The morning call., 1894-10-11
THE GRIM REAPER.
Story of His Work in the
City Last Year.
A WONDERFUL COINCIDENCE.
The Babies Do Not Get a Fair
Start.
A WONDERFUL COINCIDENCE.
REPORT OF THE CITY PHYSICIAN
What Would We Do i'm Case of an
Epidemic p DIR. keeney's
Caustic Comments.

The experience of DR.. j. W. Keeney as
City Physician. Health Staiistician and
general observer has made of him a pes
simist in some respects.
Children, he believes, are not getting
fair sh ow from their parents, especially
before birth.
"A healthy child at birth. child clean
blooded and properly nurtured. will he an
absolute novelty in few years if things
keep going in the direction they have
tended these several years past Their
little bodies come into the world charged
with gin, opium, tobacco and disease.
just look at the record of mortality among
the babies under one year of age"
Hanging on and covering half one side
of the wall of the Health Office at the City
hall are the statistics of the years NOR
tally, as prepared by acting Secretary
Lawler, ready to be incorporated in the
City Phy>l annual report.
DR.. Keeney promises to say little in this
report save bare reference TO these
figures. Why? 1t is waste of printers
ink. he says. and the money it costs to
buy it.
81 might as we'll talk to empty chairs
20 what l say" he says. 81 have, for in
stance, been pleading for Pesthouse for
years and Pm no nearer getting it than
when started. That place out there is an
outrage on civilization. l would never
send sick white man there. l have told
them that Why the steward has stuffed
his old clothes and pieces of carpet in the
broken windows and the chinks in the
wall to keep from being blown through
them. And as for the roof-a victim COM
PEELED to stay there suffers worse from the
rain than if he were outside. There are a
dozen lspers there, Chinese aud Hawaiians,
and they live like dogs. Now. when you
consider that that is the only place the
city has where smallpox patient could
be sent you will understand what right
| have to be disguised.
1.-The Supervisors say that | am crying
wolf when there is no wolf All right.
I've quit crying it. They say, Wait till
we have smallpox and then they'll pre-
vide for the emergency. When smallpox
breaks out the Health Officer is required
to act Instantly. and it takes time to build
hospitals. Travellers generally bring
smallpox, and II a case should break out
in the Palace Hotel l would simply shut it
up there. quarantine the whole place, or
at Least shut it up in the room and give no.
tce, and the guests could take chances.
For, repeat, L would send no white man
to the present Pesthouse. Besides The un-
fitness of the building. the lepers have
contaminated verything about the place,
especially for SMALLPOX patients, where the
whole body is quick to absorb new conta-
gion.''
1t will be rememb ered that new case of
leprOsy was discovered in Chinatown
short time ago. That u.s. the discovery was
new-the lepar had been living in room
over a butcher-shop, coming and going
about the town for the past thirteen years.
Asked as TO what disposition had been
made of the case, the doctor said
What should | have done with it under
the circumstances? Well, the man was
shipped back to China. There is a resula-
ton in steamship circles against carrying
such a passenger, but he was struggled
aboard. and | helped to do il, too. | can't
take care of them. | tie no strings to
leper. If he can get out of the State and
wants TO go we let him. Many Of them
have done so.
'As for the general health of the city
during the year." said the doctor, sit has
very fortunately been exceptionally good.
There has been no epidemic of any char
acter. The last epidemic that we suffered
was the grip. which ran the death rate of
Der, 49, uD to 800. and that of Jan
uary, 49, 70 100"
So. after all, people are not dying as
rapidly as they used TO, and there is some
basis to the undertakers' complaint of hard
times.
The total number of deaths for the cur
rent year, as shown on the record that
hangs on the wall, is 6O61. The total for
the preceding year was just one less, 6O60,
a coincidence that will not happen again
10 another thousand years. To the man
who plays policy" and is versed in the
intricacies of the death gig" what bags
OF gold those mum bers might mean.
The ratio of deaths TO population is
about the same, therefore, for the popula-
ton is estimated at standstilI of $50. 900
since 1890. The births of the current year
have outnumbered those of last year by
just five. the total number being 1894. Of
these 2029 were male, 1852 female and
thirteen unascertained.
The comparisons OF births, marriages
and deaths for the past four years, during
which the population has been estimated
at the same figure, is interesting, showing
singular and unaccounted for fluctuations.
They are as follows:
DISADVANTAGES 342l, births 1885 deaths 637S
1S91-Marriages 3236. births 1908 deaths $3.50
lS92-Marriages 1746. births 2l47, deaths b9Il.
lS93-MarrIages 3413. births 1859, deaths $3.50.
Disadvantages $3.50, births 1894. deaths 606l.
The marriages through these five years,
it will be seen. have kept about even, save
for a singular falling off in 1892. The
number of births have varied greatly.
however, with an encouraging increase in
the past two years, unless DR.. Keeney's
estimate of the character of the little
strangers should Offset the numb With
almost as many marriages in 1890 and
nearly as many deaths the births were
1859 short of this year.
In 1891, with nearly 200 less marriages.
the births increased nearly 700, the deaths
Increasing nearly 800.
With only 1746 marriages in 1892 the
births numbered less than 100 short of the
record of 1890, with the deaths still in
creaslng. That was the grip year.
The births of 1898 and 1894 sustain
better proportion TO the marriages, but the
deaths still almost double their number.
That other than the newly married have
children is not lost sight of. but increasing
age and the death rat, of course. cut down
the list as rapidly as love and youth re-
cruitc