The sun., 1894-09-17
HEALTH IN THE TENEMENTS
GRATIFYING REPORT ON the CITY,s
sANITLRY CONDITION.

report made by DR.. Roger Tracy, Deputy Regis
ter OF Vital Statistics, to the Health Board on
Saturday are worth considering. The statistics
themselves are surprising, and on the whole
make favorable showing as compared with the
mortality statistics OF other large cities and Of
this city in previous years. synopsis Of this
report wns published yesterday In The sUN.
The complete report is now at the headquarters
Of tho Board of Health. and II is comprehensive
and filled with valuable statistics and compari-
sons.
DIR. Tracy obtained the data for mis- paper from
the census taken by tho sanitary police last year,
and II deals only with the tenement population.
by law tenement Is n building occupied ms
the house, home. or residence OF three or moro
families living independently Of one another,
and doing their cooking upon the premises. or
by more than two families on n floor 30 living
and cooking, but having common right in the
halls, stairways, yards, &C." In accordance with
this definition the census recently concluded
comprehends the population living In all apart
ment houses excepting those Of the most
expensive grade upon Fifth and Madison ave-
nues. The population OF these houses was
found to be !, ,332, ia including 1,i52,4 per-
sons OF 6ve years of ago and upward, and 1S0,-
$50 children under five years OF age. This pro-
portion, according TO Dr. Tracy, bears almost
the same ratio now to the total estimated popu-
cent. Of a total population Of 2,0243O0. The
census shows that this population was housed In
3O.13S houses.
Working on these figures, DIR. Tracy finds that,
strange as 1t may seem, the average mortality
among the tenement population is apparently
less than the average for the entire city. He
modhes this statement, however by saying that
many persons die In public institutions whose
residences are unknown and whose deaths
| L,V,,
lation. Even with this increase taken into ac-
count the percentage is much smaller than
might be expected
DIR. Tracy has presented statistics for differ
ent wards In the city. showing how the death rate
is affected by surroundings, such as gas houses
or when the tencments are built on mado
ground. The total number OF deaths in the
tenement house population for 1893 was 3o,-
3l5, giving the death ratio OF 22.75. The
! death ratio for the entire population of
tho city was 1882. In 1901 thero were
| 29.123 deaths, and tho ratio was 23.71. The
| tenement death ratio. according to these ilg-
ures, is II per cent lower this year than the
| ratio for the entire city. But adding tho NOR
| tality record for the tenement population the
| deaths in institutions and others that by any
possibility could be referred TO II and the total
considerably smaller however, than that OF other
large cities, notwithstanding the crowded condl-
Ing to recent reports the death rate OF London is
| 81, OF Dublin 900, of Calcutta 2S.l Of Bombay
400, of ST. Petersburg 800. and OF New Orleans
2s.l. DIR. Tracy attributes our low and decreas-
| ing death rate TO the sanitary precautions taken
S St IN Tphrn hssss
OF death by small districts are examined are the
very high death ratio among the ltaiians, or, at
ians. and the very low death rate in districts oc-
cupied by Russian and Polish jews, The low
| frugality and temperate habits of the race and
the great tenacity OF lifo or inherent vigorous
tending over thousands Of years. The Jew is
| physically tough in Its best sense. however
from a long line OF ancestors in whom it has
been carefully cultivated; The great mortality
the TSeg Sans seem Is to not espeass
subject to phthisis and pneumonia; They como
mostly from southern Italy and sicily, and are
of New York. They tend tn crowd together for
the sake Of economy even more than tho jews,
class f they arink mo more s than the the latter. The
number Of Italians is now so large that the ex-
city ffEs In the I
Born Of Italian mothers @ @ safe tRas
at present, four years later. there are at least
the districts largely occupied. and some of them
almost exclusively occupied by Italians Is about
RSont nfssl ps against has
| Is to say, the mortality among the Italians Is at
saS hShs the our Snd
total. 1t is thus made evident. without pursuing
the subject further. that the death rate of the
city Is considerably increased by the presence or
unacclimatized foreigners in large numbers"
DR. Tracy presents a table showing the effect
occupants OF tenements are exposed 70 peculiar
conditions. "The result OF this tabulatfon." he
that the death rate OF the population living il
the vicinity OF gas houses Is proportionately
higher than It was then. In all OF these locali-
! les he death = much higher than the
average for the city, the highest rate as IN ls9l,
being upon made land This high mortality lily
effect OF the dampness OF the soil. for the local..
ties included under this heading are occupied
filed, often overcrowded. by very poor people,
negligent Of cleanliness, and including large
whose mortality is high wherever they may
| live"
the Fourteenth ward, and the next highest is in
| the Fourth ward, both Italian wards, the lowest
tireiy i 81 suburban. @ IAN and the lowest in the city
proper being in the Third ward. where there are
only few scattered tenements. surrounded by
| business houses. The next lowest is in the
Tenth ward almost entirely populated by Rus
sian and Polish Jews. The tenement census gives
| n population Of 25,6l5-whiCh Is equal 10 800 per
acre-for districtA Of the Eleventh ward, between
| Rivington and Second ,treets, Ayenne i and ID;
District B Of Ward II, between Rivington and
| Fourth streets, First avenue and Avenue u, con-
taiPng 81 acres has Ropg1iS!on, , Of a9,sSS; or
| Norfolk street, containing 81 acres, contains a
| population OF 35,l3s, equal To G5l per acre;
| district A OF Ward 10, between Grand and
| Division streets. the BOwery and Norfolk
streets containing 5? acres. has a population
| of ~, 3,245, equal 10 $40 per acre. District & OF
| Ward q. between Baxter street, Park row. the
Bowery and Canal street, containing 20 acres,
| has IA population OF 1901, equal tn 526 per
| acre. District A OF Ward 49, between Division
! and Rivington, Norfolk and Willett streets, con
saaa !snrF y 4ss srT per $ RssS sre the most
| densely populated districts"
DR.. Tracy selects the following as the two
| most crowded blocks in the city: The block
| bounded by Canal Hester, EldTidge, and For
sythr streets contains :, ,62S persons II measures
| 375 by 200 feet, making no allowance for
| streets This equals 10000 square feet, and
| makes the density equal tn l,52O per acre. The
block bounded by stanton. East Houston, At
| torney, and Ridge streets, measuring 200 by 400
| feet, =. uals 1000 square feet. and contains
| population OF 2.i43, WHICH squalls u density OF
| l,TT+ per acre. The highest death rate Is IN
houses containing the smallest number OF
| tenants ana the lowest is In houses containing
| the largest number OF tenants, viz: 100 and up
| ward, the former rate being 25.39 and the latter
| 1880 The next to the highest death rate is Ia
| houses containing each at least 80 tenants but
| less than 40. The simple explanation OF this
Ia fha tan,