Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1910-12-23
HEALTH BOOSTER
DEFENDS HIS
POSITION
Insists That Death Rate in.
Albuquerque Could Be Cut
Down BY Proper Sanitation,

SDflt III the bAI0Aeett tAtA va - -
upon the communication In reference
to the cIty's health, which you pub
llishca on the morning ~ Decembel
2Ist. / should beg tn state that il
giving you these figures, which have
been taken from our Death records
for 1908 mot 1910 as some seem t.
believed, j have tried 10 state simple
truths regarding our sanitary eondi-
ton. There has zee no desire t.
over-state things. or in any way q
give the least cffense TO any indiyidu-
al. or group OF individuals.
That some seem TO have SO soreiy
taken II "a heart. fills the writer with
a combined mixture OF sorrow and
glaGness. sorrow. that personality
should play any part in the discus
lsion OF a public question: and gladness
that so much discussion of the sub
icct ven though the writer be
wrong, (which allow me to again
state with much -positiveness, he is
not). some good may come TO Albu-
q%uerqae.
one doctor n IN an interview in
the evening paper: II consider the
death rate from scarlet fever l5) and
diphtheria t1O) last year to be ex-
tremely small" Ten deaths in a year
amongst a population Of $4,000 is the
equivalent OF II deaths per 100000
of population, or three times the num-
ber OF deaths from this disease that
most s~anitariFus consider in excess Of
what should occur.
If / am TO concur with the doctor
and await such a condition of sani-
tary affairs before stamping them rs
slightly worse than extremely small'
then / meekly bow TO the Morning
Journals criticism OF being pessimis-
tic. Fortunately the number Of deaths
was only six n not ten or AIS as
stated in my paper. instead OF II per
1000 of population.
On the above basis of calculation:
we have ten deaths. extremely
SMALL 20 small; 80 considerable; 40
rather large and so large. So that
by the time we had 80 deaths and ape
proximately 500 eases OF d%iphtheria
We would begin TO believe IL had
probably assumed epidemic proper
lions.
Another doctor makes the state-
ment, Ii sounds like a prophecy Of the
Delphian Oracle. so deftly does he
clothe 81: no matter how you come
at him. he has q loophole for escape.
Ninety per cent Of the deaths that
occur here are AMONG tubercular peo-
pie who come here The doctor Is
absolutely correct; but 80 per cent
do not die Of tuberculosis, as he would
have you believe. There We're l27
deaths from tuberculosis out OF a to-
tai of 9ST. That is not 80 per cent.
There are the figures, work IT. out
for yourself.
But why bubble over figures. No
one who has looked into health con-
ditions here can have the temerity
j., -.et .fat th.raH Gee ,.nf r..s, FOR t-n or
Improvement. Say what you VIII
about the Health city is has not
"a name outside of its own bound
Within the past month one of Il
own merchants stated at Il public
meeting, that his business had been
hurt on account of scarlet fever
in his FAMILY in 1909. that he was all
most decided to leave his family IN
for this year. lie brought
them back, however, and within a
very short time after their return, an
child had contracted the disease.
asked the question, why Is there
50 much infectious sickness In Albn-
querque as compared with the larger
elites OF the east? 4" lie got his in
formation from observation and not
from Il study of the mortality records.
n citizen Of California. former
~ a prominent Aibuquerquean. told
a Californian who is temporarily liv-
ing here, when he heard that the lat
ter WAS coming 10 Albuquerque. I'm
sorry for you there; everybody in AL
buquerquc has typhoid once and some
have II several times. Another person
10 my personal knowledge. would not
come to Albuquerque from Denver
with her small son. because of the
reported number of cases of scarlet
here.
CAN the figures what you viii; these
are personal experiences Of what our
reputation is In the outside world;
and they are of much practical im-
portance TO us.
No matter what the medical society
may say for publication. these gentle
men, individually, are as fully aware
Us l am, that conditions can, and
should be. bettered.
IL Is easy enough 10 excuse figures
from our own death records on the
that they come from outside
sources TO our hospitals; but please
remember, that the same excuse holds
good for the places with which AL
is compared. All large Cit
les are medical centers and in conse-
quencc have to report many deaths
absolutely their own.
For the benefit ofstho committee Of
medical society, I should say that
IL Will not be necessary for them TO
swear to the figures which they give
FOR 1910; because they are exactly
the same as those before me from
my own t%abulation. But il is not
practical TO claim that Albuquerque
NOT be credited with n death
or case of scarlet fever, merely be-
IL occurred on the south side
of Cromwell avenue. which is out OF
town; while the north side OF the
street is in town. To all in
n purposes Il is an Alhuquer-
Tue infection and just as dangerous TO
inhabitants OF the city as II Il
'esided on Copper avenue. If our
Eases Of infectious diseases are COM
from our immediate neighbors.
Il behuoves us 10 include them in cur
corporate limits. and have them
imenahle 10 the sanitary laws which
Govern the rest OF the city. They are
20 closely related TO us. tha we must
the n%pprohium OF their sanitary =
BE my desire ITO rush into print" f,
rs II may. the motive which impelled
e. IS neither selfish nor conniving. .
There ts NO municipal office 10 Which
aspire The Interior motive" was
a ten The truth about Albuquerque
n The hope that here. as elsewhere. ,
j truth became known. good
'csulted