The river press., 1909-09-01

fresh air camps-that is. some Of them
are. the rest swarming over parks,
tanning the streets and alleys and
tumbling about the wharfs. Gotham
= decidedly not summer town. Dur
ing the heated spell It is scattered all
over the earth-in Europe. along the
seashore. up the Hudson, in the Adj
Fondacks. or anywhere go long as It is
away.
There is some reason for this desire
to fee as bird to the mountains, or
to the beach, or to any old place. One
week recently thirty-two persons died
OF sunstroke in the city. Almost all of
them were Of the so called lower or
laboring classes, whose occupations
render them unable to leave the city
for breathing spells of any appreciable
periods and whose necessary mode Of
living is unhealthy. particularly in the
hot months. The unhealthiness Of
crowded tenementS in summer lowers
the physical qualities Of their inhab-
ftants to degree that in this enlight-
ened age is not only deplorable, but in
a sense criminal. The notorious heed
lessness of metropolitan landlords as
class Though some exceptions exist.
OF course) has had most important
effect on the number Of deaths from
heat Even the strictest tenement
house laws fail in many cases to make
the landlords observe the dictates OF
ordinary decency. for as long as laws
are made and exist the administration
OF those laws will be in the hands of
men, and when the human agency in
terposes it is invariably found that
bribery can be successfully resorted to
In many instances. Thus when the
landlords Of the tumble down, infested
tenements fail to succeed in passing
Joker" bills at the state capital ut AL
bany. to emasculate the tenement
house acts. they can fall back on the
bribe taking tenement house inspect
ors. who. though they are gradually
being rooted out. are still known to
exist.
But probably the greatest cause of
deaths from sunstroke is intemperance
during the hot weather, Ale and beer.
except In excessive quantities. do not
cause many prostrations. The ball."
however. has decidedly pernicious
influence. The ball is the term ap-
piled in Gotham to drinks containing
whisky or something stronger. The
'highball"-whisky with ice and
large quantity Of water-is as menac-
Ing as anything. Whisky and the 9TH
er drinks containing a large quantity
OF alcohol increase the temperature
OF the body to away above normal,
and it is a we'll known fact that whis-
Ky and brandy are especially danger
ous in hot climates. When the British
army officers went to South Africa to
light against the Beers they found
that they could not take comfortably
and safely more than one-third of the
amount OF strong spirits that they had
been accustomed to taking in their ma
tive land.
Physicians declare that one of the
chief reasons for so many deaths Is
tnat apparently no effort Is made to
select suitable clothing for summer,
either In respect to color or material.
This is particularly true in the cases
OF the city's guardians. the policemen
and aremen. who from the very nature
ct their occupations are exposed to ex-
treme heat. either directly from the
sun or Of artificial origin. And yet
these men are obliged by the city gov
eminent to wear heavy uniforms of
dark color, which more readily absorb
the suns rays than anything else, and
IN the cases Of the policemen at least
are obliged to wear them tightly but
toned. Many policemen have COM
plained OF this. handicap this summer.
In this connection 1t may be noted
that the department Of commerce and