The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-05-25
Jewish Vitality.

The Jews are the healthiest and long
est-lived people on the face OF the earth:
Their immunity from diseases of all
forms is remarkable. Even the great
epidemics pass them by with the inflic-
ton of much lighter scourge than
falls upon other races. 1t is declared
that the cholera never chose one OF them
for its victim, and, in fact, the deaths
from this malady have been SO few as
almost to bear out the assertion. Sui
eide is seldom practiced among them.
1t has been computed, from statistics
returned in certain provinces of Austria
and Germany, that, in population OF
1000, 900, the proportion of suicides be-
tween the Jews and the mixed white
races was as one to four.
From data carefully studied, Hoffman,
found that, between the years 1928 and
1910, the number of still-born amongst
the Jews of Germany was as l in 39,and
amongst other races as in 40. Mayer as
certained that,in Furth, the proportion of
Jewish children who die between the ages
of l and 5years is 10 per cent, and of
Christian children of the same age it is
IA per cent. NJ. Melville, calculating
from the statistics of Frankfurt, shows
even greater vitality existing among
the children of the. Jews. He also finds
from his data that the average duration
of the life of the Jew is 48 years and 9
months, while of the Christian it is 36
years and II months. SIN the total of
all ages, half of the Jews born reach the
age of So years and month, while half
the Christians born attain the age of So
years only" One-fourth of the Jewish
population live beyond II years. but the
same proportion Of the Christian popu-
lation live only beyond 50 years and 10
months. The official returns of Prussia
give the Jews a mortality of 1.61 per
cent and the whole Kingdom 2.62 per
cent. While the Jews double their
numbers in Al years, others require a
period of 81 years. In 1849 there was in
Prussia death for every 40 Jews, and 1
death for every 80 of the remaining pop
ulation.
Commenting upon these statistics,
which are brought together by DR..
Richardson in IS Diseases of Modern
Life," that author ascribes the high vi
tality of the Jews to their sober way of
living. "The Jew drinks less than his
seven Christian;' he takes, as a rule,
better food; he marries earlier; he
rears the children he has brought into
the world with greater personal care ;
he tends the aged more thoughtfully !;
he takes better care of his poor; and he
takes good care of himself. He does
not boast of tomorrow, but he provides
| for it; and he holds tenaciously to all
he gets. To our Saxon eyes and Celtic
eyes he carries these virtues too far
but thereby he wins, becomes powerful,
and, scorning boisterous mirth and pas
sion, is comparatively happy"
1t is fact in the history of the jew
ish race that they nowhere have paid
especial attention to the development
of physical capacity. They do not
from choice enter military life, they
establish no public games, are not given
to athletic exercises, and pursue nc
definite means for attaining corporal
strength and stature. As people
they do not reach a high
| physical standard, and still their vitali-
ty is greater than that of any other civ.
ilized race. In applying these facts to
the question, of the effects of severe
physical exercise, DR.. Richardson re-
marks: SIT would be impossible, and il
truth unnecessarily to enforce any strong.
er argument as to the negative value Of
excessive physical exertion in sustaining
the vital power of a race. In the course
of centuries the most powerful nations
have died out, and empires Of perfec
physical beauty and chivalric frame
have passed away. But, through al
these vicissitudes, one race, cultivatins
none of the so-called athletic and heroic
qualities, and following none of the ex
ercises popularized as 'bracing, .hardy,
'inyigorating,' has held its irrepressibl'
own, to remain q more numerous PEG
pie, in its totality, than ever; a people
} still presenting more tenacious lif,
than its neighbors, and showing, as it i.
relieved of the cruel restraint Ions
forced on it, the continuance also o.
mental force and of commanding gent
, us in art, in letters, in politics, in com
merce, and in science"