The times., 1897-08-21

twenty-five largest cities in the United
States for the past year that Washington,
with all its advantages of wide, clean
streets, excellent sewerage system and
freedom from the tcnement-house curse,
is stilI the third highest in mortality rate.
TIL. death rate per 1000 of the esti-
mated population of the largest cities out
of 1,232 which have been reported to
Surgeon General Wyman, OF the Marine
Hospital Service, for the year ending June
80. 1897, is as rollows:
Allegheny, Pa, 14.S7; Baltimore, Nd,
1883: Boston, Mass, 2.53; Brooklyn, ~
Y, oO.52; Buff alo. n. Y, 1926; Chicago,
H., 1d.3e; Cincinnati. Ohio, 1880; Cleye-
land, Ohio. 1872; Denver, Col, l0.4Si
Detroit, Mich. 14.2S; Indianapolis, Ind.
1916; Louisville, KY, 1850; Milwaukee,,
Wis, 1900; MINI eapolis, Mimi, S.l3:
New Orleans, La. % 20; New York, n. y,
20 So; Omaha, Neb.. 6.61; Rochester, N.
Y, 1851; st. Louis, Mo-, II 3e; St Paul.
Mimi, .925: San Francisco, Cal, 1876;
Syracuse, n. Y, 1876; Washington, ID. c.,
20 SO.
This makes New Orleans, with 1925
deaths per year per thousand, the banner
death city Boston is second with 263
| and Washington third with 90. SO per
| thousand Denver, Colo. the high-altitude
home for consumptiycs, is near the bottom
| of the list with 1913, though MTneap
| oils with g. 13 and Omaha with only 6.61
deaths per thousand are even healthier.
| apparently.
The flat New Orleans, with its marshes
all about, has always been high on the list
| Boston has its back bay, its consunp
ton ana. its teneInents, besides the strain
OF its intellectual overwork, and always
has high rate. But New York and Balu-
more and Chicago and many other cities
where the condition of overcrowdins mas
| always been considered one Of the great
est breeders OF diseases. are all behind
Washington.
washineton's sewerage system is con-
sidered one of the finest, If not the very
best in the country The streets of the
| Capital City are wide Shaded and concreted.
There i s an immense park area which has
always been considered a most desirable
and healthful feature. We boast of the
parks as our ~lungs" and say tnat our
lung development is one of the largest
/ in the country The poor children
play in the parks and are thought to he
almost as wen OFF as those which are sent
/ to the mountains or the seashore- Our
temperature rate compares very favorably
both as TO its extremes and its mean rate
with other cities.
A reporter for the Times spoke to
| Or. Woodward, the health officer, yester-
day on the subject. 1t appears that Wash
lington has really d high death rate,
but there is much more than appears
en- the surface Of vital statistics To be
| taken into consideration, and that Washing
| ton real rate. especially as to her white
population, is not so bad as il looks COM
paratively.
THE people who estimate the popula-
ton OF cities are frequently wrong for
one thing" said DR.. Woodward. In 1894
and 1895 the estimated population on
which our death rate was figured was
| 1e5,00o. When the police census was
taken il was found that We really had
only III 900 people i'll the city. These
cites that have lower death rates accord
ing 10 estimated popula tion may have
| really higher rates, many of them.
Another factor in cur high deatl, rate
is our very large colored population. Every
Southern city with compare lively large
coloFed population has large number
| Of deaths relatively. The death rate
among tie negroes is always high.
lone other factor that must be taken
into consideration is that We are not q
boom town. Denver and other compare
lively new cities increase very rapidly
in population, nd this increase is an
increase of adults and not OF infants, like
Washington. This pulls down their death
rate very much necessarily, for by far
the largest part of any old citys NOR
tality is among its infa nts.
However, after taking all these facts into
consideration we are pretty well up on the
list Without a doubt and have a really
high rate Some OF the reasons for this
are easy to discover. The rates of typhoid
fever and diarrheal deaths are very high in
Washington and pull up the general rate
| excessively. These are due first to the
water supply, which is unquestionably Very
bad, and second to the large number of
surface closets, especially among the col
oTed people, in the outlying sections.
I'VE have no longer any right to con-
slider the Potomac water healthy. 1t is
far from it. Typhoid fever is contracted
by eating or drinking the germs from some
other typhoid patient, and not by breathing
them. With Iegard.to the Potomac river
we in Washington see the unpleasant con
dirion Of tnings that Cumberland, above
us, has filter beds for her water supply, but
drains her sewers in the river below the
city. We get the benefit of her sewage
The distance a river flows has very Ettls
to do with the purifying of the water. The
soluble vegetable matters containing dis
ease germs from Cumberland reach US IL
Il very Potent state.
1.-The diarrhael deaths amongst us are
largely among tie colored people. Diarrhea
troubles come largely from lack of cleanli
ness, not especially personal, but neigh
| borhood cleanliness. The water suppl,
affects this class OF diseases also.
"As for the general bealthfulness of tn,
city's locality aside from these conditions
| / believe that it lis good. The presenc,
| of the Eastern Branch and the flats un
| quesiionahly affects our death rate, bu
! not largely, believe. The deaths from
malarial troubles, directly, lis small though
to an extent, persons vitality is lowered
by malaria As FAR as location is concerned
this factor of the flats is our only disad
vantage"
} DR.. Woodward believes very strongl,
that the city should filter its water supply
In his opinion filter beds would undoubted
] Iy largely reduce our death rate He ex
presses himself very forcibly on the sui
ject.
It Is matter for congratuiation thai