Show C the Century ff I m rf I 8 1 Co CoBy 1 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON p N HE RECENT REENT T g we weeks ks a for- for visitor to our shores 8 has lias attracted considerable 5 attention by uy his Ins cla claims to being t G years tars old lie Ile Is IsS Ii S Zaro Agha who halls balls from Turkey and who has lias many ninny Interesting ree- ree rei of events which took took- place over a n century ngo ago lie claims claim that when he lie was 20 O years rears old he heard the news of ot the execution of ot Louis and aull Marie Antoinette of and that he served as a n soldier In the Turkish army In 1793 1708 when the Turks march of ot Na Na- Napoleon Napoleon Napoleon successfully barred the from Egypt through Palestine toward India Durin During his visit to Paris before coming to the United States It was reported that he had no official docu docu- documents docu- docu documents ments meats with stamps or seals to prove prove prove- his unusual ag are age but upon his ar- ar arrival ar arrival rival at Providence R n IL I last July lie way wa photographed exhibiting his birth certificate which Is dated Feb Feb- February February February 10 W 1774 As a n result of ot the publicity which this tills venerable Turk has received some even eren more remark remark- remarkable remarkable able cases casos of longevity have hae ha e been re- re reported reported re reported ported One Is a n Chinaman for tor whom the claim of being years old has been s set sat t forth Another Is Ivan Pros Pros- Pros kuniak a Russian peasant who Is claimed to be and Is said to have been discovered last year ear by L Barbusse the French author In the course of ot a long trip through the Ural mountains In Hussla 1 M Barbusse Is reported to have declared that Ivan Is an even better pre pre- preserved served senell specimen of ot humanity than Zaro Agha Ivan has lias all his teeth eats goulash peppered with powerful Spices apices and chews tobacco while Zaro can only manage ag milk and goats goat's cheese for his Ills diet prize winner so far Is an an- an other an l ChInaman if It we are to belle believe tile the following story which appeared In the New York World recently That lively young man from Tur Tur- Turk Tur- Tur Turkey Turkey k key y Zaro Agha who claims a mere years ears of life must surrender his longevity laurels without a struggle It If the life story of ot LI Chung yun Chung un whose fame reaches these shores from far ofT off China Chinn Is ever authentIcated For LI Lt claims to have ha entered this tills world years cars ago and grown to the prime of ot manhood 90 OG years ears before Zaro was given ghen his first nursing bot bot- bottle bottle bottle tle Nor or does LI concede a thing to to the pla boy of ot In the matter of matrImonial prowess lie claims to have buried 23 3 wives before taking his fourth twenty bride while Zaro led but 11 to the altar One record young Mr Ir Agha may be beWelcome bewelcome welcome to retain retail as far as LI 11 Is con con- concerned the the cernel thc Turks Turk's claim to be the only Am n alive all who has survived d years ears without a single drink stronger than goats goat's milk mIll to sustain him Is not challenged by the year old parold Chinaman China China- Chinaman man China man lie has never keist track of how much rice wine he rua may have consumed In the last two and suid a halt half centuries nut Hut LI 11 like Ilke Zaro do does s confine himself to his own particular diet and the Item In It which he lie attributes his hardihood Is ginseng root Lest any render reader be Incredulous ot of Us U's age let us hasten to add that It ItIs itis ItIs Is vouched for by that eminent schol schol- scholar scholar ar nr General P fu Pel-fu I-fu I who also qualifies as a lord having full Hedged e war ox-war war captured capture after alter the custom ot of great military figures In his Ills native land laM and having once brought all North orth China under hIs Ills sway Fu oc- oc occasIonally oc occasionally takes his pen In hand According to Fu Iu at whose home the venerable LI Lt lived for some time the latter Is an educated man main and still till possesses a n virile mind In fact Ill he recently delivered a n serl series s of ot lectures lec lec- lectures lectures tures at ut the University of on the art of ot life In general with par par- particular particular particular emphasis on how to get the most lit ut of ot each century LI who eats cats nothing but herbs dis dis- dis disbelieves disbelieves b believes II es In an any form of strenuous strenuous shortest exercise exercise- Golf Golt Is the wa way ay lo to a P short life he told one ot of his 1118 audiences When heu he was he f added he lie himself tried halt an hour J ot of tennis which lie ire regrets to this day feeling that It shortened his hl life lICe span pan 11 It least a decade A life lite of ot har liar harmony harmony mony in spirit and soul Is the es- es essence es- es essence es essence sence f It f his lila teaching Prof u Wu Chung dean of ot the of ot education at University has learned It Is la reported V John JohnV j Shell Shelli Shelly H i y Aa t tt t l Zaro o Agha gha that years ears ago LI 11 r received official official cial felicitations from the Chinese government on the occasion of ot his one onehundred hundred fiftieth birthday and that again In 1877 1811 the government con con- congratulated con congratulated him on passing the year oo- oo year mark lie he II Is further reported to toba ba have found records showing that LI was born In 1077 Such are the reports which have been widely publish published ell in our newspapers newspapers newspapers pers during past months But they have also resulted In discussions In other publications which tend to dis- dis discredit dis discredit credit these stories and bring th the weight of ot scientific testimony to bear benr out the belief that none of ot those men men- mentioned mentioned are nn anywhere here near the aga claimed for them Recently the New NewYork NewYork NewYork York World expressed Its doubt that Zaro Agha was years ears old and quoted the chief actuary of the N New NewYork NewYork w York Life Insurance company to the effect that no authentic record exists ot of a human life Ute longer than tOO years Centenarians are arc and have always alwa's been be n extremely scarce There were only slightly more than people In the United States in the last cen- cen census cen census sus who claim claimed ell to have attained that age But nut It Is significant that of this number almost were negroes close clos to 2000 negro women said the they were tOO years old or over Although negro females form only 5 per cent ot of the tho total population population- they give ghe the country halt half Its centenarians I On Its face such a situation Is highly Improbable and while wo we are not questioning the honesty of ot those who make the claim we strongly sus sus- suspect sus- sus suspect suspect that In the great majority ot of cases th they are mistaken as CiS to the ex- ex exact exact ex exact act number of ot years they have lived Many of ot the old negro people are il- il illiterate il illiterate literate and nearly all of them lack authentic records giving th the dat date data of their birth In fact we find that wherever rec rec- rec- rec records records are absent centenarians rise up and flourish Turkey and the Hie Balkans Nava hav long been a happy hunting ground for tor centenarians In spite ot of the fact that conditions of ot life Ilfe are vcr very very- hard and public health standards s sare are exceedingly low The claims to extreme old age arc are n nearly arly alwa always s appealing fictions In my opinion authentic centenari centenari- centenarians centenarians ans are so few In America that they can cun be counted on the fingers of ot ones one's two hands P Perhaps most Interesting of ot all nil au au centenarians which this coun- coun country coun country try has ever er known was Cornelius Cole In 1 1022 1092 2 the New York Times rImes printed an Interview with him In which he is described thus In 1847 young oung Cornelius Cole then four twenty four four years ears old received his degree of ot bachelor of ot arts from Wes leyan leyan Ican university A short time later came rumors of the tho gold gold- discovery In California and a friends he set out to make his for for- fortune fortune fortune tune In 10 1022 1922 Cornelius Cole sole survivor of ot his class s preparing to celebrate his bis bl hundredth birthday on September 17 received an InvItation from his alma mater to come corne to Mid Conn and ond receive an honor honor- honorary honorary ar ary LL D In spite of ot opposition from friends and members of ot his family who thought the journey too arduous for tor a cent centenarian narlan he came bringing with him recollections which went back to the thrilling days of ot 4 49 and andau an active le legal nl life lite that Included u a friendship with Lincoln u a place In both houses of ot con congress ress an Interest Interest- InterestIng interesting Interesting ing part in the purchase of Alaska Alaska- Alaska to sn say nothing of ot a 0 live Il Interests In events of ot tolla today Cornelius Cole cent centenarian narlan for for- former former for former mer senator from California and na- na native na nn native tive of ot Sen Seneca n county New York seems scarcely more than 75 ills nis race face Is sun browned and unwrinkled ne Ile Is active and robust and will sooner offer olTer his arm to a woman when cross cross- crossing ing lag a mean menn spot In to the road than to think of taking hers Ills memory Is surprIsIng his Ills outlook young and his comments when not serious ore are col- col colored col colored ored by a sense of ot humor that a man half his age might envy Senator Ex-Senator Cole died November r 3 1 1024 4 at the age of The record In his case Is clear But nut considering the fact that it would have been easy enough to check up on the facts It seems remarkable that In 1 1924 4 many newspapers printed the picture ot of Maj Edward James Monroe lonroe son of the fifth firth President of ot the United States who Is feeling fit at the age ot of lO The only difficulty with this story Is that President nt Monroe had two daughters but no son I 1 I Stories of ot persons who claim to have lived more than tOO years are numerous but few of ot these cases will stand up under rigid Investigation ac ac- ac ac to James A Toby Touy writing in a recent Issue of ot the th Scientific Ameri Amen AmerIcan American can who says that the age of n a very old person seems to be one of ot the matters most susceptible to devIation from the tr truth Uth for memories are usually usually all ally hazy In the extremely old and the relatives friends and neighbors of these patriarchs seem always ready to exaggerate their antiquity He lIe then cites numerous examples of longevity which proved to be greatly exaggerated exaggerate A few years ears ago agoa agoa agoa a Kentuckian named John Shell re- re received received re received considerable notoriety as being years ears of age but a n somewhat searching Inquiry revealed re him to be benot benot benot not more than tOO It if he were even that In 1004 1901 a Russian newspaper calmly reported the death at the advanced ad age of ISO of ot a woman named Therese Another Russian newspaper In l 1920 G was more modest for It al- al allotted allotted al allotted only years to Ivan a peasant of A Hungarian farmer Peter or Torton exceeded ex- ex excecil ex exceeded cecil cd them them all for he lie was supposed to have been when he lie died In 1734 17 4 as was also St S1 whose death occurred in 1781 Some months ago Henri Barbusse the French au- au author au author thor recounted his visit In Georgia In to Nikolai Itch who was reputed to be between 14 and One of ot the most famous of ot the very aged aed persons of history was Old Parr who was said to have been born in III England In 1483 1983 and to have died there In 1035 1033 He lIe was working as a farm laborer at the age of when an Interested nobleman the carlot earl of Arundel took tool him to London and put him on exhibition where he lied pled lied a short time later John ra Taylor lor known us as the Water Poet got out a n book called The Olde Oldo Olde Ver Very Olde man In which lie he extolled this tills long life In prose and verse else Thomas Parr was said to have been marrIed at O and after the suitable I Interval to have ha become the father ot of ota ofa ofa a child When he died lell in 1035 the celebrated William Harvey discover discover- discoverer I er of ot the circulation of ot the tune blood per per- performed performed formed an autopsy on him and found his general condition good though the brain cells were somewhat worn A AI I reprInt of ot Taylors Taylor's book was Issued I Iby by James Caulfield of ot London In liO 1791 1701 I Old Parrs Parr's unusual age was accepted until 1873 when W J Thorns Thoms deputy librarian of ot the house bouse of ot lords made madea a real esti Investigation atlon of ot the case and concluded that about fifty years hall had been Improperly tacked on to the ac- ac actual actual ac actual life of ot Parr The gentleman was wasa wasa wasa a real centenarian but little more than that Mr lIr Thorns also exposed two other notorIous long liters A certain coun coun- teas coun teas tess of ot Desmond was credited with I 10 1 years ears but the doubting librarian showed that the ages of ot two separate countesses of ot the same name had been added together Instead of ot one ono person living to years ears two women had each lived about 70 A writer familiar with Mr Ir Thorns Thorn's Iconoclasm on tills this subject a John n B BaIley wrote n a book In 1883 1888 which he called Modern and In It he lie cited a u number of ot Instances ot of known centenarians well known He lIe began with St Anthon Anthony who was sa said III to have lived to 10 but most of ot his Ills other examples such as the Emperor of ot the Fourteenth century Cornaro Titian De Fontenelle and Amor Amory were only 99 ro or The author however howe did list n a dozen cases which he bell believed ed to have ha been actually years ears old or more 0 t by West Western em Newspaper N r Union n |