New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-28

der that appointments may De mace 70
supply transportation to the hospital
or for doctors of the Department OF
Health to visit the homes Of such per-
sons. The committee is arranging to
provide the department with the means
Of conveyance.
"As the blood serum is sometimes
impaired by transportation, those CIV
ing their blood are strongly urged
when possible to visit one OF the
hospitals"
Charts Of the Department Of Health
Yesterday showed steady decline in
the number of new cases since August
3, when 217 were listed, the high water
mark of the epidemic. Besides tracing
the rise and fall of the new cases and
deaths, the department charts also
show the effect of the temperature and
humidity on the number of cases. IL
has been noted and is shown on the
charts that period of great humidity,
more than a period of great heat alone,
is invariably followed by rise in the
number Of new cases.
Humidity Spurs On Disease.
or instance, on July % and % the
humidity was nearly 100 per cent, and
this was followed on August ! by a
largely increased number of new cases
eliminating in the record of 2l7 on
August 3. Since then there has been
a gradual decline.
"Thc figures for to-day show that the
encouraging fall in cases and deaths
is continuing" said DR.. Billings yester-
day. "The eighty-three cases reported
to-day for the five boroughs is the low
est point recorded since July 81. when
only eighty cases were reported. The
deaths also show steady drop. The
only day on which there were fewer
deaths than on to-day was July 30.
when only thirteen were listed.
"To-day's Brooklyn figures are the
same as Yesterdays, as are also the
cases in Manhattan. but the deaths in
Manhattan are only six, the lowest
figure recorded since July 30, wher
there were but two in that borough.
Queens also shows diminished pre-
yalence of the disease, the nine cases
reported to-day being the lowest for
that borough since July l6. when SIX
were listed. In The Bronx alone the
cases and deaths show no reduction
from the moderate figures of that
borough. Two weeks ago there were
almost twice as many cases and deaths
I
DAVIS reports."
Probability of another decrease in
the reports Of to-day was indicated by
the fact that up to 10 o'clock yesterday
morning there had been but twenty-srx
assignments-that is, only tuenIy-Six
suspicious cases had been reported
which called for diagnosis by the di
agnosticians Of the department. In the
same space of time there are usually
anywhere from forty to sixty such as
signments made. Nine of yesterdays
were in Brooklyn.
Many Causes" Are Reported.
The results of the study of 1,94S
cases of paralysis and their distribu-
tion into age groups were made public
yesterday by the Department of Health.
OF this number, all reported from May
9 10 July 81, pa, or 1913 per cent, were
under one year of age; 1868, or 77.9
per cent were from one to five years,
inclusive, and 202, or 1913 per cent, were
six years old and over.
Besides the innumerable remedies
and cures for the disease with which
the Department of Health has been
bombarded since the epidemic began,
scores of persons have visited the va
rious branch Offices and told the Off
Gals what, in their ouinion, caused the
epidemic. A list of these causes" was
made public yesterday.
Various citizens held the following
responsible for the epidemic: Mos
quitoes, rats, a dead horse in the Go
wanus Canal, milk, sewers, high ground
water causing heat, humidity and ex-
cessive rain; human carriers, ice cream
cones, bent over positions IN the
schools, street excavations causing ar
bacillus, stable and blue bottle flies,
bedbugs, dust of the streets, special
parasite in the water, alloys in cooking
utensils, gases from munitions, fac
tories, meIcurial poisoning from Gallo.
mel, earthquakes and volcanoes, second
hand bedding and acidosis or the effect
of the air in causing a rapid deterior-
alton in food.
Others were electrical disturbances
caused by earth and sky currents, sun
burn caused by children walking in the
streets with uncovered heads, intestinal
arrangements, wearing Of white cloth
ing, excitement due to glare, automobile
and water reflections, dirty milk bot
ties, children carrying nickels in their
mouths when they go TO buy candy.
smoking (this by DR.. Pease in collabo
ration with Annette Hazelton) and
reckless automobile driving upsetting
the nerves of the populace.