Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1873-06-19
Therapeutics and Longevity.

croachment of disease upon the hui
man family, and thus both lengthen
out the years of life, and lengthen
their load of pain and care.
No class of people have to endure
more exposure and ceaseless toll
than skillful medical practitioners,
obliged to travel over almost impass
able roads by day or night, facing
wintry blasts or summer storms, to
administer TO the wants of suffering
humanity, very often without the
least probability of the smallest COM
pensation, or even a look of graft
tude, 1t is no cause of wonder that
Medical Doctors are the shortest
lived people, as class. of all the hui
man family, by frequently sacrifice
ing their own health to render as.
sistanco TO their fellow creatures.
1t is very much to be regretted
that so many of this noble profess
sion are 80 much addicted TO strong
drink; no class ofpeople ought to be
more abstemious than they, but their
ten thousand perplexing annoyances,
materially mitigate the charge of
dissipation which is so often laid at
their door.
From carefully collected statistics
it is clearly demonstrated that with
the advance Of medical science the
average duration of human life in
creases.
According to DIR. G.. M. Board, in
the College CourGnt, people live near
ly fifty per cent. longer in England
and America than in the golden age
Of Roman civilization.
But without reviewing the records
of more than two or three centuries
Immediately proceeding our own, the
difference in longevity is very re-
markable.
In Geneva the average of hu ms n
life for the last four centuries has
been as follows In the sixteenth
century, II, 81 years seventeenth,
%, 67 years eighteenth, 80, 62 years;
from 1914 to 1888, 40 to 68 years.
BY comparing the 10th and 10Th
centuries it will be seen that in the
latter the average length Of life is al
most double that of the former. In
England, from 1929 to 1920, mortali-
ty has decreased almost forty per
cent. During the last one hundred
and seventy years the expectation
Of life in Doubfn has greatly exceed
ed that Of former years, the death
rate decreasing from one in twenty
to one in thirty.eight.
The rate of mortality in Boston,
from 1928 to 1852, was l in 21,65 of
the population, from 1916 to 1865 l
in 1908 of the population, which
may perhaps be a tolerable good
criterion for the county at largo.
The remarkable increase of Ions
gevity is attributed, by competent
judges, to better good, various kinds
OF machinery which Tighten the load
of toll, improved morals, and medic-
al science.
The number Of physicians in the
United States is said to be seventy
four thousand, and increasing at the
rate of one thousand nine hundred
per year; whose income will prob.
ably average one thousand dollars
each per annum but what are dol
lars and cents compound with health
andlif Smallpox is but one-tenth,
measles one-ffth, fevers one-fourth,
and consumption J as fatal as centu-
ry or two ago. Whatever may be
said to the contrary, modern practi-
TONERS certainly succeed in relieving
humankind of a great deal of suffer-
ing, and if people would only exer-
else little more discretion in their
diet and mode of life, they might
live in most instances to a good old
age, and enjoy good degree Of
health and strength.
A prime error with the people Of
the present age is dosing down
measureless quantities of patient
nostrums, probably to the value of
twenty million dollars annually !;
generally doing moro harm than
than good. We do not mean to de-
nounce patient medicines indiscrim-
inately, for some of them are with
out doubt very excellent restora-
tives, but the too common practise
of experimenting on every new dis
covery, so-called, is a very unwise
policy to say the least.
~The Editorial Excursion this
year promises to be a grand affair
The trip will extend to Bismark, the
Northern Pacific crossing of the
! NT;..1.: