Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-11-22

Curioas Calculations in Regard to the
Limits of Human Life.
From the New York Sun.

From the New YORK Sun.
at is hard thing to tell when the last soldier
OF the civil war will die" the old actuary said
I'VE do not know the number of men who en-
listed, nor what portion of them died, aud with
out this it would be Impossible to form an exact
estimate. The last signer ofthe Declaration ofIn-
dependence, Charles Carroll Of Carrollton, sur
yiyed that event 60 years the last brigaiier-gen-
eral o. the Revolutionary war died in 1924 and
the last major general. the Marquis Lafayette,
in 1883, Following this analogy we may say
that it Is probable that none of the general otfi
Gers will be living at a later date than 1915 and
none OF the members of Congress at the begin
ming OF the war or who were in previous Con-
crosses in 1918. These men. however did not
reach the extreme limits OF human life. and La
layette was the only one who was very Young
when he entered the army. 1t is com monty esti-
mated by the insurance companies that life ends
at IA hundred years OF age, and several of the
tables contain no estimate over 95 Dr. Thoms
the editor of Notes dal Queries and other scien-
tile men, assert that cases of persons reaching
one hundred years are very rare and that nearly
all OF those who claim to have attained that
longevity are either deceived or are deceiyiDp
others. Such was the case of Can't Lambush.
an Old gentleman who posed in New York soci-
ely Tor number Of years as having been an old
man at the battle of Waterloo. but who was in
realty not far from ninety when he died. We
IL
cases OF persons reaching round century,
Sampson s. Blowers. a graduate of Harvard
college in the last century, and who afterward
became chief justice of Nova Scotia was beyond
this limit; Dr. Holyoke who also graduated
from that college and two others were each q
hundred years old. These, believe. are all who
have lived to be so old ont of the total number
of graduates since the beginning of that insti-
tutiOn-perhaps Is Geo. The Rev. Daniel Waldo
who preached in this state during the late war
n NGln Tp1l. 1.,s,, Al.
the last two pensioners of the struggle for indie
Pendence died in 1886. each aged 1O2 will as
sumo therefore that the age of 100 well substan-
tiated. In the latest o. 5. census $50 persons
are enumerated as 100 years of age or more
and 10f as being more than 90 Tie Question
then. becomes that OF how old the Youngest
men were at the close OF the war and how lone
they Will live aiterward Recruiting began in
1861. and was continued in 1862. 1868. and
lo64- what was done in this line in 1865 was
comparatively INSIGNIFICANT, and was stopped
III april. A very large Increase was however
made in 1861. and among the recruits were q
large number OF those who were really bows
and had only reached fifteen and sixteen
AInG29 them viii probably be found the sur
virors. They were born in 1910 and if they
complete their century viii die in 1@i9 or sixty
I'VE years from now. 1t may possibly be that
one or two shall survive till 1859 or 1851, the
latter date being eighty-six years after the ces-
sation of hostilities- There will. of cOurse he
several hundreds living between 1910 and 1913.
III assume, for calculations sake that there
were living in ordinary health at the close OF the
war fedora! and confederate included. 2,9i2 900
soldiers, they viii not have diminished to one
nall until 1851, to one-quartcr till 1913. or 10
one-tenth till 1920. Estimating the average
age OF the survivors in 1865 at IS. they will be
o. in 1904 10 in 1913 and SIS in 1929. If we as
sumo that the average age OF the veterans in
looo was Is. the following would represent the
number ilVing at each period OF five years. as
we'll as at few other points: