The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-23
CHICAGO srA&ISTI0s.
Remarkable Results Achieved BY Health
Department ArithmSticlans.

Department ArithmSticians.
To THE EprroR or TEE SUN-Siri The
Health Department Of Chicago recently
Issued q bulletin trying to show that COM
pared with 1855 the length Of life In Chicago
had increased In 1908 by no per cent? The
statistical bureau Of the Chicago Health De-
partment seems TO be the most curious in
existence. II q bureau has to confess to a
clerical" error Of 1889 Der cent. instead or
1870 per 'cent., IL showS Its logic defective;
1880 per cent doesn't look % much like lac
per cent. as to be eaSlly COMPOUNDED By q
mere slip Of the pen.
The entire reasoning ~ wrong, One sin
gle year can never be compared with
another single year. even In large cities. In
. town In Massachusetts, OF $50 inhabltantS
in one-half year only one person died. In
another year. only 1--WE years later. % died.
Does this prove O greater healthfulness Of
1000 per cent. In the first year than the secondp
Not at ALI II only proves the arithmetic OF
tho case. In Ave years. is75-so, there died
90 people; in Ave years. 18S5-oo. lo4 people.
The ratio, allowing for change In population.
was % per 1000 In the first and ais per 900
In the second period. This Ia o fine. healthy
community.
The statistics Of American cities with
true census-Chioago has everywhere TO be
excluded because It's erroneous population
guess Is at variance with all data-prove that
the average age In 1856 was about 81 years
and 10 now about 81. or q true increase OF 10
per cent, both years taken as parts OF periods
Of ten years. II the average was 81 years
in 1855 and had increased by 1870 per cent. IL
would now be 90 years, an utterly absurd
figure. Don't they read the thousands OF
correct statistics made since 1900, even 1900,
at the etatstioian's oflcef
II now the average age at death in Chica-
90 10 about 90 years. as the published
AaaawaR - IAatha laU ahnuv ,laarlt -
must have been II years In 1855 TO give the
1919 per cent. frightening Of life figured by
the able statistioian; i29 per cent. improve
ment In fifty years gives ~ per cent. round
figures per year. In 1900 the tendency toward
short life must have been again about 55x2H=
1878 per cent. or the age at death in 1900
in Chicago equals o years 2 months; continuing
this ~ per, cent. q year decrease backward
TO 100, the people who would have then lived
at Overwhelmingly 1t did not exist;
az StoSdt death ia' the e0e entiTe population being mere
babies. some as ancient as 3 years. Others OF
Q fsw weeks. u ..,o. u.a
that SR' timSe fo GfnS.aefsif is Rev GepptYYs off. Bose Boston n.
Ohio, DO, and In reality reached an average
stsstisticialnS in the health once In 1908. In
1859 the age Of the population-by that statis-
:~ici ass,T' %IfI L. + now &c y. really Z S ef9Sn %. = n y ssT
about IS; ip 1000, With the aid OF the Chicago
fft.tbIs B. aff b sssy SIs Ss sGa Ses sf TO % h infan sSS1
because 1880 years will be their age at deathl
They win even be older, because the improve
Tess ~ %s sSo be so sslasll {bs ,s svsTas gTe ate at d de, ,ss
5000 AID. Arithmetic In Chicago beats vital
ity and doctors all to pieces and Is much
The Chicago ststistician wants to earn his
~money-yery praiseworthy-and he does il
amply. He, gives us by simple arithmetic
an INCREDIBLE healthfulness. unhsard of low
all Tor. Chicago all alone. What TALENT What
geniusl He proves the superhuman eticlency
metle. although .short, Of inspectors" by
arithmetical people. the subtraction Of figures
q, eds S.ff f]aGRt ,s4ss' d Rldidtanf By s%e u known aSnn9 3sc-
tors"-all factors" invented in Chicago-6c.
Simple aEitah a'nSIs shows b ug New York. ta BE-,
S SsPs5btf%s nIanls 60 Be W. %H %GuI ISn SsSs4 DE- lSsy IL he he
LChica go stands all by Itself; only 81, Paul,
but Omaha Is still sore that the, United States
census OF. 1900 could not hnd about 10000
directory figured Population N so.o 600 real
data, like deaths, age at death. DC. are alb
surdly wrong because OF the general disease
tSersiSFe: Why "" ]s1 sas srsss .r Let ssro Ss sarn
500. 900 or ] 400. 900 true, resident population
Of q town Of more than i. 900. 900 inhabitapts,
Chicago ID. Just q tTife larger or smaller than
reliability prove this, at least 100 different
cHIcSoo. March 10.