New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-06-18

ercises. He gives up the long walks he was wont
to take. His feet that were used to the springy
sod of country paths bruised by the hard
pavements and if. in spite Of the blisters he
perseveres in taking his daily constitutional he
is liable to develop. like great many more New
Workers. a fat foot. The arch of his instep
breaks down. After that he hates to his
legs He falls into the habit Of taking q car
even for only half dozen blocks, and of wait
ing for the elevator to go up only story
Consequently the boys make moro and more fun
of his figure each summer at the seashore, as
his legs grow thinner and his stomach more ro-
tund.
Less exercise brings tagging appetite, and for
this reason the city is especially prone to
whip UP his hunger with stimulant. Hence
the popularity Of the cocktail on New-York ia
bles. After a time, however, even this spur is
| not enough. His food must be spiced Instead
of plain oatmeal that mother cooked" he eats
precooked, predigested breakfast foods Ca
|. per,. mayonnaise curry and multitude of other
sauces and dressings mask the plain victuals'
OF the old farmhouse. Indeed. there is one hotel
in this city where every dish that comes to the
table is prepared by a special cook and where
one of these culinary artists" boasts OF being
able to prepare potatoes in PIT ways.
Epidemics make the city man their especial
prey. He catches cold. contracts catarrh. and
only too often develops pneumonia or consump-
ton from being compelled to breathe air polluted
by other victims He almost invites contagion
by squeezing into the crowds that pack the
streetcars. the elevators the theatres. The
death rate for contagious diseases in this city is
three times greater than that for the rural
regions up the State
According to the United States Census of 1900
the diseases which have especially increased In
this city, recorded by the number Of victims
'hey have slain. are angina pectoris, diabetes.
sastritts, pneumonia. cancer. heart disease. apo
plexy, influenza and kidney disease. All these
may be traced to causes OF which mention has
been made.
City life. however, does not threaten the pres
ent as much future generations. The talk of
race suicide has been coincident with the growth
OF great centres of population. DR.. Girdner
after studying the birth and death rates of this
City, says that If a wall were built around it,
and immigra ton from outside regions prevented
IL would be total wilderness in half dozen CEN
turtles. According to Professor Langneau Paris
IL likewise bottled up, would cease to exist even
sooner than this. He estimates that 1t would
perish in eighteen generations. For every 10000
native born Parisians, he says, only 8 996 chill
dren born. Children die faster in cities than
In the country. OF 10000 infants born In the
whole of France Professor Langneau says that
7,036 survive till their sixth year. whereas of the
same number born In Paris only 1897 live to
that age. In New-York the death rate among
children is nearly twice as high as in rural New
York counties.
ever increasing number of children, as may be
seen by the record breaking ravages of cerebro-
spinal meningitis in the last few months yet
New-York parents prefer that their little ones
should begin to work their brains hard from
the start. An agitation was begun not long ago
to shorten the school hours for the pupils of the
lowest grades in the public schools from five to
three. AS there much opposition 10 the
change among the citys educators. appeal
was made to the parents. and the opinions of
several thousand fathers and mothers obtained.
The result was Overwhelmingly in favor of the
long school day.
Other consequences Of the increased nervous
tension of the city of to-day may be seen In a
comparison of the number Of suicides in certain
large communities with that of the States in
which they are situated. In every case the city
leads. For instance. out Of every 100000 inhab-
itants OF New York State in 1890, 90 killed
themselves; whereas in New-York City, out OF
the same number 149 committed suicide. In all
Illinois. out of 100000 persons. there Were 93
suicides. In Chicago. 1853; in Pennsylvania 3d.
and in Philadelphia, 80; in Massachusetts, 49,
and IN Boston, 100; in Missouri rs, and in St
Louis. III; in California. 100. and in San Fran
cisco. 297. 1t may thus be seen that the prone
ness to suicide is not wholly dependent the
density OF population, San Francisco leads.
St Louis comes second Chicago third and New
York fourth. In explanation of these facts,
elienists say that race and temperament
strong factors Density Of population in de-
termnng the suicidal tendency OF a city. San
Francisco has long been the Mecca for advent
urers seeking quick fortunes. and also of hunt
ers after health With the failure of their hopes
they seek death In Chicago and st. Louis there
is an unusually large German element and the
Teuton has peculiar proneness to suicide
Nervous diseases. however. are more directly
attributable to the congestion of population than
suicide. The densely- inhabited North Atlantic
states for instance show twice the number of
deaths resulting from nervous breakdown that
the sparsely settled Western States do.
This may be more CLEARLY seen in the following
IP ssas. 5sszs@s
sd psr LOT doe eT odo
Group of States mile inhabitants: