The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1890-03-20
GRIN DEATHS odd WAYS.
Some HORRIBLY Fascinating Statistics
The Grim Odds Against Life.


.
upon the ground and talk Of worms and
GrRves and epitaphs." and kindred sub
iects, there is much congenial reading "a
be found In that portion of the registrar
generals annual report which deals with
deaths.
From these wslearn that only one Euro
pean country has lower death-Fate than
England-to-wit: Norway, where only
sixteen persons out Of thousand die in q
year. The other end Of the pole 10 In
Austria, where the rate is 29.2. With Us
1t 10 l7.s for a population Of over $780,
900. It has often been pointed out that
these figures in no way represent an equal
distribution Of sex, women being in the
majority by nearly million. 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 death rate is 1873
per thousand; for females only 1858.
Women, in fact have the advantage Of q
greater hold on life nearly oil along the
line. The first five years Of existence are
most ticklish time for both sexes, but
the girls get through them much better
than the boys, who in that period die at
the rate Of iifty-two to thousand living
males. Out Of a total Of SIC, ,071 deaths in
1888, o. many as I9S,074 were those Of
children under 5, and boys were In excess
by nearly 1900. The dangerous first
lustrum once passed, q few years Of COM
parative safety commence, till the age Of
10 Is reached, when the chance Of death
occurring Is reduced to It's minimum.
From Is 1t slowly rises again, and 1t 10
only at this period in life that males have
the upper hand, there being a slight ex-
cess Of female mortality.
The recognized causes Of death are
more than might be supposed, over $50
being enumerated on the register. The
rate at which we live in the nineteenth
century is borne witness to by the rate at
which we die, no fewer than 4O, ,9S5 Of reg
istered deaths in 1888 being attributed to
diseases Of the nervous system. Con-
sumption and phthisis, apparently, are
not disappearing 90 rapidly as some san
guine persons have supposed. Third on
the list are the ailments classed together
as diseases Of the circulatory system.
What at first seems startling Is the greater
mortality caused by illnesses which are
not as q rule reckoned alarming In COM
parison with others which have the name
Of being more serious. Thus S2l persons
out Of million living die Of measles and
only sig Of typhus; 222 die Of scarlet fever
to 50 killed by smallpox; 42S Of whoop.
ing-cough to 1853 victims Of diphtheria.
The explanation is, Of course, that the
complaints which account for the larger
number Of deaths are proportionatly more
common. The odds against life running,
what may be supposed to be its natural
course, are something less than 1000 to
one. Only 047 deaths Of million 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
disease. More men dying, Ii Is to be ex-
pected that any given disease would be
more likely to be fatal to q man than 10 4
woman and this, as q general rule, is the
case. Scarlet fever Is far more common