Evening star., 1924-01-24
new YORK c0NQUERS
DISEASE RAvA6ES
Low Death Rate in Revolving
Slums Reflects Progress
of Science.
DIPHTHERIA NEARLY CONF
Health Report Forecasts Extinction
Of Child Malady.

Special Dispatch to The star.
NEW YORK, January 22.-Two
months ago the upper half Of New
York was appalled, at a report show
ing how the lower half lived. The
revelation Of slum conditions was one
Of the most shocking things which
decade. Today there has come a rev.
elation equally startling and. in a
sense, contradictory. It Is the state
ment by the health department that
New York will show for 1923 prob
ably the lowest death rate of any
large city in the world.
Despite the revolving housing con-
ditions Of many sections of the teem-
ing East Side. 1t is announced that
contagious diseases. especially among
children. have virtually been wiped
out Diphtheria, once the dread of
every mother. Is about to be erased
from consideration. The death rate
from the disease has become all but
negisibie. This has been. accom-
shick testing system and the in In
1ections OF toxin-antitoxin to ap-
proximately 100000 children in the
city during the past five years
This favorable result" said the
neaah ne report leads us to assume
an optimistic attitude as to the total
exunction in the near future Of
oipntheria as cause of death among
children of this city"
Other Diseases Drop.
The past year has shown also q tre-
nendous drop in the death rate from
other child diseases such as measles.
scarlet fever and whooping cough
Including also diptheria- the reduce
tion In the number Of deaths. during
the year was 1,227
The year just closed was the health
lest New York has known in the 125
years since the registration of the
causes or death was begun. The rate
was 1l.i2 per thousand of population
it Is estimated that preventive meas
ures or health preservation SANTA
tion resulted in the saving of more
than 10000 lives during the year
some european cities have claimed
In the past a fractionally lower death
rate than that shown for New York
IN 1923, but the health department
mere does not believe that the statis-
tics have been compiled with the
same care which has been taken I'M
the showing made here in New York.
under the most difficult of housing
conditions. is one of which the en-
tire nation should be proud.
New York is the dumping ground
of European immigrants. They come
here in the thousands and most of
them huddle together in the novels of
the East Side. They come with vary
ing ideas of health and strange and
inconEruous customs of life. That
New York has been able to assimilate
these people and maintain the sani-
tary conditions which have made the
low death rate possible is an achieve
ment which augurs well for the pro-
langation of human life in the future.
The feature of the vital statistics
for 1928 which gives greatest joy to
the health officers of the city is the
reduction shown all along the line in
the death rate among children. Twen-
ty-five years ago more than 200 out
of every thousand children born in
the city died in infancy. During the
year 1928 there were but sixty-six
deaths to the thousand. This lower
ing Of the infantile death rate has
| most terrible living conditions, where
1t has been shown that as many as
fourteen persons, adults and children
alike. have been compelled to live in
, two small rooms.
Cancer Greatest Concern.
Middle and old age have not Jared
so we'll as the children. The disea Sc
WHICH is BiFlHS lHo authorities 1ne
greatest concern is cancer It is
/ steadily increasing, despite the mil
lions of dollars that are being spent
in research and experimentation
Even for the new x-ray apparatus
announced for the first time today
| the public has been cautioned not to
| expect too much. The new lamp
promises a quickening of treatment
/ but 1t remains to be seen II it will be
more eff1cacious. During 1923 there
were 343 more deaths from cancer in
New York than in 1922.
Chronic degenerative diseases, such
| as organic heart and kidney affec-
! tions and hardening of the arteries
also showed tremendous gain, re-
| sulting in LIZA more deaths in 1928
| than the year before.
No explanation is given as to the
causes of these increases, except that
medical science has not yet devised
| the best means of dealing with such
| diseases. Healthier children, it is
| hoped, will grow into healthier adults
| and thus. in the end, prove less yul-
! nerable to the maladies which now
! take such heavy toll of middle and
old age.