The San Francisco call., 1905-05-07
AGE LIMIT PUT
AT $50 YEARS
DR.. L. B. Sperry Lecturing
on Science of Living"
Tells How to ProlOng Life
BEST TO LIVE BEST WAY
Law of Heredity Blamed for
Many Sins, but He Says
It Has Been OverwOrked

Man may live E-ppily and useIuly
for $50 years. said DIR. Lyman
Beecher Sperry Of Oberlin. Ohio. at the
Young Mems Christian Association
Hall the other afternoon. After
third of century Of scientific study
such is my conclusion. Yet in the face
of my belief 20 per cent OF the hu-
man beings born into this world die
before they are a year old, 20 per cent
before they are 8 years OF age, only
half reach the age Of Is and the aver
age length of Life Is under 40 years
The destructive forces which bring
about this low average are manifold,
but ! believe II In possible TO enjoy
good health and activity up to CEN
tury and a half by q proper under
standing Of the human possibilities and
the exercise of this knowledge"
DR.. Sperrys address was the nrst or
a series of six on the Science Of Liv-
ing" his sub-topic being Human Pos
sibilities." His main object. apparent
ly, was to point out to the large au-
dience Of young men present the infu-
ences which retard longevity, with
stress on the thsory that immortality
has direct bearing on the physical
being.
PTTHY SAYINGS.
The lecture teemed with pithy say.
ings. Of which the following show his
trend Of thought:
Man was not born to struggle from
q helpless cradle to hopeless grave"
There Is a best way to live, and 1t Is
best to live the best way"
Mere existence Is not worth while,
but life Is worth the effort If one con-
tracts neither disease nor an unfortu-
nate marriage"
Science teaches that a human being
cannot die OF old age under $50 years"
"A climate where the loin cloth and
flock Of mosquitoes constitute full
dress Is not conducive Of human devel-
opment"
"a crank is a man who does his own
thinking and has the courage Of his
convictions"
ITO maintain the health Of the body
Is to preserve the health OF the SOUL"
1.-THE law Of heredity Is to be blamed
for a lot Of sins. but 1t has been over
worked
THE responsibility for what we are
depends upon ourselves"
Smiles and pleasant words are the
strongest magnets In the universe"
Alcohol. from hard cider to wood al
cohol, Is devilish delusion."
BELIEVES IN LONGEVITY.
In demonstrating his belief that the
human race could greatly lengthen it's
span of life the speaker was willing to
eliminate all the chapters OF Genesis
which tell of the longevity OF the an
clients, but asserted that he himself
had talked with persons who had
reached the age Of 135 years.
They were little n1ummified. TO be
sure,' he said. but this was due un-
doubtedly to destructive forces OF
which viii speak.
Science teaches that the human
skeleton develops to perfection in from
twenty-three to twenty-eight years and
that the span Of life should be from
five to ten times that Of the develop
ment Of the vertebrae.
"Offsetting the probable lengths Of
life are such forces as climate, war,
licentiousness, use Of narcotics and the I
rufnous influence Of alcohol"
Climatic conditions. according to DR.. |
Sperry, have been reduced to statistics, |
proving beyond doubt that both torrid |
and frigid atmosphere tend to shorten |
existence. Incidentally the residents
of both hot and cold countries are ad-
dicted to Incidence and this in itself
was declared to shorten life. All the /
longevity worth mentioning. IL was
claimed, existed in the temperate zone. |
WAR" said the speaker, is most
destructive force, not alone because
millions Of men have been killed by ii. |
but because of the influence on the race |
due to the loss Of the strongest and |
most enduring Of the human beings"
In relation to the destructive force Of
evil habits DR.. Sperry spoke at length, |
and his scathing treatment of drink i
tobacco and opium was said to be de-
rived from personal association with |
81