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NEWS ARTICLE, AUG. 3,1870
BOARD OF HEALTH
Mortality for July—Everybody to be Prosecuted
The board met in regular session yesterday afternoon at the Mayor’s
office.
In the absence of his Honor Mayor Torrence, Mr. Charles Thomas was
appointed to the chair.
Present- Messer’s. Simpkinson, Hauck, Baum, Thomas, & Fiedeldey and the
Health Officer.
Absent- S.L. Davis, and his Honor Mayor Torrence.
Minutes read and approved.
Report of Boiler Inspector, that during July he inspected 35 boilers,
and collected &97. One boiler was bad, Report accepted.
Mr. Simpkinson said the open sewers were a nuisance that should be
attended to. When the matter was brought up it was complained that the
board had no power to act in the premises. He knew that in the Easter
cities the Cincinnati Board of Health was regarded as the leading one of
the land, and Cincinnati had the name of being the cleanest city in the
Union, and he believed it true. The reason the board lacked power to act
in reference to the sewers was it had not sought necessary legislation.
He would move the appointment of the committee of three to examine, in
connection with the Health Officer, the health code, and revise and add
to the same where needed. Carried.
The committee are Messrs. Simpkinson, Baum, Fiedeldey, and the Health
Officer.
Mr. Simpkinson presented a resolution to refer to Colonel Pummil and the
Health officer a denial in one of the city papers, by a citizen of the
21st Ward, of certain allegations in a recent report of the health
Officers on the bad condition of the cow stables in that ward. Carried
Mr. Simpkinson said the stink at the corner of Vine & 4th Streets,
caused by the street car stand, was as vigorous as ever. Her thought it
ought top be abated.
The health Officer stated he had served proper notice often on the
President of the road, but he did not heed it.
On notion, the Health Officer was ordered to have the President of the
road brougth before the Police Court if it was not attended to at once.
The health Officers was directed to notify the Superintendent of the
Street Cleaning Department, Mr. George Thompson, the contractor to
remove dead animals, to make their regular visits to the 22nd and 23rd
Wards.
On motion, the Health Officer was directed to have all milkmen not
coming up to the proper standard with their milk, prosecuted before the
Police Court.
Mr. Baum moved that the health Officer and Milk Inspector confer
together to regulate the standard of milk, Lost.
THE MEAT & MILK INSPECTORS.
The Milk Inspectors report was presented and accepted.
The Meat Inspector, Mr. Snyder, reported for last month that he had
condemned 610 lbs. beef, 5875 lbs mutton, 10lbs veal, 4 hogs, 4 calves,
18 pigs feet.
HEALTH OFFICER”S REPORTCINCINNATI, AUGUST 2,1870
The Honorable Board of health
Gentleman I have the honor to present the following report for the month
ending July 31,1870:
Whole number of deaths 503
SEX
COLOR
Males___________________246 White__________________492
Females_________________263 Colored ________________11
SOCIAL CONDITION
Married ________________112 Single_________________372
Widows__________________ 13 Widowers________________ 7
NATIVITY
United States___________351 Germany_________________94
Ireland__________________41 England & Scotland_______9
Born in other countries_______________________________6
Not classified_______________________________________ 2
PARENTAGE
American________________218 Foreign_________________255
LOCALITY
1st Ward---------20 14th Ward -----------17
2nd Ward--------- 7 15th Ward----------- 17
3rd Ward---------22 16th Ward -----------43
4th Ward---------15 17th Ward------------18
5th Ward---------13 18th Ward------------34
6th Ward---------19 19th Ward------------28
7th Ward---------25 20th Ward-------------8
8th Ward---------38 21st Ward-------------8
9th Ward---------25 22nd Ward-------------4
10th Ward--------39 23rd Ward-------------3
11th Ward--------20 24th Ward-------------2
12th Ward--------43 Cincinnati Hospital—--9
13th Ward--------20 Locality no stated----1
CLASSIFICATION OF AGES
Under 1 yr. of
age-----------------------------------------------------156
Between 1 & 2 yrs. of
age-----------------------------------------------81
Between 2 & 5 yrs. of
age-----------------------------------------------36
Between 5 & 10 yrs of
age-----------------------------------------------10
Between 10 & 20 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------24
Between 20 & 30 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------49
Between 30 & 40 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------35
Between 40 & 50 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------45
Between 50 & 60 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------25
Between 60 & 70 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------12
Between 70 & 80 yrs of
age----------------------------------------------14
Between 80 & 90 yrs of
age-----------------------------------------------5
Over 90 yrs of
age-------------------------------------------------------1
Ages not
stated----------------------------------------------------------0
Still-births------------------------------------------------------------19
___________
Total------------------------------------------------------------------522
CAUSES OF DEATH
Accident---------------------21 Croup---------------------- 3
Apoplexy---------------------17 Cancer--------------------- 2
Asthura-----------------------1 Diarrhea-------------------21
Bronchitis--------------------4 Debility-------------------10
Bowels, Inflamation----------12 Dropsy---------------------10
Brain, Inflamation of--------29 Dysentery ----------------- 5
Chlorea morbus---------------15 Delirium Tremens----------- 4
Chlorea Infantum-------------80 Diphtheria----------------- 3
Consumption------------------50 Erysipelas----------------- 1
Convulsions------------------68 Measles-------------------- 8
Fever, Typhoid----------------7 Marasmus--------------------5
Fever, congestive------------10 Menigitis------------------21
Fever, Bibous-----------------1 Old Age--------------------10
Fever, Puerpeara--------------? Cannot read this line
Fever, Scarlet----------------1 Pneumonia-------------------9
Heart Disease-----------------5 Premature Birth-------------4
Whooping Cough----------------6 Peritonitis-----------------3
Hydrocephalus----------------12 Serofula--------------------1
Inanition---------------------4 Sunstroke------------------16
Dyspepsia---------------------1 Syphilis--------------------1
Jaundice----------------------4 Suicide---------------------2
Liver, disease----------------4 “Soothing Syrup”------------1
Cyanosis----------------------1 Unknown---------------------2
A COMPARISON
The mortality during July was 94 more than during the preceding month of
June, and 98 more than the corresponding month last year.
The following shows the mortality in the city each month during the
present year, also the deaths in July in each of the last 5 years.
Months. Deaths
January----------------------------------------------------------------325
February---------------------------------------------------------------272
March------------------------------------------------------------------338
April------------------------------------------------------------------311
May--------------------------------------------------------------------316
June-------------------------------------------------------------------409
July-------------------------------------------------------------------503
July,1866--------------------------------------------------------------337
July,
1867-------------------------------------------------------------392
July,1868--------------------------------------------------------------630
July,1869--------------------------------------------------------------395
July,
1870-------------------------------------------------------------503
DEATHS IN JULY FROM SUMMER COMPLAINTS DURING 4 YEARS.
July July July July
1867 1868 1869 1870
Cholera Infantum-----------------------------------78 104 57
80
Cholera Morbus-------------------------------==-----4 4
5 15
Diarrhea-------------------------------------------13 49 19
21
Dysentery------------------------------------------10 34 13
5
__ __ __ __
105 191 91 121
FACTS
In New York in 1810 one-half of all the persons who died were 24 years
of age and upward; in 1820, half of the deaths were of persons only 20
years of age; in 1830, ten years of age equally divided the number of
deaths; in 1840, half of all who died were only 5 yrs old; in 1850, at 4
years of age and under were half the deaths; in 1837(?) half the deaths
were of children 2 years old and under.
One –half of all the deaths in Philadelphia in 1807 took place after the
24th year of age; in 1820, half the decedents were not yet twenty years
old; in 1830, half the deaths were under 16 years of age, in 1850, half
the decedents were under 5 years of age, and un 1856, one-half were
under 4 years old.
NOW IN CINCINNATI
During the 4 years ending Feb. 28, 1870, there were reported to the
health office in this city, 17,983 deaths as having occurred in that
time. Of this number 8,659 were children under 5 years of age, or nearly
one-half; and of these nearly 80 percent, were under 2 years of age.
ALARM
Are these things so? Is this rate of destruction of human life necessary
and inevitable? Will not parents demand something more than a mere
statistical statement of the causes? And is there nothing in all this to
interest public attention, and to awaken the sympathies and arouse the
energies of lawmakers?
How common it is in case of death, especially the death of a child, for
the friends and physician also to consider that it was inevitable—that
it was the result of causes none could have foreseen or prevented. This
blind submission to what is too often regarded as the will of the
Creator may be to some a source of consolation, but such thoughtless
ignorance has sacrificed the lives of thousands of men, women and tens
of thousands of the little children.
This mortality is in some measure to be attributed to hereditary causes,
but an investigation of the diseases most common and most fatal among
children, are controllable and preventable; that is, they are due to
preventable circumstances.
DISEASE DUT TO A COMBINATION OF CAUSES
A popular fallacy is that one cause preceded and originates disease,
when the fact is that it is due to a combination of causes. During the 4
years ending Mar. 1,1870 of the 8,659 children that died under 5 years
of age, 1,198 of cholera infantum, the common summer complaint of
children; of convulsions, 1,299, of this class died during the same
period; of other bowel diseases, were 889 deaths in the same category,
while there died from inflammation and congestion of the brain 583;
diphtheria, 185;croup,207’shooping cough, 107;smallpox,588,scarlet
fever, 107;measles 161.Bowel & Brain diseases cause most of these
deaths, and as these are most common in summer it is plainly to be
inferred that heat is one of the influential causes of these diseases.
Of bowel & stomach diseases another cause is improper diet. The most
potent cause is foul atmosphere produced by decaying filth, bad
drainage, obstructed sewers, cesspools, putrifying excrement, and above
all, overcrowding of human beings in tenements. Children living in most
crowded portions of the city and in most crowded tenements suffer
greatest, while children in the country suffer very little from the
above diseases. From this the natural inference is, that the heat is by
no means the sole cause of this infant mortality. For some reason we may
conclude that fresh natural fruits eaten in moderation are not the cause
of the above diseases.
Only when the system of the child is prepared for disease by bad air,
does teething have any danger. The foul air of badly ventilated houses
in narrow and crowded streets causes a thousand fold more mortality than
fruits, vegetables and teething.
STARTLING
The children of the poor suffer most from summer complaints. Our city in
it originals limits is the most compactly built city in the United
States, and , in proportion, has as many tenement houses as New York ;viz,
1,410, each containing 6 families and upward. These house contained
16,197 rooms, and were occupied by 9,894, families, with a population of
38,721 persons. Of these there were 4,218 families occupying each 1
room, in which to cook, wash their clothing, sleep, etc. Of these there
are 3,571 with but 1 window each, and no other means of ventilation. The
infant occupying such a room has but a small chance to escape disease,
and, getting a disease, has but a small chance for life.
THE REMEDY A PARK
THE DISTRICT Physician in vain prescribes pure air to the mother who can
not afford it. The mother has no rich friend, and the child can not be
taken to the country, so must die. There is now no place provided by the
city where this mother may go and get pure air for her dying child. The
need is for a place where the child might be taken daily and obtain
fresh air. This would save many hundreds of lives annually.
Mr. Simpkinson concurred in the latter recommendation of the report. No
action was taken on the report.
On motion of Mr. Fiedeldey, the Health Officer was ordered to prosecute
W.J. M. Gordon for maintaining an open sewer on his premises at the
corner of 5th and Culvert streets.
On motion adjourned
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