Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-03-03
What Is AgeP

/ ''''1."iii 'oAtl, vi INC IlcphlUS DlNtI
>lty, Baltimore, Of statement made
year or more ago. in which he wa
quoted as saying that all men on at
tanning their fortieth birthday ha,
outllved thci: days OF usefulness, an,
that men over sixty years of ag'
should toe chloroiormcd.
The OrtyVHiaH, whose editor, Har, j.,
W. Scott, is five years above the latte
limit, declares that DIR. Osler's "al
most brutal statement being now re
peated " it is up to us to take stock o
ourselves and our contemporaries"
/ The OreJoniTn then publishes
long list OF men over 60 years OF age
who still give individuality to the lif'
of the Oregon metropolis, includin.
such men as Mayor George H. Viii
liams, Henry l.. Pittock, founder o
the Crtgonian, ii. W. Scott, its editor
whose combined individuality to-day
make it the best newspaper on the
coast, Judge Bellinger, Rev. E. Wistal
Morris, Senator Mitchell, Richard
Williams, Jacob Kamm, William Reid
and scores OF others, all OF whom
should have been chloroformed years
ago according to DIR. Osler. And i,
gives another list OF Portland's promi
nent business men, who, having passed
their fortieth birthday, have outlived
their days of usefulness. among whom
are w. M. Ladd, Judge Tanner, o. F
Paxton, Joseph Simon, 7. N. Strong
DIR. Coe and host of others who have
rounded out successful business lives
after attaining the age limit prescribed
by DIR. Osler. Were it possible te
blot out the individuality of these
men, still maintained, or the impetus
given to public affairs since they passed
the limit of usefulness, 40 years, and
the chloroform age, 60 years, wha,
would Portland be to-day? 1t is, oil
course, impossible to imagine with any
degree of certainty, but it is safe to say
that had public affairs been directed
with any less character, decision and
virility, it would not be the thriving
city it is to-day. The same thing car
be said OF San Francisco, Seattle, OF
any other enterprising community. A
union of the wisdom and conservatism
derived from experience, seems to be q
perfect balance.wheel to the impetu'
GUS enthusiasm of youth, resulting in
the golden mean that is the highest
object of endeavor.
Who 10 this Dr.. Osler, who assume;
to be the arbiter OF human destiny
That he is not an American, is shown
by bis autocratic and positive way Of
stating his propositions. He was born
in Tecumseh, Ontario, in 1849, and
educated at Trinity College, Toronto
School of Medicine and McGill Uni
versity, Toronto, where he graduated
in 1872. He has since been lecturer
of college classes in this country and
England, and q writer for medical
journals in this country, Canada and
Great Britain. 1t is doubtless the
positiveness of his British lineage
which has impelled him to state fact.
that doubtless exist to some extent, in
some walks of life, and make them the
undertaking basis Of his pedantic die
tum. Another characteristic OF his
personality, at utter varisnce with hit
assurance, is that he is apparently
oblivious of the fact that be is, himself
far beyond the age of usefulness (Which
implies ability to pass unimpeachable
judgmen) and is we'll ON to the age
when the an@sthetic agency should be
applied to put him out OF the way oI
other people. Others he has classified
as incompetents may object to be de-
prived of the right to live by one o.
their number. s-f
The fact is, and badinage aside, age
is hardly ever an exact condition Of
years. Heredity, habit, conditions Of
life. opportunity to enjoy pure air and
the life-giving sunlight, associations
and so many other things, enter into
the aging of each individual, that it i.
difficult to determine just how and
when the joints stiffen and the eye
loses its luster. It is safe to say, how
ever, that the mind is . potent factor
in warding off the effects OF time on
the physical system. The chief object
OF those aspiring to q ripe old age
should be, to keep the mind clear and
contented. A slow development o.
the youthful period implies this, and
10 usually attended with long life
while those who mature early-liter.
ally burn the candle at both ends-art
snuffed out often before passing tue
meridian of life, which should be ir
the forties. Thirty-three years being
the average of life. it may be inferred
that Nature has set that as the acme
of physical perfection, whence thu
! sailing will be clear to the possible enc
Of the voyage, 1t three score years ans
ten, If al the attention needed is giver
to the vessel and cargo-the body anG
its upbuilders.
In answer to the question at th'
head of this article, therefore, it ma,
be said that age is Q condition of thu
soul manifested In character Of thu
individual, and may make the physica
nature appear old or young as its in
centives and surroundings control.
THE lesson Taught the voters by tn
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