.
We should also inform ourselyes-cos
what labor it might-what sections of thu
city are the least healthy. what diseases
prevail in them, &C.. and then We might e
to work with the aid of the hygienists t.
uproot the causes of disease in those
localities.
There is not one half the public interest
| in this SUBJECT that there should be. Not
even the physicians. as body, have given
the subject the thought it deserves. Few
of them, indeed, have taken the pains to
investigate our local conditions for them.
selves. Theories are abundant. but facts
| are few.
We beg the City Council and Its com
mittees and the Chamber of Commerce
and its committees to take hold OF this
whole question and dispose of it as II
should DO, and finally. Let's be rid of /