The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1908-08-20
Pensacola Is More
Healthy Than Other Cities.

cities and towns is scarcely obtain
able. As a general thing people at a
distance Judge of the heaIthfuIness OF
section of the country, by the repu-
tation in that respect held, by some
city or large town in thai locality.
There Is no fixed standard OF
healthfulness. We can only judge
with other places, and for the purpose
of making the comparison a measure
has been adopted by stausticians
which is, the number of deaths in one
year for each one thousand of popu-
lation. If it is desired to know at the
end of one month what the death rate
was for that particular month, the
number of deaths during the month
is multiplied by twelve, which gives
the number for a year at the same
ratio, and this number divided by the
number of thousands of population
gives the rate per thousand. The rate
for any week can be obtained in the
same way except that the multiplier
will be SO.
Some weeks ago a New York paper
called attention to the fact that a re-
port of that city's board of health just
issued showed that the week that had
just passed was the heaIthiest the
city had known in many years. The
death rate as given was 1915 per
thousand basing the estimate on a
population of 100000. This is valu-
able information, for the neaIthfuI-
ness of the great metropolis and its
four millions of people may be used
by other cities as a sort of standard
of comparison. If they can lower this
rate they have good reason to be
pretty well satisfied with themselves
and may be permitted to even indulge
in little boasting.
Since then New Orleans mas been
heard from with a death rate for her
| best week this summer of only 1215
per thousand which the New Orleans
city board of health says was the
healthiest in the record of the entire
two hundred years of the city's exist
ence. Commenting on this very
gratifying report from the board OF
health the Daily States says:
Less deaths per thousand of its
population, either white OF colored,
occurred than can be found for any
previous week in the health records
during the regime of the United
States, Spain or France. An exhaus-
tive search this morning through
many volumes, written in all three
languages. revealed the fact that last
week must stand out as the heaIthiest
week since tae city was founded,
nearly two hundred years ago.
The total number of deaths was
only 50. This is the smallest num-
Der Of deaths in any one week since
away back in the sixties, when the
city was much smaller than 1t now
is. and consequently. 50 deaths in
one week would mean a very much
higher death rate per thousand tnan
now.
The city board of health bases all
its statistics on a total population CT
35l 600 people, 25S.000 white and 90
600 COlOTPd. On this basis. the death
rate per thousand last week was only
1215 per cent, a remarkable showing
for any city Probably there is no
other city in the country which had
such rate last week as this" said
Health Officer O'Reilly this morning.
1T is a remarkable rate for the sum
mer time, when everyone looks for
deaths from all manner of causes. II
shows that our struggle against dis
ease is meeting with its reward ana
that New Orleans is fast getting to a
point where IL can be called he
healthieSt city in the country the
year around"
The attention of Journal readers S
called to the remark of Health officer
OReilly that, Probably there is no
other city in the country which had
such a rate last week as this" for
here Is where Pensacola comes n.
The journal doesn't know the date
of the New Orleans paper IN which
the health article was published and
therefore can't give here PsHsaccIa-s
showing for the identical week tnaJ
New Orleans is Dragging ab1U-. but
will show what the rate was in Pen
SacoIa last week as shown by the reg
ular weekly report published III The
Journal last Sunday.
The number OF j satls in the city
last week were, white 2, coIorcd. 4;
total, 8. This would sive Pensacola a
rate of 11-56, based on a population
of $1,000 In view of the fact that
this city Is yet without Clean. paved
streets and the sanitary sewe1ag
system has not yet been installed.