The Kemper herald. (Scooba, Miss.) 1875-1908, 1905-03-09
DEATHS ON THE DECREASE
A Smaller Percentage of Mortality
Among Men Engaged in Pro-
fessional Callings.

To the inquisitive mind statistics are
| always interesting and frequently a
perusal Of them will result in the I'M
earthing of facts which are curious
enough to interest even the casual gen.
eral public. One of the bits OF in
formation found in the mortality tables
recently given out by the census de-
partment would seem to indicate, says
the New York Post, that II the death
percentage continues to decrease among
forthcoming generations of professional
men as much as it did in that between
1890 and 1900 it will not be quite a cen
fury before men engaged in these oc-
equations will live forever. Rather
astonishing, but yet that is exactly the
conclusion one is forced to arrive at by
a logical process of reasoning. The only
class exempt from this tempting pros
pect of amending life are the ~clergymen,
who are dying now in greater number.
according to these tables, than was the
case in 1890. The total number OF
architects, artists and teachers of art
in the United States increased nearly
II per cent. during the past decade, but
the mortality figures show a decrease
in the number of deaths among the
whole body from slightly over IL per
cent. to about IL per cent. in the same
period. Journalists increased in num-
Der II per cent, but the death rate
among them declined from IL to 10 per
cent. Deaths among lawyers decreased
one-half of l per cent, among mu-
sicians l per cent. and among physl-
clans and surgeons a little over z per
cent. All of which serves to show that
il Il wants to live long he should en-
gage in seine professional calling. II
the same decrease holds true in the fu-
ture it will be only about 80 years be-
fore physicians will no longer die; %
years will bring about the same glori-
Gus condition among journalists. 11O
years for the architects and artists, mu-
sicians $50 years, while the lawyers will
be compelled to wait 172 years for the
state of ceaseless life among them.
The clergymen are in a very bad way.
indeed. Their total number has only
shown a comparatively slight increase,
but the death rate for their occupation
increased 5b per cent. over that OBJ
tanning in the preceding decade. What
ever the cause, whether they are lead
ing a more strenuous life or not, they
loom up as the holders of an extreme
ly dangerous calling-a calling danger
Gus to life. What else may be inferred
from these cold. unyielding figures? 1t
would be well for clergymen to take
cognizanee of this matter and adopt
preventive measures against the whole
sale decrease by death in their number,
or, so the statistics would seem to in
dictate, it will only be 156 years until
clergymen will no longer be able to exist,
for the death percentage would have in
creased to 100 per cent.
The sad prospect for the clergymen
is also that of women engaged in pro-
fessional occupations. Female must
clans and teachers of music increased
in number 2 per cent. in the last dec
ade, while the increase in deaths among
them was over 3 per cent. Actresses are
more numerous by 6 per cent, and the
deaths among them have increased 8
per cent, thus indicating that in 500
years, if this ratio continues, we shall
no longer have actresses, and men will
orce again be compelled to assume fe-
male parts on the stage, as they did
in the days of Shakespeare. The death
rate among women school-teaehers is
1.6 per cent. heavier than the increase
in numbers, and among stenographers
and typewriters it is nine-teaths per
cent. greater. No statistics are given
regarding female %clerics, so that we are
left to imagine in horror what they
might have revealed.