New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-12-21
HTDEOTS SECRET.

| Commissioner Cosby. or the board OF Hcai,ii'
having failed to achieve a dazzling success
with the statement which he officially gave
out for publication on Monday afternoon CON
corning the prevalence Of grip In New-l orK
and It's contagious character, and the Street
| Cleaning Departments complete freedom from
responsibility for the existence and spread of
the malady. the Hon. Michael C. Murphy, pres
dcnt of the Board. came to the rescue yester-
day with a remarkable disquisiton on the same
subject. Tho first thing that is likely to strike
the ingenious reader Of Mr.. Murphy's remarks
/, his expression of regret that the newspapers
were so inconsiderate of the feelings of sensl-
tive community as TO publish the disquetng
statement which Commissioner Cosby placed
at their disposal on Monday. He first thought
this would seem to he rather rough on Com
missioner Cosby. who evidently regarded it as
extremely important that the public should he
warned against infected handkerchefs and
other repositories of the grip bacillus; but fur
Their reflection warrants the belief that no such
rebuke was intended What President Muir
ply had In mind was doubtless the cruel and
unsclentifc attacks of unbridled press upon
the Commissioner Of Street Cleaning but IN
RELOCATING the newspapers to their proper place
he inadvertently neglected to discriminate be
own authority and that which Commissioner
Cosby distributed for publication.
II is quite plain that In the opinion OF the
Board OF Health the duty of paramount I'm
portance at the present time is to defend Com
missioner Mccartney There is no telling what
harm might be done If the people once be-
came thoroughly confirmed in the absurd notion
that the lnnumcrablc mounds Of composite ma
1nft ;,,f Tho
for nearly a month were foul and poisonous
instead of ornamental and health-glulng. How
many dear little children might be forbidden
by fond and tmd parents to make use of this
benevolent provision for their pleasure ana
benefit and compelled to take their llstless walks
in bare and cherries avenues, or perhaps even
to stay at home. For most of the avenues are
paved with asphalt and President Murphy has
thrown out hint on the subject Of asphalt
which cannot be truthfuy described ms less
than horrifying. Il should like to have the
opinion" he eXcams. "of these scientific gen
"tlemen [of the pressl who now talk so freely
"of grip and other diseases, whether they have
lever thought of the effects Of the asphalt pave
"ment that 50 freely poultices our streets, and
"what those effects are. heat oozes from
"the asphalt pavement in summer and It be-
comes soft Have the physicians of New
york ever investigated that, and II 1t becomes
"softened and odor arises from It then. what
ARE the effects of It now In winter? There
may be more In this than | am aware Of
Good Heavens. What IS the president OF the
Health Board concealing from the people IN
der the pretence Of tranqullllzlng their spirits?
What is it that the asphalt does to us all win
ter when It neither ooZes nor gives off odOr!
We do not hesitate to say that it is wellnigh
criminal to make n mystery Of this matter. If
a low temperature develops morbifc properties
in asphalt from which perchance some deadly
miasma is stealthily generated, we want to
know the worst while there Is yet time to es-
cape. Is Mccartney in the secret? And Is II
in the hope of restricting the rayages OF the
destroyer that he has so persistently RETAINED
from exposing the surface Of the streets? If
so. the truth ought to be made public. We
would not willingly do Mccartney an injustice.
We appeal 10 President Murphy to clear this
matter up at once. He has no moral right to
conceal his knowledge Of the dreadful effects
OF cold weather on asphalt pavemcnts, even
though he may be convinced that publicity
would depopulate New-fork.