The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1904-12-29
ONE DEAD.
This Happens About Every Elevsn
Minute by the Clock.

This Happens About Every Eleven
mute by the Clock.
In a catastrophe which suddenly
blots out nearly q thousand lives. the
civilized world finds cause for horror
and sympathy alike. On the communi-
ty In which such a disaster occurs its
first effect is dazing. and 1t Is not
strange that following the destruction
Of the General Slocum expressions Of
doubt as to the wisdom Of God and
His direction of human affairs should
be heard alike from the i~rreligious and
the unthinking. 1t is only in the calmer
time Of afterthought, thanks to the fig
ures Of the s~tatistician, that such an
accident, terrible IN its detail and
shocking in its nature, sinks into in
significance In the death list of the
day, not merely In the world or nation,
but even In the state and city.
The estimated annual death rate for
the world of 45,000,0 600. a daily total
Of $4,000. sends into obscurity the
thousand or fewer who were slain en-
the General Slocum. In the ON
niscience of God, whether one assume
the position of the doubter or the
cynic. the death roll of a single acci-
dent, even though it be as great as
that of the General Slocum, can be
only a minor detail, even more insig-
nificant in view Of the fact that all life
is doomed to perish. In the case of
the recent horror nearly a thousand
lives, a larger number than In any sim
liar accident in recent years, were lost.
For a few hours the wharves and
shores along the river were trans
formed into a morgue. In a single day
there were more than 200 funerals Of
victims, while the city was plunged
into mourning and the civilized world
gave expression to its sympathy and
sorrow.
Yet, great as was the tragedy at
the moment. It's part even in the death
list Of the year Is only slight. In
the normal existence Of this metropolis
as many persons die every 1O8 hours
from reasons incident to city life a.
kCA4oAO0 ~ alO AO4OCauol ACdI <NOElAx
Brother IBland. That this number
should be equally significant to the
Divine Power must be granted. and.
as death is the commonest factor in
human life, It cannot be regarded from
a different standpoint, whether it oc-
;urs In accident or in ordinary course
IF affairs. Within this State 800 die
| every day. The total Of deaths In the
United States reaches 1850 daily, q
figure three times that Of the victims
| of the General Slocum.
There die annually In Greater New
York 1900 persons, a number larger
than that Of the population Of Trenton,
N. ]. Within the United States graves
are annually dug for more than a mil
lion collins. In the face Of this vast
harvest Of mortality the number slain
on the General Slocum seems slight.
even to the human intellect. In the
death rate for the year for the State
or city the Slocum horror will hardly
make an appreciate difference. while
in the 100000 dead OF the world
each twelve months It is only a tiny
item Therefore, 30 sober second
thought, the unreasoning instinct to
place upon the power which the mil
lions regard as omnipotent-whether
rightly or wrongly does not enter into
the quesdon-any additional respond
billy for 80 slight an increase to hui
manity's death roll appears patiently
absurd.zNew York Tribune.