The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1911-04-14
PROPER WINDOW VENTILATION.

PROPER WINDOW VENTILATION.
Have plenty of window space and SO
arrange your rooms that they are thor
oushly ventilated and well lighted.l
Of course and variously ascribed to
'acts OF God" or the evil one" ac-
cording to the point OF view.
We do not read in the sprightly ro-
manceS OF Dumas and others who
have thrown a glamour over history
that itch was n common, not to say
general, atlliction at the court of
France and that the great Napoleon
suffered from this trouble because no
one knew its cause or simple treat
ment. 1t seems difficult to realize that
in the old days a person who was not
pOCkmarkcd from smallpox was con
spicuous in the streets Of London.
The custom of sleeping in hunks in
the wall, of using ruShes or straw for
floor covering in the mCSheS of which
refuse scraps from the table and other
filth were allowed to accumulate, was
regarded in the old days as a natural
and healthful mode Of existence. The
custom Of dipping germ infected fin
>
ing the general supply for the family
was followed by the Four Hundred
during the middle ages, when the
''back death" and other scourges
spread deSolation Of which it Is diff
cult to form any conception in these
days of comparative sweetness and
light"
But we must not lay too much fiat
tering JUNCTION to our souls. Taking
into account the advances in science
and knowledge of the causation of dis
ease, we are today relatively just as
neglectful as our forefathers. Reck-
less and careless habits in defiance Of
disease risks are still common enough
and are responsible for a tremendous
waste Of life.
The Fall In tho Death Rate.
In the registration area of the Unit
ed States the death rate has fallen
from 1876 per 1000 in 1890 to 1914 in
1908. In Massachusetts the death rate
has fallen from 1914 in 1890 to 17.5 in
1907. In England and Wales it has
fallen from 1915 in 1890 to 14.7 in
1908; in Sweden from III in 1890 to
14.9 in 1908, and in France from OPS
in 1890 TO 149 in 1908.
This is a splendid showing, but when
we analyze the material from which
these figures are derived we find that
the death rate among young people
has fallen more than 80 per cent, while
the death rate among the middle aged
and elderly has either been slightly af-
fected or markedly increased, accord
ing TO the locality Investigated.
In Massachusetts the increase in the
death rate at advanced ages is really
startling and doubtless reflects a con
dition general throughout the country.
We know that the degencratlve dis
eases affecting middle life and old age
-apOpleXy, heart disease, Brights dis
ease, arterial diseases, etc.-have in
creased 105 per cent during the past
thirty years in the registration area,
and an increase in the mortality at the
ages affected would naturally follow,
such as is exhibited in the Massachu.
sets statistics.
But the limit Of prevention and i'm
provement among the infectious dis
eases that affect young lives has not
vet been reached, These diseases, such
as typhoid, cholera infantum, tubercu-
losis, etc, should be absolutely eradi-
Gated.
Proper sanitation, especially in the
rural districts, is greatly needed and
Elorc thorough observance Of the pre-
cautionary measures against tubercu.
loSiS and other Infectious maladies.
Prevention Of Deeenerative Diseases.
Diseases Of the heart, kidneys ana
blood vessels (apoplexy, paralysis are