The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-11-02
President workingmen's Party.


Although the average duration OF hu-
man life is found to be increasing for the
past hundred years, or since mortality
tables have been kept, yet it is equally
true that fewer people die OF old age than
formerly. Scientists soy that the natural
duration, Of all animal life is five times
the period it takes each particular species
to grow to maturity. For illustration, the
horse is fully grown at five years, and bar
ring accidents, bad treatment and the cpl.
zootic, will live TO the age Of twenty-five
years. According TO the sameSphysiCai
law, man, who is an average about twenty
years in arriving at the full developement
OF manhood, ought to live hundred
years.
But in the case OF horses, there be canals
and street railroads, and brutal hackmen
and paucisy of feed, (instead Of perennial
pastures and purling brooks), to thwart
natures laws, so therelays in wait for man
countless aud ever increasing vicissitudes
to shorten the thread OF his mortal career.
There are certain casualties still existing
to which the race hiss from the first been
subjected, such as over indulgence Of the
passions and appetites-jealousies and lit.
tie brown jugs; going to sea in ships and
without ships. climbing trees; choking to
death from biting off more than one could
chew; the stern laws fats; going fishing;
counting other mems wives, etc.
But modern progress, so called,
has added to all these countless
means OF ripping off the golden thread
OF SHILLING the sands OF life, so to speak.
The arcients had no delusive soothing
syrup or other patent nostrums; no
stomach bitters, secured by trademark;
no coal oil, or gunpowder, Of dynamite, to
blow themselves up withholding worse
than mothers.in.law land Adam didn';
even have one OF those explosive articlesl;
no steam boilers to send them sky.hiHh, or
balloons TO tumble from; no torchlight
processions; no railroad trains or steam.
boats running wild. like drove OF Texas
steers In q cornteld, and butting against
each other; no dyspeptic mince pies or
delusiye "old ports" no tight laciug for
the girls, or midnight orgies for the boys;
no nothing OF score Of other instrumen.
tAlties that now hurry humanity so ire'
quently from the cradle TO an early grave.
And so 1t follows, according 10 the
opinion OF those wise In vital statistics,
that II the present and future generations
would only forego the use Of Cordials, bit.
tiers, aud all explosives, and steam and
politics, and highly.seasoned food, and all
the delusiye vanities Of fashion, and go to
bed with the lark instead OF on q LARK,
they would all live to be centennarians,
and some might even continue TO beas
long as Joyce Heath or Washington's
body servant, the latter OF whom is sup.
posed 10 be still living in Essex county,
Virginia. But is the game worth the can
die? Isn't 1t better to go fast and glide
over smooth roads by express and palace
cars and reach the journeys end before
the evening gloom Of old age enyelops
one than TO drag along and be jolted over
rough roads in old.time cars and coaches,
and spend big fraction Of even long
life in being stalled In slough holes or
slowly climbing rocky hills2
After all that can be said on the subject,
pro aud con, too much cannot be said In
favor Of teaching the rising generation the
simple laws OF health, how II may be pre-.
!, served, aud howit will be destroyed and
entail much misery and an early death II
those laws are not observed.