San Francisco Call, Volume 79, Number 92, 1 March 1896 — BAEOMETEES AND CEIMES. [ARTICLE]

BAEOMETEES AND CEIMES.

Kobert Q. Grant, forecast officer at Pittsburg, has been setting forth a theory to the effect that crimes and sudden deaths bear a close relation to a low atmospheric pres-s-are. He bases his theory on the criminal and sudden death record for ten weeks, and certainly presents a very curious series of coincidences. But as the period covered by his observations is exceedingly short it cannot be taken to have ar.y value.

The possible physiological effects of low atmospheric pressure are easily imaginable. Thus, persons who ascend from a low elevation to a high pass from a high atmospheric pressure to a low. In such cases very marked physiological effects are noticeable. The removal of the pressure to which the tissues are accustomed often produce? gr- at bodily distiess, including partial deafness and a ringing in the ears, and cften hemorrhage from those external parts whic:: are but poorly protected by a skin covering, as the interior of the nose. It has frequently happened that travelers on the railroad crossing the high pass between Salt Lake and Denver, where the elevation is abont 11,000 feet, have suffered greatly, some fainting, others becoming hysterical and still others developing a mild form of temporary mania. Instances of distress are exceedingly rare, however, in comparison with the number of persons subjected to this change of altitude. Moreover the change in barometric pressure necessary to produce marked physiological effects in the case of change in elevation is very much greater than that produced by changes in atmospheric conditions in a given locality. Therefore if Mr. Grant's theory has any substantial foundation we should expect that a change from a low to a very high elevation would produce much more clearly defined effects and hence that they would be observable in a much larger proportion of persons. That is to say. crimes and sadden deaths should be comparatively numerous among those wbo go from a low elevation to a high. Assuming that a reduction of the atmospheric pressure does develop a criminal tendency, it is evident that the effect of the reduced pressure cannot be deemed | limited to that form of nervous aberration, i for doubtless Mr. Grant will not claim that ! moral depravity under such circumstances

i? anything more than a reflex of physical disturbances. To take any other ground would be to assume an occult relation between atmospheric pressure and crime, and surely he would not think of doing that. Hence if crime is more prevalent under a low pressure disease also must be, particularly disorders of a nervous character. Unless his statistics prove these facts they are worthless.