Year: 1877




Every Summer we have one or more deaths
which give rise to much debate whether they
are occasioned by the real Asiatic Cholera or
by Cholera Morbds, disease which we always
have with us. The sudden death of the letter
carrier Peter Van Kuren, has attracted
good deal of attention; but the Board OF
Health is firmly of the belief that 1t was
caused by simple Cholera Morbus. AT the
Bureau of Vital Statistics the same opinion Is
entertained. To the dead man himseif, Oh
course, it makes no difference whether MS
complaint was of the foreign or domestic va
riety. The latter is often enough found by our
physicians to be extremely unmanageable, and
TO kill the patient with extraordinary celerlty.
At this season, whoever INDUCES immoder-
ately either in eating or drinking, or exposes nm
self to extreme degrees of heat or cold, or lives
in a miasmatic or otherwise impure atmosphere,
will be in danger of something sufllcIently
like Asiahc Cholera. The same is true OF those
who foolishly neglect well-marked symptoms
always the precursors of attacks of this type
symptoms which, as a rule are easily man.
aged by prompt and judIciOus treatment.
Cholera Asphyxia in an epidemic form, is
disease which has visited us. sometimes

at rare intervals. Meanwhile every Summer
great numbers of children perish by Cholera
Infantum and under circumstances which make
the mortality not much better than massacre
of the inn0cents. Singuarly enough, about
these dismal deaths, numerous as they are,
there is no excitement. Nobody ever heard OF
a coroner,s inauest when bad food or bad air
or general neglect has sent child out of the
world in state Of collapse. Yet every SUM-
mer we have pestilence of this sort, the re-
suit of cruel and criminal neglect OF the utterly
weak and helpless.


Matters, however, would be much worse, and
the new-made graves a great deal more nu-
merous, if we were not forced by the simplest
humanity into some effort to save the lives OF
the little ones. This year, if we are not dong
more than ever, we are doing very well. The
house-to-house visitation under the dilor'i N
of the Board of Health ought to effect p It
deal of good. and 1t will-if the work OF the
medical visitors is met in the right spirit by
those whom it is sought to save from the con-
sequences Of their own ignorance or misfortune.
Mr.. Chandler, the President of the Board, has
issued in a circular series of plain suggestl ms
which if carefully acted upon will preserve
hundreds upon hundreds of young folks, as well
as der ones-suggestiOns about diet, ventlla-
tlon the supervision of nuisances and the arti-
fetal nursing Of infants. 1t is to be hoped
that dread of AsiItic Cholera will at least work
one good result by making the careless care
full and the unclean tidy, out of sheer selfish
love of life, If from no higher motive.


1t seems to be settled that the true Asiatic
Cholera is an exotic disease, but it has been
equally well ascertained that its coming Is not
much to be dreaded when due degree of com
nonsense preparation has been made for Its
reception. 1t never acquires deadly impetus
unless it finds population ready, by persist
ent violation of the simplest rules OF drainage
or of the general laws of the public health, to
fall before 1t helpessly. At present. the arrl-
val of this remarkable disease is less to be
dreaded because it Is not working with Its full
force in any country with which we have cor
respondence but if it were now, as 1T has been,
in Paris or London, only the utmost precaution
could save New-York from its ravages.