The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-04-03
DEATHS ODD WAYS
More Men Than Women Die in
England.
STATISTICS.
INTERESTING


feacefai De1shA
For such persons -. with King Richard
H., lore 70 ..sit upon the ground and talk
al worms, and graves. and epitaphs," ard
Kindred subjects, there 10 much congenial
reading to Be found in that portion Of the
registrar generals annual report which
deals with deaths. The recently issued re-
port IL for the year fSSS. which in these
ninefies sounds very much like ancient
history: bat the methods OF the registrars
ONCE are VIGOROUSLY leisurely. and after
Ill there are certain advantages in . late
appearance. For instance. il affords an
opportunity Of drawing comparisons be-
tween this country and others which
make greater haste in getting out their
statistics. From these We learn that only
one European country has lower death
rate than England. to-wit: Norway. whore
only sixteen persons out Of 600 die in =
year. The other end Of the pole is in Aus
tYia, where the rate is 2o.2. With as it is
lis for . population Of over 36.0W.000. II
has often been pointed ont that these
figures in no way represent IN equal distri-
button of sex, women being in the majority
by nearly Loo. 000 In common justice il
might at least be expected that. there being
. greater number of women, more OF them
should die, but this is not the case. For
males the deathrate is ISIS per 100; for
females only I6s. Women. in fact, have
the advantage of . greater hold on life
nearly Ill along the line. The first 1--WE
years Of existence is most ticklish time
for both SEXES. but the girls get through it
much better than the boys, who in that
period die at the rate of 50 10 / 90 living
males- Out OF total Of 5I0,971 deaths in
1883, a. many q i96,0a were those of
children under S. and boys were in excess by
nearly II 900. The dangerous first iustrum
once passed, few years of comparative
safety commence, till the age Of 10 is
reached. when the chance of death occur
ring Is reduced to It's minimum. From Is
it slowly rises again, and it is only ct this
period in life that males have the upper
hand, there being slight excess of female
mortality.
The recognized causes of death are more
enumerated on the register. The rate Ut
which we live in the nineteenth century IL
borne witness to by the rate ut which We
die, no fewer than 1885 Of registered
deaths in 1855 being attributed TO diseases
Of the nervous system. Consumption and
phthisis apparently are not disappearing SO
rapidly - some sanguine persons have
supposed. Third on the List are the all
ments classed together Is diseases OF the
circulatory system. What at first sight
seems startling is the greater mortality
caused by illnesses which are not a. . rule
reckoned very alarming in comparison
with others which have the name Of being
more serious. Thus, 341 persons out of
1W0,000 living die of measles and only six
Of typhus; DID die Of scarlet fever to thirty
six killed by smallpox; 42S Of whooping-
cough to los victims Of diphtheria- The
explanation is, Of course, that the com.
plants which account for the larger
number OF deaths are proportionately more
common. The odds against life run
ming what may be supposed to be its natu-
raj course are something less thau 900 to
l. Only 81 deaths OF 100000 are put
down TO old age. The difference in degree
OF vitality which distinguishes the two
sexes is further marked by the varied way
in which they are affected by the same dis.
ease. More men dying, 1t Is to be expected
that any given disease would be more
likely to be fatal to a man than TO q
woman. and this. as general rule, is the
case. Scarlet fever 10 far more common
among females than males, but the for
mer have much better chance OF getting
over it. the majority Of deaths due to this
cause being among men. Cancer. st.
Vitus' dance and whooping cough consti-
tute the whole list of complaints common
to the two sexes which are more fatal to
women. The greater liability of girls TO
whooping-cough is strongly marked-5a
die Of it to 45i males.
Perhaps the most morbidly fascinating of
the registrars statistics are those dealing
with what are classified as deaths from vio-
lence. In the year under notice such deaths
numbered only IL ,534, the lowest percent
age yet reached. Violence includes homi-
eide, suicide and fatalities arising out of
accident or negligence. In murder, if
nothing else, there is absolute equality be-
tween the sexes. Nine per /. 600 600 OF each
die by the hand of another. The prupor-
ton seems q large one, but IS many as %
per cent. OF homicidal deaths are fnfansi-
cides. The first twelve months of life
escaped. the odds against murder decrease
till the age Of Is is reached, when there is
next To no chance of IT, For few wears
this happy state continues. and then the
chances increase again till, II the case hap
pens to be man, the older he grows the
more likely he is to be made away with.
The suicides of the year numbered 2 ,30s,
which is the largest amount ever recorded
In this country. In this department
again males greatly outnumber females,
who are either less given to de-
spair or are more tenacious of life. Gun
shot, the knife, poison, drowning and
hanging are the fayorite means employed
for dist OF life by suicide, and OF
these hanging is far the most common.
IL Is sad to reflect that out OF every mil
hon men now living in England twenty
seven VIII hang themselves, sixteen will
meet death in the water. thirteen will cut
their threats and seven shoot themselves
Women will make away with themselves
in lesser numbers but by the same means.
with the exception of shooting, which is
method OF fsso &c se that has scarcely ever
been used By WOMAN. Experience has
shown over and over again that there in
very little probability of being proved
wrong By the event in speaking prophetic
ally OF suicide and the manner of il. Year
after year there Is scarcely any variation
IN the melancholy record, and when once
II Is known that o certain number of per-
sons have sought death by certain means
IN the past IL may he taken for granted
that the figures win repeat themselves with
remorseless accuracy.
OF the violent deaths there remains a
balance of ISIS which are sccountes for
BIZ s~r;sssrts