The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1897-09-16
FOoLIsH FEAR or LIGHTNlH
Fewer Fatalities From 1t Than From Qths
Causes of Accidental DeathsY


Causes of Accidental Deathsy
A news item gives the results of
an investigation carried out by Dra
G. Stanley Hall, president of CLARK
university, on the things that most
excite fear in people. Of the 298
classes of objects Of fear to which
1,707 persons confessed, thunder and
lightning lead all the rest, although
in certain localities, as, for instance,
those subject to cyclones, etc., the
fear of the latter predominates. It
may be accepted as probably true
that thunderstorms constitute the
most pronounced sourceof fear with
the majority of people. due no doubt
to the always impressive and not
infrequently overpowering Nature
of the phenomenon. But is there
any justification in fact for this
fear, SO far as fatal results are con-
cerned2 We believe there is not;
but, on the contrary, that many
other causes, which barely have
place in DR.. Halls list, are infinitely
more entitled to the distinction as
fear producers than is lightning.
AS proof of this we may cite sta
tistics of the United States weather
bureau. These show that for the
four years 1908 the deaths from
lightning numbered 1874, or an aver
age of 1876 year. Again, Mr.. H.
f. Kretzer of st. Louis found from
the record of nearly 200 newspapers
that for the five years 1888 there
were 1000 deaths caused by light
ming, or an average of POS a year.
We doubt whether of the number of
deaths classed as accidental in
the whole United States any one
group can show so small a number.
In New York city alone over. 200
people are drowned every year,
while nearly 15o are burned a
scalded to death, and close tdPyO0
persons meet their end by falls of
one kind or another. Comparing
the record of 200lightning fatalities
for the whole country with the
above records for New York city,
with its total of nearly 1900 acci-
dental deaths every year, twill BE
seen how groundless is the popular
fear of lightning. II, is survival,
an inherited superstition.
But there is another point inlcon-
nection with this matter which
ought to be particularly comforting
to city jewellers, albeit country
jewellers may not be affected in a
like manner, and that is that stats
tics show that the risk of lightning
is five times greater in the country
than in the city. The cause of this
immunity for city jewellers is not
far to seek. 1t is doubtless due to
the predominance of metal roofs,
the well grounded water pipes in
houses, and probably as much as
anything to the protective network
of overhead electric wires of all
kinds.
The popular belief that a stroke
of lightning is invariably fatal is
also not borne out by facts. Indeed,
one record specially devoted to this
feature shows that of 2l2 persons
struck only "a were killed. Taking
it all in all, there seems to be no
more groundless popular fear than
that of lightning. Indeed, if one can
go by statistics, the risk of meeting
death by horse kick in New York
is over 80 per cent greater than that
of death by lightning. Yet with all
the weight of statistics against its
deadliness lightning will probably
continue to scare people as hereto
fore. Perhaps, after all, there may
be a more direct cause than the
mere psychological one usually as
cribed to it, and that is the fact that
many people of nervous tempera-
ment are affected hours before the
approach of a thunderstorm and
thus rendered particularly power
less to stand the strain which more
or less affects even the most phleg-
matte natures during q disturbance
in the heavens.-New York Times.
Took dollar For O ChicIyap