The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-05-17
ALL CITIES HAVE
 FAVOR|TE DISEASE
Certain Causes of Death Are
 Localized
THE CONDITIONS DIFFER
New York Leads In Nervous AffIic- tions-chicaao Is the Center of lnfluenza-Tub tuberculosis Is
 Common scourge.

Washington, May 6-(Special )-"Tell me where youlved and will tell you why you died,' might well be the motto of experts on mortality. Recent statistics have shown that the predominating causes of death have been localized to such an extent that the average amateur Sher- lock Holmes, being given the cause of death of the average citizen, should be able to make good guess as to where he died. To each city or large population has come tie questionable distinction of having a predominating cause of death. So far have these causes been localized that various cities in the United States can claim a special title for death-caus- ing infections. Of course, New York and tuberculosis lead all the rest in totals for cities and diseases respectively; New York because it is the largest city, tub erculosis because it is the greatest cause of death throughout the country.
 Aside from this common scourge which afflicts all localities nearly every great city has some one disease to which it seems to be peculiarly subject or in which it surpasses all others. In a general death census certain diseases have well determined standing. Out of deaths from all causes covered by the statistics collected it is found that tuberculosis leads all the rest with nearly 10000. Next comes pneumonia in it's various forms with 51,S11 deaths followed by deaths from heart disease, general term, numbering 40,612 deaths from violence numbering 34,SS6; apoplexy numbering 22- 756; old age 13 400 and typhoid fever com monly supposed to be one of the greatest causes of death, with 10, 1855.
 But while these figures apply to the whole country in general, the statistics gathered show that certain states and cities are peculiarly prone to certain fatal diseases In fact in many cases the causes of death are so peculiarly local that being given a death from any par ticular cause, the amateur sleuth can pretty well locate the place in which it occurred.
 In New York, for example, as might be expected, diseases of the nervous system account for the greatest number of deaths tuberculosis, of course, always excepted. If given person dies of a nervous complaint the chances are strong CT that he was a resident of the Elm pire State than of any other one section since no other approaches New York in the number of deaths from this cause
 III the nuHlDeF or QedIHS rom IypnO1u fever Pennsylvania leads all other states with 56.5 deaths per 100, ,0O0 of the total Maryland comes second with 40.5 per cent. In malarial fever a cause of death which by the way is steadily on the decrease, Indiana leads among the states, while the largest number of deaths from small pox occur in California, a fact largely due to the incomers from the Orient
 Measles, a disease generally sup ha oj,i i'd o1o it's greatest number of victims in Penn sylvania, with Connecticut a close sec ond. Scarlet fever according to the latest figures, caused the greatest per centage of deaths in Colorado with Rhode Island next. Maryland con tributes the greatest number of deaths from whooping cough, the large ma jority being among the negroes, with Rh ode Island second. Death from in- f1uenza are most common in New Jer- sey, and those from cancer in Califor- mia. Suicide is responsible for more deaths in California than in any other state, with New Jersey and Connect icut following close behind.
 In the great majority of the north ern states, negroes furnish almost twice as high death rate as whites from every cause, and in this fact those who search for a solution of the negro problem may find the same answer which has been given to the Indian question, namely gradual elimination.
 As between urban and rural life, the place for those who wish to postpone death longest from whatever cause is without doubt the country. It is true that in certain rare forms of typhus; in whooping cough, measles, croup and other diseases peculiar to child hood, the rural districts show a pre- ponderance of deaths, due to the fact as shown by the census figures that there Is a much larger proportion of children in the country. In the cities, however, those diseases supposed to be peculiar to advanced civilization far outstrip the country in the number Of deaths they cause. Tuberculosis, ty- phoid, pneumonia and cancer are only few of the ills to which flesh is heir to which man succumbs in greater numbers in the great metropolitan dis trcts.
 To the student of the causes of death every case is indicative of locality, and it is not difficult job to guess in the average of a large number of cases, where the deceased lived provided the cause of death be given. Such facts for instance as that more persons died last year in San Francisco from whoop- ing cough than from typhoid, tbar Chicago, is the greatest influenza cen ter that New York is particularly noted for it's deaths from humps and measles-the two most deadly ms" and that in Philadelphia more people die of typhoid every year than from any other cause--all these enable the amateur detective of the causes of dea -h to locate pretty accurately the resi- dence of at least seven out of ten per sons deceased provided the cause of their deaths be known. All this of course except tuberculosis, for this great white plague affects all districts alike according to population. But from other causes death is certainly becoming centralized and do as they will the opponents of centralization of this. that or the other, are unlikely to find any check to it.
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