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

,,,,,cb If is said viii show that even at 'ti
-. limo If New-York had the 692 square
,,,,as area of London, instead OF SZe' II "ouAD
fail behind the British capital py Only
hundred thousand in people Loiiu0'i
ABOUT e.5oo.0 600 inhabitants ,,,,-
ss,ch p tremendous growth of popuia.io''' -
o,or has aroused a feeling OF alarm III cei a.
.o-,a.i,,a minds Some of them go as ial
-, &c tho times of Thomas Jefferson anu
-. ,,s nronhecv that If city life shouio De
-. +ba dominant life of Americans 1t "0u
.sos,ro1, the republic The congestion Oh popu.-
zion they saw bears more curses 'iia -, -.
In great cities they assert, polltics 10 i-'
,sconoe more corrupt, pauperisn more Ue'
,,ce more infectious. and the expense oi ca nc
Cor SIS victims in hospitals, asyiums' "oi
-, --,sors an ever greater burden TO the payers
of taxes and rents +,o ,sars Of
whatever may be the basis Tor inc hea
-, II IS nevertheless true that city hie
- ,o.,o+ certain evils of far reaching co!ise
~-,orca As a general thing these Ills are o'e
,l,d b1, those whom they most AFFECT MOI,
w. Yorker. will refer with pride to the rap'
Nth which things move In TINS coi'
4za delights in telling the "out-of-to"het A -
fos+ growth Of vast fortunes and the sli''s'
.raa6 with which they are spent the <AiAo1..
,,l,e o,,iclzness with which skyscrapeTs S'e
-, or whole blocks OF obsolete STRUCTURES
down. the velocity of communication anu -,
,o-..+ic, the telephone the ticker. the subway,
the elevator and a hundred more IKE iiie
crodvrina still more action into stu less '''ne
v. ,t;la discoursing at length on the s"'it''o'S
80. +oa-7, he is most apt to say not d WIZ"
20 a.. z,-reckage along the shores he MAKES 4o
,r,an,;on of the stin more rapid increase
,o-,,o,,s registrations and suicides Oh pe'p-0
going insane or falling dead
e,,cr a citizen smiles to see visitors from o'
nsrts of the country, where lie runs -
++ra,7ouil channels, complain that mere ny
iostled on the street, that when they WIN
they get their heels stepped on. that WHEN ".e'
take their time in boarding d lroiie!
conductor shouts '"Step livelyF in their ear ana
&c them aboard. that when they are little
slow in leaving elevator the man a' '-o
-, clicks the door catch mpatiently ana
,,,utters an accompanying anathe1na. ana lHat
chen they do not hurry across the avenue INC
,,,a inns and automobiles all seem TO put Oh tie
more speed in the attempt to run them down.
- &c the exception, therefore. and not the
r1lIe when a New-Yorker takes alarm at tio
mace he is travelling. He says. instead that ne
l. onsv keeping I'D with the times Life is
Short is one Of his favorite sayings, ana an
orher is MAKE hay while the sun Shines He
:. . g., bel,ax,er in the Darwinian theory OF
+l,a survival Of the fttest. He will explain that
-, tho race of life becomes faster the contest
o,ts measure up to higher standard Inc
unfit are either barred out at the start OF must
drop out on the way. So 1t is at the track. 30
it should be IL the world. He will almost call
e man a gutter who becomes alarmed at the
speed at which society is travelling, who. like
Dr. John H Girdner, in his book entitled New
Yorkitis." makes such statement as the fol-
lowing:
New-York at the present time is not reproduc-
Ing itself We are all living swiftly, dying
swiftly. Were 1t not for the influx from out of
town the decrease in population would soon be
noted. But as il is for one New Yorker that
dies two strangers take up their abode IN the
city, and thus the loss is not noticed. New
Workers driving themselves and are being
driven like beasts OF burden. They are working
Ike dynamos all day. playing like idiots at
night
An erraignrnent like this is likely to be dig
missed by the busy Gothamits with his char
acteristic Indifference TO such criticism were 1t
not supported by facts. Health Department re-
ports show that the number Of sudden deaths
fn this city has recently increased out OF all
proportion to its growth In population In
1904 1900 people fell dead or died soon after
they were stricken, increase of 500 over the
record OF the previous year. In the first three
months Of the present year LOO OF this
character have been reported; and as these fig
for cold months, when the brain or
the heart is not as liable to crack" as In the
hot season. it is expected that the victims of
1905 VIII number more than 1000, or more than
twice many in 1904.
Those who have studied the causes of sudden
death closest say that the rapid life New-Yorls-
ers are now living is chiefly responsible for
them. The coroners are of this opinion and as
Coroner Brown said the other day: 'People live |
Too fast; they eat and drink too much and too
often and too rapidly. Some smoke too much |
and cigarette hends especially are subject to
death from heart failure Others whiz through |
The streets and country roads in automobiles |
"hlle they may escape accidents. they die sud- |
denly in bed or elsewhere OF heart trouble.
People who run UP elevated railroad stair
ways to catch train may lose their lives as
a result The ana women who rush I'D SUBJ |
way stairs may not die while so doing but they |
may die the next day 1t is the same with
people walking rapidly home or to work OF to |
luncheon
Even the inhabtant who wants to live within |
bounds. who prefers 10 keep the even tenor of
his way" cannot escape some Of the Ills attend
ant on city life. He is prone for instance to
nearsightedness some other eye trouble and
this disarrangeTnent Of his nervous system as |
the opticians tell him, causes him to suffer from
disorders or the stomach, liver and spleen I'm
like the countrynan. he is unable TO rest his eyes
and his brain by gazing off at distant noun
tains or the dim line where prairie and sky
meet Now he sees hardly any further than the |
walls Of his Office OF his apartment; and even
when he does have the chance Of looking down
an avenue his eyes are distracted by nearby
moving objects They have little opportunity to |
rest.
In the city. too the eyes are injured from lack
Of sunshine and Of the restful influence of green
grass and trees. a vast number of families live |
ed