El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-22
LIFE IS HELD
GHEiPLI IN
NE#Y0RK
Statistics Show 10000 Lives
Are Needlessly Sacrificed
Each Year.
BIG COMPANY TO
SOLVE COST PROBLEM

Dull V "a OOO I 1ODAA14
EW YORK. n. Y. March 22-
Nj That New York, aside from be-
= ing the most extravagant city
financially in the country, is also the
greatest spendthrift so far as the
lives of its citizens are concerned, is
the startling arraignment made as the
result of the Investigations Of the con-
servation commissioner of one Of the
city's great insurance companies.
Not less than 10000 lives a year are
unnecessarily lost here according to
his report, or enough to populate a
good sized city. The commissioner
bases his statement on the ground
that this number of deaths is due to
preventabIe or pOstponabIa disease
alone. chiefly because of the failure
Of the city to build I'D and maintain
a health service large enough TO cope
with this problem. Out of the S26
per capita which the city spends to
run its government only So cents is
allowed for public health service.
Even more striking, though repre-
scnting a smaller total loss of life, are
the latest figures which show that
during the past year Manhattan's
daily average of violent deaths was
more than seven In all PIP violent
deaths were reported in the u months,
Including shOOtings. stabbing, suicides,
automobile accidents and the like.
During the year there were 19S homi-
cides. Of these ia were due to shoot
ings, % to stabbing, % to assaults, 10
TO malpractice II TO lnfantlcide, five
to gas and / TO poison. Gas continued
70 be the most popular means of sui
eide, since 1873 cases were due to this
means. Eighty-nine were by shooting,
q by cutting, IS by leaps from win
dOWs and roofs, Is by leaps in front
or trains, or automobiles, 30 by hang
ing, 81 by poison and two by drown
ing One of the most astonishing facts
revealed by these mortality figures
is that Of 412 persons found dead, 149
were never identified Altogether the
charge Of Wastefulness of human life
seems TO be strongly borne out and il
Is hoped that q realization of the exist
ing conditions viii result in a move
n,ent for its conservation.
Solving the Cost Problem.
The most advanced step which New
York has yet taken in the attempt to
sclve the cost OF living problem, and
one which may ultimately be copied
throughout the country as well as the
city itself, occurred here this week
with the opening of the first food at
cost" store in which victuals viii be
sold at their actual purchase price
with no charge for operation, salaries
or overhead expenses.
In spite Of the fact that this store
company solely for the benefit of its
employees and will not be open TO the
public, IL will be watched with par
ticular interest. This store marks the
completion Of a plan of the railway I
company to deal practically and ef-
fectively with the question Of the high
cost of living Every article in the
store is to be sold at cost Salaries
Of clerks and butchers, rent and taxes
and all the running expenses are TO
be borne by the railway company and |
IlguTe n al
of selling prices. Any one of the 25,-
600 employees Of the company may buy |
at the store upon presentation of a |
membership card If the plan proves
q success five other similar stores will 1
be opened in Manhattan as near as pos !
sible to the various car barns.
Has Cats Nine Lives.
What viii probably go down in the }
city's history as the final limit in fool 4
hardy attempts at dare deViltry, took I
place this week when man attempted 4
TO have himself shot half a mile into 1
the air In giant rocket and then to I
come to earth by means of a parachute. /
That the attempt failed and that the !
man was not killed are points OF 4
minor consideration in the eyes of /
those who have gloated over such 4
stunts ever since Sweeney is said to I
have made his famous jump from 1
Brooklyn bridge.
The man who attempted this last I
piece OF superlative fOOlishness already |
has a considerable record for feats !
OF this kind, having jumped from the /
statue of liberty with a parahute, /
scaled flylike the outside walls of sky !
sCrapers and stood on his head on top /
OF the flagpOle on the 500 foot Singer ]
building. According to his statement /
he can fall two stories on to a con-
crete pavement without being injured.
The rocket was shaped like the Ordi- j
statue Of liberty with a parachute I
was 10 feet long and three feet in 4
diameter For a stick 80 foot tele-
graph pole was used and the charge /
was goo pounds Of powder. At the top
was a loose cover opening into a COM
paTtment about four feet high and 80 !
inches in diameter in which Law sat [
with his parachute. The whole affair Il
had been tried out successfully on q
smaller scale with a dog as a passen-
ger. but when the fuse of the giant /
rocket was ignited with the man sit
ting IN his compartment the charge
proved too heavy for the material. and
the rocket, instead Of rushing skyward, |
simply burst into thousands of pieces.
was thrown about so feet. received only \
minor cuts and bruises.
Another Queer Citizen.
To its collection of queer citizens I
New York has just added the first one /
who, without artificial aid of any sort |
is able to move in the water in air or (
on land; that is, TO swim, fly or walk.
The new citizen is not however, a |
human being, but the most versatile |
fish which ever trod the earth and his !
home will be in the Aquarium at Bat
terry park. OgcOcepalus Radiatus is the
proper name of this new arrival. but
more colloquially he is known as the
bat fish.
Because Of his peculiar construction
he is able to move about on land to
swim and to fly. He is equipped with
several fins Of a peculiar character I
which make him look like saw in
repOse and which may be taken for
fins, legs or wings according to the l
particular mode of progression in
which he happens to be engaged. Like I
wise he is equipped with a versatile
tail. shaped like the head Of q spear.
which can be used for a variety OF [
purposes, such as picking up small fish
on his way home for dinner, or inter-
ferinS with the projects of his natural
enemies.
At present this queer arrival is only
seven inches Ions. but as he is very
young his size is expected to increase |