Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 9.djvu/672

 648 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY

more real good or gave them keener satisfaction than this. A doctor soon becomes well known to almost every child in his district, and is hailed by them as a sort of guardian angel sent to give them free excursion tickets and cure them of all manner of diseases.

The most direct results of the work are seen in the statistics of infant mortality, although these are perhaps more largely due to the increasing attention paid to the food and milk supply, and to the improved condition of the streets.

During the year 1892 there were 4,119 deaths of children under five years of age in the old city of New York from diarrhceal diseases, representing a death-rate of 24.10 per 10,000 of the entire population. During the year 1902 there were 2,936 deaths from diarrhoea under five years of age in the old city of New York (Manhattan and the Bronx), representing a death- rate of 13.72 per io,000 of the entire population a decrease in the death-rate of 42 per cent.

This tremendous and striking decrease in the death-rate from diarrhceal diseases among children, which has been going on during the last twelve years, is of course due to a number of causes besides a mere improvement in the sanitary administration of the city. Of the factors the following are perhaps the most important : a better understanding on the part of the mother or nurse of the necessity of care and cleanliness ; a better supply of milk; cleaner streets; Pasteurization of milk through the instrumentality of philanthropic endeavors, and the establish- ment of small parks. Still, it is very evident that all these causes are closely related to one another, and all may be considered as a part of the growing popular appreciation of better health laws, and, above all, better sanitary administration. For this growing wisdom on the part of the masses of our large city population the education work of a modern board of health is without doubt responsible to a large extent.

The steady decrease in the infant mortality during the sum- mer months of recent years is also remarkable when one con- siders the high temperature that has generally prevailed. For instance, there were eight days, from June 26 to July 3, 1901,