The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1897-11-25
ALCOHOL AND THE DEATH RATE.


the medical assistant to the registrar
general. wrote as follows:
THE great pending experiment of
total abstinence by thousands of all
classes seems TO show already that men
can live in health without alcoholic
liquors; but whether their lives are
better or worse, as age creeps on, than
the lives of their fellow mortals the in
surance offices will find out. Abstain
ers deserve to be watched attentively
by the physiological student"
l have been watching very attentive
", and have found that ever since the
time when DR.. Farr wrote this passage
evidence has been rapidly accumulat-
ing that total abstinence produces a
highly beneficial effect on health and
life. In fact, | hold that it has now been
demonstrated that, at all periods of
adult life, teetotalers have on the aver
age a remarkable advantage in lon
gevity over alcohol users. The fol-
lowing statistics. the substantial ac-
curacy of which is beyond all rational
controversy, are specimens of this evil
dence:
The Independent Order of Rechabites
is a teetotal working mems benefit So
ciety. 1t has an adult membership of
142, 900 and a juvenile membership of
5000. 1t has been in existence over go
years, and, financially, is highly pros
porous. Its mortality experience, as
calculated by Mr.. Nelson, the eminent
actuary, shows that at IS years of age
the Rechabites have an "eXpectancy"
of life of 50.62 years, while, according
| to the registrar-general, the expectancy
of all males of the community is 41.00,
and according to the Institute of Ac-
| tuaries Life Tables, that of healthy
males" belonging to the well-to-do
| classes whose lives are insured, and are
at the age named is 1880 years. This
| means that the Rechabites at / have an
expectancy of sig years at the age
named, over all males of the general
community, of the same age, and of
7.2 years over healthy males of the
general community. But these figures
do not measure the full extent of the
advantage in length of life which the
Rechabites possess over that section of
| the AL males" as well as over that sec
ton of the healthy males" who use al
cohol. In view of the facts just stated,
it is clear that sections of the COM
munity consisting of alcoholic users
alone must have q less expectancy" of
life than of the sections similar in all
other respects save that of having no
members who use alcohol. How much
advantage on this score ought to be
credited to the teetotalers must for the
present be matter of conjecture.
content myself with noting that there
is such an advantage.
But there is one item of evidence
which is little known and may be suit
ably cited here. 1t tends TO show that
the advantage in length of life which
abstainers have over non-abstainers is
even greater than is that indicated by
the Rechabite statistics. About {
dozen years ago the British Medica
association appointed committee o
inquiry" to ascertain the habits of lift
among as large number as possible o
persons of 80 years of age and upward
The committee managed to obtain par
ticulars, as to the habits of between
800 and 900 persons, between 50 ant
100 years of age. They reported il
1887. What concerns nus is that the,
found that, Of these aged persons, NJ
fewer than SO per cent. were total alb
stainers from alcoholic liquors. Thi
was an enormous proportion consider
: ing how comparatively small a numbe
. of the total population at the middl
period of life were teetotalers. Te1
, or Is per cent. would have been some
: thing about a fair proportion if tn
teetotalers had no longer life on TIL
| average than the alcohol users.
1 There are, | am aware, good man
people who, when they learn that
, gain of seven years on the average i
, the lifetime of the men of Englan
- could be obtained as the result of tee
totalism, will hasten to represent sue
Z gain as an exceedingly tritiing matte
|, indeed. When, however such an il
: crease in the average duration of aduI
life is compared with the effect on tn
= acreage duration of life produced by tn
;. joint action of many other justly laut
= ed ameliorative agencies, sensible pee
pie will perceive that it is worthy of
good deal more consideration than
gets. For instance, the last three-qua
ters of a century has oeen the era {
:. sanitary and other great improvement
:. in this country, which are believed
) lengthen life and to make it more el
? ioyable while it lasts. During tn;
period medical science has been emo
mously developed. Public hospita
|. have been increased in number, and ID
y management of them has been great
" improved. The working classes a
now more regularly employed, bett'
paid, have shorter hours of labor, ar
healthier places of labor than was Il
case with the industrial classes wht
= the century was young. Sanitatic
a throughout the land has, in compar
r. lively recent times, greatly decrease
% the risk of many kinds of diseas
y Physical labor is by no means as ha
Il or as unhealthy for young or old
a it was, say so or 70 years ago. y
=. what has been the result? Have gre
Il