The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-10-06
LOW DEATH RATE.

| September, place it easily among the
| leading cities in Florida, for health
record. Now comes the news that
| Florida is eighth on the list OF Amer
| fcan cities, in it's death rate. These
statistics are given out by the fed
eral government, and show that
| F1oridas death rate is but 1871 per
J thousand.
l. The highest rate recorded is that of
/ Maryland. which gives 24.S- per cent,
with Washington state showing the
! lowest death rate, with 1915.
The Times Union, which uses the
figures as the basis for an editorial,
says:
/, Health authorities here say this
/, puts Florida strictly in health re-
! sort class and the figures are con-
sidered phenomenal in view of the
many handicaps under which Flor
! ida Iabors. In this connection it is
| pointed out that annually, particular
| ly with the advent of cold weather.
thousands of elderly people in poor
i health, flock to the state to escape
the rigors of the Northern winters.
The negro population of Florida,
which amounts to about forty per
cent, is another factor which enters in
| the handicap. as does the many non
residents found at seashore resorts
as well as inland towns both summer
! and winter.
These and numerous other conditions
| tend to heighten the death rate Re-
| CARELESS of all of these drawbacks
Florida is continuing TO hold its
own as healthy place in which to
| live.
In a comparative report for 1918
! compiled by the Florida bureau of
vital statistics, in which figures
from six southern states are brought
! together for study, Florida makes a
splendid showing. Florida, Kentucky.
| North Carolina, South Carolina and
/, Virginia are included in the report
| With rate of 112 deaths per thou
] sand population Florida holds the
/ lowest record of these six states while
i Virginia and South Carolina both
| show a rate of H.
| 1t is stated with pride by Florida
| people that the states tuberculosis
! death rate falls much lower than any
| other southern state from which fig
| ures could be obtained. North Caro-
lima. noted for its favorable conditions
| for tubercular patients has death
( rate of 1905 per thousand in 1919
but Florida's rate of 94.4 is a decided
! improvement over this. This may be
| considered hardly a fair comparison
/ owing to the patients who are sent to
/ North Carolina from other states, but
a glance at the official figures from
| other of the southern states will show
/ F1orida's standing. Kentucky 1921.
South Carolina. 1879; louisiana, 1912;
Virginia, 1870.
/ With the exception of Virginia, with
| rate of 1916 per thousand, Florida
| also has the lowest typhoid fever
| figures in 1919. Diphtheria is an
other disease in which this state
/ shows the lowest number of deaths
according to population. Only 81
| deaths per thousand
i This report means much to PEN
sacola, Tor it proves that this city is
not only one of the most healthfuI in
| the state, but in the entire south.
! The death rate in Pensacola for the
| summer months was not only the low
| est in many years, but lower than that
/ OF most Florida cities. With Florida
| recorded in the government report, as
| the seventh city in mortality and this
oneof the leading cities In the state
in its health record and rate of NOR
| tally, 1t is easily seen that in spite
! of the existence of plague in Pensa-
| cola during the past four months, the
situation has been so carefully han
| died that results have been such as
| to attest to the value of the con-
structive health program which was
inaugurated in this city in June.
But this program was not con-
fined to Pensacola, it must be remen-
bered. All over the state, and par
ticularly in port cities, special atten-
ton has been paid to rat-proofing and
sanitation, and the campaign has
brought about good result all over the
state.
No one can deny that much more
might have been accomplished, here
and elsewhere. There has been a
lack of cooperation in many cities of
Florida. as well as in Pensacola, be-
tween the civic and the state and
government authorities. But in the
main the people have been aroused
to the need of stringent measures
and much effective work has been
accomplished
Florida has been cleaner this sum
mer than in many years And the
low mortality record bears out the
claim that the health of a nation, a
state or city depends more upon its
sanitation than upon any other fac
tor or factors