Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1915-09-02

ISOLATION. show that the cost Of our
annual patriotic orgy Of noise and
gunpowder is still far more costly
| than it should be. Yet comparison
with previous years shows a distinct
gain. In 1903, when The Journal OF
the American Medical Association first
began the collection and publication OF
these figures, 4O6 deaths from locktaw
followed the Fourth of July celebra-
| ton, while 60 deaths from other caus-
es connected with the day and It's OBJ
servance were reported. The total
figures for the past thirteen years
show that since 1903, our Fourth OF
July celebrations have cost US 991 lives
| from lockjaw and 81 from other
| causes, making a total OF 1852 lives
lost as a result Of the oldfashioned,
noisy, nerve-racking and dangerous
Fourth of July celebrations. During
the same period, 42.OS9 persons were
injured. making a total of 1891 or
nearly forty-four regiments Of Ameri-
can citizens who were killed or In
iured as a result of our misguided ef-
forts to show our patriotism. The
campaign of publicity and education
started thirteen years ago. produced
comparatively little results until 1908
when for the first time a report was
published classifying the accidents
and deaths by cities. Immediately the
number Of accidents began to decrease.
In 1909, 215 persons were killed and
5O91 injured. In 1910. the figures fell
to 131 killed and 1892 injured; 1911
showed only 81 killed and 1546 in
jured. In 1912. there were Al killed
and 945 injured, the smallest number
on record. In 1913. while only 80 per-
sons were killed, the number Of in
jured rose to 1853. In 1913. due to the
efforts in some of the largest cities at
restriction rather than prohibition
there were 40 persons killed and 1906
injured. This year marks the lowest
number of deaths and practically the
same number of injuries as in 1913
! A careful examination Of the reporl
by cities gives some interesting re-
suits. over half of the injuries in
cities were in New York and Philadel-
phia. In the s4 cities tabulated, sos
persons were injured. OF these, New
York is responsible for 272 and Phila-
delphia for go making total Of $50
for these two cities alone, while only
pa persons were injured in the other
81 cities. Chicago, which in 1907 had
16 persons killed and 1911 injured and
| in 1908 had IL persons killed and POP
persons injured, there were this year
only s Fourth of July accidents. Curl
ously enough. however, of these, five
were fatal, giving Chicago. in spite of
its remarkably low record for in
/ iuries, the largest number of deaths of
any of the 81 cities, five deaths in
Chicago being half of the total num-
Der of fatalities in cities. St Louis
holds third place for the number Of
, injuries, a. accidents occurring there,
while Boston and Hartford Connect
cut, are tied for fourth place with q
accidents each. Forty-one of the 81
cities have clear records this year, the
largest number yet reported. The
cities showing the most marked reduce
ton in the total number of injuries
are Chicago, Cleveland, Buffalo,
Newark, Minneapolis, Jersey City and
Kansas City, while New York, Boston,
Baltimore, Indianapolis, Worcester,
Hartford and Wilkes Barre show an
! increasing number of accidents.
| The Booze Clubs Dying.