The Grit-advocate., 1900-05-11
ITS INCREASE HERE AND IN
ENGLAND.
OverindulG eaos In Rich Food the Prin-
cipsl Cause.-The United States Has
IN Army Of 100000 Cancer Victims
Weli-Fed People Are Victims.

dldTmlue 1acts OF tne Closing century.
Sir William NJ. Banks, the eminent
English surgeon, attributes the in
crease in the mortality from cancer to
overindulgence in eating rich foods.
Sir William is a cancer expert Of long
experience and wide repute. In the
United States, according to competent
authority, there Is a vast army of 100,-
600 victims Of cancer. The army Is
increasing all the time. not only in
size. but out of proportion to the nat
ural increase of population. DR.. G.
Betton Massey of Philadelphia has
gathered mass of statistics, and pub
lished an article based on them, show
ing that in seven of the largest cities
in the country-excluding Chicago,
whose records, presumably, are too re-
cent to be OF value-with combined
population of S,2O7,464 in 1870, the ra-
ton OF deaths from cancer in that
year was 35.4 to 100000 living persons.
Twenty-Five years later, in 1896, in
these cities. which then had a COM
bined population of 1885, ,235, the ra-
ito OF deaths from cancer was 66.4 to
100000 population. the ratio having
nearly doubled in a quarter of CEN
tury. II this rate of increase is main
tained for the next ten years, DR.. Mas
sey finds that in 1910 there will be in
each city an average Of 80 deaths from
cancer to 100000 population. The
greatest increase in any Of the large
cities of America is shown by San
Francisco. Here the ratio leaped from
1876 cases in 100000 population in 1856
to 1895 in 1898. In England and
Wales the increase in the thirty-one
years from 1864 to 1895 was from 1876
to 75.5. DR.. Roswell Park of Buffalo
predicts that 'if the present rate of
increase of cancer in New York s.are
continues during the ney. ten years,
its mortality will 5ecome greater than
that q consumption. typhoid fever and
smallpox combined" Discussing the
conditions affecting the increase in
cancer cases in England Sir William
Banks notes that 1t is the well-nour-
ished people who fall victims. For the
past fifty years. he says, bread has
been cheap and plentiful, while during
the last twenty years the importation
Of animal food from other countries
has been enormous. The increased
wages and emolnments Of all classes
In this country have enabled them TO
purchase freely of the best there Is to
be had in the whole world Of things
to eat and drink Our working classes
fare admirably. Our better classes eat
infinitely too much-especially of ami
NAL food partaker of at breakfast,
lunch and dinner. But for the ath-
letic tendency of the age and the gen.
eral passion for games and exercises
which pervades all classes this over
stufting must have proved very danger
Gus. am pretty we'll convinced that
excess in food is perhaps worse for
him than excess in drink. Apparently
one of the results of too much nour-
ishing food is the production of a wide
ly spread second-rate kind Of gout Of
a different type from the acute and
furious attacks produced in former
days by the copious drinking of beer
and port wine. Moreover, I think dis
tinctly that it has also to do with the
production of the cancerous predispo-
sition. 1t is curious to note that among
the very highest mortality rates for
\ occupations are those which include
commercial travellers, coachmen and
grooms, merchants, seamen, maltsters,
brewers, innkeepers, butchers and
m of th1cn nDy tai MI ara