The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1909-11-18
SOUTH DAKOTA
LEADS NATION
is MOST HEALTHFUL STATE IN
THE UNION.
DEATH RATE VERY LOW
HAS LOWEST RATE OF MORTAL.
ITY FROM TUBERCULOSIS.

state in the union according to a
bulletin on mortality statistics which
the census bureau has issued says a
Washington dispc tch. The govern
m mt statistics show that South Da-
kota had the lowest death rate of the
seventeen representative states from
from which mortality reports were
obtained last year, and that South Da-
kota also led with the lowest rate Of
deaths due to tuberculosis, cancer
and suicide, three Of the principal
causes of fatalities in this country.
South Dakota reported 4,946 deaths
during 1908. This gave hat state
the remarkable low death rate Of only
10.1 for every 1000 inhabitants. Wis
consin was the only State to approach
this record with it's death rate Of
11.6 per 1000. Colorado and Calfor-
MIA, much famed as health resorts,
had death rates Of II end 1874 per
1000 respectively Other states in
the list chosen by the census bureau
to represent the mortality of the en-
tire country which also were surpass-
ed by South Dakota in healthfLlness
Massachusetts. Michigan, New Hamp-
shire, New Jersey, New York. Penn.
sylvania, Vermont and Washington.
Besides showing the lowest death
rate due to suicides. South Dakota
was also the only state in the entire
list to record a decrease of suicides
during the year. In 1907, South Da-
kota had 6S suicides, while last year
the number recorded was 40, de-
crease from 14.3 to 10,1 per 100000 Of
the states population. California
topped the suicide column with death
rate Of 45.1 per 100000 due to that
cause Washington state scored next
with suicide rate of 81 per 100000.
The death rate Of the entire registra-
tion area Of seventeen states due to
suicides, was 1875 per 100000 popula-
ton, again indicating that the con-
tentment of the people Of South Da
kota is far greater than that Of those
in many other states
More deaths in South Dakota were
due to tuberculosis than to any other
one cause, the total fatilities from this
disease in 1908 being 497 for that
state, 429 of which were caused by
tuberculosis Of TIE lungs. But even
with this number of tuberculosis vic
tins, South Dakota had the lowest
death rate for that disease Of the en-
tire registration area South Dako-
tas death rate per 100000 population
due to tuberculosis was 102, Colorado
had a death rate Of 3007 per 100000
and California 2712 from tuberculo-
sis. Michigan nearly equalled South
Dakota's record with a tuberculosis
death rate of 1925 per 100000.
The cancer death rate Of South Da-
kota last year was 462 per 100000
population as compared with 1912 for
California, 964 for Maine, 92.2 for
Vermont, and 627 for Colorado.
South Dakota death due to cancer
during the year, numbered 225.
OF the 1916 deaths registered in
South Dakota during the year, 1880
were children under five years Of age.
The next largest number of deaths in
the state for any five year period was
that Of persons between 20 and Is
years of age, which total d 303. This
would seem to ird'cate that South Da-
kotans generally live tr a good, old
age. Further corroboration Of this
statement is shown by the fact that
SIS Of the 1886 deaths (deducting
childep under five years. occurred
after the person had passed the 70
year mark Fifty-two of these had
lived more than 90 years and 13 came
within five years of reaching the cen
tury mark
December seems to be the health
lest month In the ear in South Da-
kota for the 326 deaths of that month
numbered the least. January was the
most fatal of all the months with d
death list of 531 March coming sec.
ond with sos deaths
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