Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1873-05-23
LONGEVITY.

At the opening meeting of the American
Public Health Association at Cincinnati,
an address was delivered by the President,
DR.. Stephen Smith, on the conditions of
human longevity. He had no doubt, from
the researches of science, that man is nor
mally designed for health and long life,
and that disease is abnormal and death, ex-
cept from old age, accidental. He reviews
the opinions of scientific men, drawn from
different data, as to the natural limit of
mans life, and comes to the conclusion
that it is to be fixed between ninety and a
hundred years. The great age of the pa
trarchs is considered problem not yet
satisfactorily explained, although in that
new age of The world everything was IA
vorable, in signal degree, to human life.
Man then, says DIR. Smith, ''led natural
life. He roamed about under genial sky
tending his fiocks. His exercise was mod
crate his nervous system was never over
taxed his food was simple his house
tent; his home the uplands of Judea."
Assuming, however, that at this present
day the possible limit Of human life on the
average reaches above ninety years, the
| survey of his actual longevity here in the
United States is, as DIR. Smith acknowl-
edges, "humiliating." The total mortality
OF the entire population in 1870 was 492, ,263.
OF these, 1O0,445 died under one year of
age. That is, somewhat more than one
fourth of all who died had not seen their
| first birthday 203,2l3 died under five
years. being little less than one. half of
| the total mortality. Forty-one per cent. in
| fact, thus die before their fiflh year sixty
| per cent. do not reach their twenty-ffth
| year; while only about three In one thous-
and attain to their ninety-fiflh year. The
surprise at such statistics vanishos when
we look at the list of diseases to which we
are a5prey, such as 80 of general nature,
| 13 Of a nervous character, 25 OF the diges-
| tive organs, and so on, to say nothing of
the innumersble kinds of accidents 10
/ which we are exposed. -lit
DIR. Smith believes that many OF these
diseases can be exterminated, and that the
malignant sway of all can be materially
checked. The causes are coming TO DO bet
ter understood every year, and the ability
of mankind to control the conditions Of
health-by regard to food, their employ
| meHts, uTeSs, HuDitdtiouS, etc.-iS constant.
| ly on the increase. The words of DIR.
Smith are; 1--WE are not then claiming too
much for sanitary science when we say,
that man to-day possesses the power and
the knowledge, under the guiding hand of
Providence, to longthen or shorten at will
his earthly existence The great obstacle
In the way of turning this ability to account
Is still ignorance. For this reason the laws
of health should form part of all school
instruction. DIR. Smith Is of the opinion
that any child of ton years Of age is capa-
BILE of learning this kind of elementary
knowledge, which would be OF inestima-
BILE advantage to its af,er life. The Gov
ernment, also, in its municipal, State and
national capacities, can do much to pro-
mote the health of the people. In this con-
nection, DIR Smith suggests Bureau of
Public Health in the Interior Department,
and he says: "Epidemics, like cholera,
yellow fever &C., have as fixed laws gov
erniug their course and progress as the
storms, and central bureau at Washing
ton as accurately informed of the daily
progress of such epidsmics as the Signal