The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-10-22

~ Gre " Bku -s,o1S
Dr. William C. Woodward the District
! Health officer, today submitted to the
Commissioners his annual report of the
operations of the Health Department for
/ the fiscal year ended June 80, 1900. Dr.
! Woodward explains to the Commissioners
! that the population of the District as re-
ported by the Census Bureau is 27S, 49,
! showing quite a discrepancy between that
! figure and that made up by the depart
ment from the census taken by the po-
| lice. He. therefore, states that he advises
| delay in making up the death rates until
! the Census Bureau has completed its data
| with reference to races, sexes, etc. With
! reference TO the mortality of the District
| the report says:
THE total number of deaths from all
causes during the fiscal year ended June
| so, 1900, was 5,953, a decrease Of 10 in the
actual number of deaths since last year.
| The death rate was, therefore, 21.37 per
| thousand, decrease of G.2S. The average
annual death rate during the past FIVE
years has been 20.95. OF the decedents
| 90
decrease in the former being At and in the
latter &c. Classifying by sex we find 1856
of the deceased were males, decrease Of
14S since last year, and 1887 were fe-
males, an increase OF Is.
Distributed by age, / SAB, OF 1896 per
cent of the total mortality, occurred dur
ing the first five years OF life, and I,Si4,
or %. 0S per cent. during the first year. of
all white decedents, 795, or Z3.so per cent,
were less than i've years old, and 5b0 or
Is "a per cent, were less than one year OF
age In the colored race the deaths OF
children under FIVE years OF age amounted
| to 1,04S, or 39.SS per cent Of the total col
| ored mortality and those OF children IN
| the first year of life numbered 1872 or 26.6l
per cent. The average age or all deco
| dents was 80 years, months, and "a days
i of the whites alone, 81 years, menus
and II days. and of the colored, % years,
| months, snd days. These figures do not
vary materially from those of last year
| Five persons were reported to have passed
the century mark. A were over 80 years
| old and 762 had lived beyond the allotted
| three score and ten.
The Causes of Death
After stating that the 1ertillon system
| of classifying causes Of death has been
adopted and giving reasons therefor the
| report states that there ~ere 667 deaths
due to contagious diseases.
| There were 221 deaths from typhoid fe-
yer, including so-called typho- malarial fe-
yer, equivalent to a death rate Of O.79 per
thousand This is an extremely unsatis-
factory showing when compared with 0.65,
| the death rate last year, or 049, the death
rate of 1878 In the absence, however,
| of reports of all classes Of this disease. so
| that their number and location may be
! considered the cause of this increased
mortality cannot be determined. OF the
| decedents, 118 were white and 1G3 coIoFed;
131 male anu SO re mako. Thirty-fhroo Por
cent of the mortality from typhoid fever
occurred among persons from 20 TO 30
| years of age inclusive. The mortality by
months was as follows: July, 10; August,
SO; September, so: October, Is: November,
%; December, 20; January, Il; February,
6; March, s. April, 10; May, 6, and June,
u
THE increased mortality from diphthe-
| ria seems TO have been due partly to the
| increased prevalence Of the disease, and
| partly TO the occurrence OF a severer
| type The cause or causes of such in
| creased prevalence. and the greater Sc
| verify of the prevailing type, if any, is
unknown
THAT portion of the mortality in
Guided under the term general diseases
| but not clessed as epidemic presents
the following points of interest: There is
a noticeable, but not marked, decrease
in the number of deaths from malarial
Infection, from 53 to 45. Tubercular dis
eases show an increased mortality from
| 7S7 TO $50. an increase in the death rate
from 2.S6 to 2.0S per / 600. tuberculosis
of the lungs was responsible for 742
deaths, that is, for IS per cent OF all
| deaths from tuberculosis. OF the de-
cedents, $50 we're white and 473 colored.
| sJ,ne
and 418 females. Tie largest number of
deaths occurred among persons from
| twenty to twenty nine years of age, in
| elusive, the total number in this class
| being 245. Deaths from malignant tu-
| mors increased from III to 204- This,
| considered in connection with the CORE
| spending figures for recent years, ap-
pears TO bear out the widely prevailing
| opinion that such growths are becoming
more common, but such a conclusion can
| be supported. if at all, only after care
| full study of the many factors involved,
which would require more time than is
at present at the disposal of the Health
| Department. OF those who died from ma
| lignant tumors during the past year. 145
! were white and 60 co1ored; II were male
| and 134 female.
The total number of deaths from dis
eases of the nervous system and organs of
| sense was 1888. Cerebral hemorrhag= sus-
tains its usual position as the chief caus-
alive factor Of this mortality, and, more
over, shows a considerable increase in the
actual number of deaths which have re-
suited from it, from 256 to 2S5. Deaths
from commissions of infancy Increased from
SO to 1870; those from trismus nascentfum
decreased from "a to II. An examination
of the mortality tables shows a decrease
in the number of desths from organic brain
diseases from 81 tt SO. This decrease.
however, is believed to be apparent rather
than real. and to be the result of changed
methods of classification, as the number of
deaths which have occurred in the Govern
ment Hospital for the Insane during the
| Dyspepsia in its worst forms will yield to the
| use of Carriers Little Nerve Pills, aided by Car