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Show (death JySzof THOStT IpVER FORTY INCREASING 7 k AVE THE BABIES!" 1b a C?v$ ry 'a' keen r'n8'ng Kjv V? through the land with ln-50; ln-50; ? creasing earnestness and nTV.rvJf' w"n Increasing attention, wyl'1?ft but what of the middle-SsaWKa! middle-SsaWKa! aged American? itCV) Everybody knows that In recent years the death rate In the United States has been reduced to a remarkable extent, and the knowledge has been received not only with altruistic gratification but with a sense of personal gain by all, regardless of their own time of life. Hut now comes Elmer E. Ritten-house Ritten-house with the facts and figures to Bhow that the reduction in the death rate has been due chiefly to that very cry of "Save the babies!" and the fight on communicable diseases, and that it Is confined to those in early life. While there has been a reduction reduc-tion In the general death rate of 25 per cent. In the last thirty years, it has been accompanied by a steady increase, in-crease, amounting to about 27 per cent, in the Bame period, in the mor- than 100 per cent, since 18S0. In New Jersey the increase is 119 per cent., in Chicago 159 per cent., in New Orleans 169 per cent. These diseases claim over 150,000 lives annually. an-nually. The doctors tell us that fully 60 per cent, of these deaths are preventable pre-ventable or postponable if the disease dis-ease is discovered in time. "All of our money, all of our energy, en-ergy, seem to be directed against diseases dis-eases that can be communicated. Is not a life lost from Bright's disease as valuable as one lost by typhoid fever? The annual loss from pneumonia pneu-monia aggregates 135,000 lives, a large portion of which is due to weakened bodily resistance resulting from these degenerative affections. Cancer, a baffling disease of the degenerative de-generative class, to which our people In their present physical condition are highly susceptible, claims 75,000 lives annually and is increasing very fast. Deaths from external cancer alone have increased 52 per cent. In ten years." This table shows the decrease in the death rate per thousand brought are being educated to apply this remedy, rem-edy, a sane and practical way to secure se-cure a measure of immediate relief is to urge upon our people the practice prac-tice of going to their physicians at reasonable intervale, for health examinations ex-aminations to detect these preventable prevent-able or postponable diseases in time to check them. Many of these afflictions af-flictions develop without notice. The cost of discovering and of overcoming them in their incipiency would be trifling and would be the means of prolonging thousands of lives." Mr. Rittenhouse believes that If the present thirst for knowledge of health and life conservation continues contin-ues to increase it is not only possible but reasonably certain that during the next 30 years the present death rate of 15 per thousand in the 30 states that keep mortality statistics will be reduced to 10, but this cannot be accomplished ac-complished without a change from the carelessness of human life which he finds characteristic of Americans and a great extension in the public health service. The real race suicide, he maintains, is not in the Insufficiency UND6R5 5-9 j 10-14-1 A5-9 20-24 25-29ZO-34-1 35-39 40-44- 45-495d-545S-59oO-G4-6S-69 7Q-74- 77-7.ol l I 1 J I I I I i I i I I j 1 SHOWING THE DECREASE AND INCREASE IN DEATHS UNDER AND OVER FORTY. tality of persons of forty years and over. "The average length of an American Ameri-can life," he sayB, "has increased about fifteen years during the past century, and yet the span of life Is being shortened. During the last 30 years the general death rate has decreased de-creased approximately 25 per cent., and yet the chances of early death after passing the age of forty have steadily increased." This; Mr. Rittenhouse finds, is due to the fact that while great progress has been made In checking communicable communi-cable diseases, other diseases, which afflict middle age end later life, have gone on almost -jnheeded in this country. coun-try. Among them 1 are apoplexy, Bright's disease, heart disease, and arteriosclerosis. The Intense life of Americans and intemperance In eating, eat-ing, drinking, and working have contributed con-tributed to their prevalence. Above all, our carelessness in regard to life Is blamed, and from this cause come Increases in deaths from accident, suicide, sui-cide, and homicide. "While we have every reason," lays Mr. Rittenhouse, "to felicitate ourselves upon the wonderful result of the spread of life-saving Intelligence, Intelli-gence, we must not overlook the fact that we have Increased the average length of human life only by Increasing Increas-ing the proportion of people living In the younger age periods, while the av-. av-. erage duration of life of those who pass Into middle and old age has been constantly shortened. '"With all its blessings modern civilization civil-ization has Introduced hazards, habits, hab-its, and conditions of life which not only invite but which have Increased in many ways physical, mental, and moral degeneracy. Insanity and Idiocy are increasing. Diseases of vice, the most insidious enemy of this and future generations, are spreading rapidly, according to medical men. So far we have lacked the moral courage to openly recognize and fight this scourge. The alcohol and drug habits are constantly adding new victims vic-tims to the degenerate list and to the death roll. Suicides are increasing, and now reach the enormous total of 15,000 annually. Lynchings and burnings burn-ings at the stake continue, and are common only to our country. Attempts At-tempts upon human life by individuals individu-als and mobs under trifling provocation, provoca-tion, or none at all, are obviously Increasing. In-creasing. "In the United States the death rate above the age of forty has steadily stead-ily increased, while It has remained stationary in England and Wales. The important organs of the body are wearing out too soon. The diseases of old age are reaching down into the younger age periods. The death rate rom the degenerative diseases of the ksrt, blood vessels, and kidneys, in-1. in-1. 'ting apoplexy, have increased more about by the successful campaign against the diseases of childhood and early life and the increase in those of later life: DECREASE. Per Cent. Under age 20 17.9 Age 20 to 30 11.8 Age 30 to 40 2.3 INCREASE. Per Cent. Age 40 to 50 13.2 Age 50 to 60 29.2 60 and over 26.4 "The change in the age constitution of the older groups," says Mr. Rittenhouse, Ritten-house, "has been very slight and does not account for the increase. Nor is it safe to say that it is due to the early breaking-down of the weakened lives surviving from the attacks of communicable diseases In the younger age periods, for in England and Wales, where they have had virtually the same decrease In the mortality of the early ages as we have, there has been little or no Increase above age forty. "One thing Is clear the cause Is local to our country. Evidently we have not adapted ourselves to the sudden increase in the life-strain due to our complex and intense modern existence. Whether or not it is due to the strenuous life or to excessive working, eating, drinking, playing, of births, but in the needless loss of life through "preventable diseases. Speaking of the decrease in the birth rate, he says: "We are not only "educing the fertility fer-tility of our race and also shortening the span of life, but we are permitting at least 650,000 lives to bo destroyed annually, which we could save by the application of simple and well-known precautions. If we would save these lives, they, together with their natural natu-ral offspring, would solve the problem prob-lem of maintaining an adequate Bur-plus Bur-plus of births over deaths. What we need is not necessarily larger families, fami-lies, but more families. A larger number of small families is surely preferable to a smaller number of large families." I DECREASE INCREASE . A29.2 26.4- 'Unfler Ago 20 20 to 30 30 to 40 fiMmsmMX0H9W Y 113 - OAS J SHOWING PERCENTAGE OF DEATHS AT VARIOUS AGES. and intemperate habits generally, the important fact is that the excessive waste of human life from degenerative degenera-tive causes continues and no general campaign of education or other organized or-ganized effort has been made to check it. "The remedy appears to be temperate, tem-perate, healthful habits of life, the upbuilding of bodily resistance to disease. dis-ease. But in the meantime, while we her to read those books after a careful-scrutiny. careful-scrutiny. "The library of the prine'ess," says a Paris paper, "unique of its kind, contains con-tains only masterpiecse, but in these masterpieces certain pages have been carefully blackened with ink following the fashion of the Russian censorship. The queen Is not of the opinion of Rus-kln; Rus-kln; she does not believe that it is nec- : .essary to tell youngs girls everything." j |
