The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-05-31
MANS L A HEIGHTENED.
People LIVE ETTER THAN THEY
USED To AND so LIVE LONGER.
PhysicInn. say thrt the Average Life Has
Recn Increased Three or Four Wears In
the Last Century Largely Through Snv-
Ing the Lives OF Chiidrcu In T~enements.

brought on new diseases. II IL hard to get at
statistics for or against these opinions, and
II one could find figures tn support either po-
sition the average reader would probably call
to mind the saying that there arc three
kinds OF lies in this w~orld-plaln lies, damn
lies. and statistics" One thing Is certain.
however. Men live longer to-day than they
did In the dys OF tho Revolutionary war.
Prominent men at that time were considered
old at fifty years. To-day when n man reaches
the nf century goal he Is In his prime.
When asked his opinion as to whether the
average OF human life had heightened with
the progress OF medical science, DR.. George
/. Shrndy replied
Undoubtedly IL has. and we have no new
diseases. II Is n gospel truth that there Is
nothing new under the sun. True enough.
emergencies arise, but we are prepared To- meet
them one BY one; not by new discoveries,
however, but By merely evolving new meth
DDS out Of old laws. Every branch of medi-
cine has done much to save life. and that. OF
course, brings up the average. Take, for cx.
ample. the operation of ovariotomy. 1t has
saved the lives OF hundreds OF women within
the last twenty years. The disease is not
new: medical men have learned to treat II.
Tho same Is true OF anti-toxine. and diph-
iberia, and so it goes. There Is n Monitor to
mec5 every Merrimac. Appendicitis is not
a new disease. People read II the papers
about this and that operation for appended
It's. They scratch their heads and say: That's
a new disease. We didn't hear OF that when
we were young. What will these doctors 10
finding next?' People have been having APP
pendici:ls sin ,e the days of Adam and Eve.
but it is only of late years that surgeons have
learned how to treat it. The physical body
has always been the same: SO there can be
no new diseases.
People are very much like watches, after
all. Some Of them are made with good
works and others have weak springs and need
redneed' IL e'i is true Morbt@ nt his sai IS P fer the SrG mo3,
fund yet hat woaid preserve The body siter
person alive over his allotted years
Every, branch q medical science has done
said Or. Landon Carter Grey, the nrurolog-
list. In fact, the medical profession is the
Gnly 2ne ra tnat I sv ,sSo TN m for the seI EGGa Of eth; ;hc
clan Is an altruist to q certain extent he
cause he knows that IT pays him in the long
gives Il to the profession. for he knows that
i MI greater S than any ny s success that he
nigh, stain from keeping. his discovery to
iber : {. for r. his s. own s5cl Oi S,. us fei,6 S1s then then
would follow TO Contend with in. case he
kept his knowledge from the world;
nun ~ u a. " ~ tuS WI u anu i'l
a while II. created n great sensation. Then
many medical men prom ouneed i a failure;
that he Is making discoveries OF great impor-
on that failure, and will give US a sur" cure.
treatment Of diphthsria. Certainly, II has
saved many lives. Improved methods of living
houses. food, clothing. and sanitation, and
of these e things and called the improyements
to the attention of the, reoplet The doc
tors. never asking or receiving one penny for
H.. They. have q better knowledge of dis
eases and the application of medicines. and
Of course tina. saves many people. ,.nor t..
toward me cities without ever stopping to
think that cityfcation Is civilization. Ger
ever they do they live better in every way.
The great mortality Of this big city is among
lie children Of the epement Other hill
try, notwithstanding that the latter have the
ADVANTAGE of purer air. The reasons for this
"Flrs: Of all, city houses are warm and the
city child is better protected from the cold.
been Cleaned after a snow ssFv storm y til re is sns
disagreeablc chill In the air. Let the dirt
and snow be removed 9,; and 60 through the
another climate. CITY children are kept in
doors until the streets are cleaned; Then
II Is impossible 70 get In the country; they are
clothed according to the. weather, and the
sanitary conditions are far superior to those
some claim. that there are more nervous
diseases to-day than ever before. True
vous pitch, but there aren't any new diseases:
they know themselves better and recognize the
dis Ease, and that branch Of the profession which
treas nervous diseases understands better
how TO treat them. SO 1t Is in every branch
and surgery has made great strides. This,
coupled with the fact that rcopl. know how
to take better care Of themselves than ever
LA "a p NAPfninlN . a no fIA - VA.
Another prominent physician said:.
slightly increased the average of mans life,
particularly, by, reducing infant mortality,
icine has told most. The Tissues Of an in
FAINT are not only most susceptible to IN
Wholesome external conditions, but also to
ration of a case of CONSUMPTION, is, much
Longer than il used 10 he. Formerly the life
OF a consnmptlve was two years; now It is
eight. These are merely two Instances show.
ing what medical science has done in this
New ailments do not arise, but they are
ty., For INSTANCE. there Is tie TELEPHONE ear,
cessire use OF the bicycle. on the. other
hand, new devices are Constantly tighten
lie casL cir, lives in an atmosphere that
stunts her physical and mental DEVELOPMENT
Sni isvGE. inssc'i2 %.w nGTL 1T x,cds ls,n Win VIZ pr t@ssr;
this And so 1t i in the factories, where
labOr-savinR machines are replacing child
labor, ! soc a good deal TO make one OptinIis-
tic. Everything that man engages in brings
harIn 10 some one, and some are sacriAced.
SO It Is with the sport ~ wheeling. A great
many are killed and injured, but they are
nothing in the aggregate ,,omnarei with, tho
masses who are benefited. When We have
any good thing We abuse It IN proportion to
the pleasure we derive from It,"
The aCtuaries say that the average OF hui
man life has been lenGthcHed fully three
! ears within the hast Genilry. sHid one 81 the
ance Company. This Is due 70 a great many
things. principally 10 better living. People
have better houses, better food, and better
clothing, and more attention Is given 10 sani-
tatton than ever before. think that
drinking pure water has done more Ia
lengthen the average Of mans years than any
Thing e..se, People 10 not drink from wells
pure source, Typhoid fever and dlarrhuai
troubles arc often carried into the system
by contaminated water. Then medical science
has almost swept small pox OIL the ta,o Of
the earth. In New York theIe are never
more than n very few cases, and some ears
not one Is reported. Medical men hay" done
Inuch, hut living acCrrliug to hygienic laws
+. also largely responsible for this increase.
We have u first class system uf drainage In
our city and excellent plumbing and ~NentiIa.