The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1910-09-30
LOWEST DEATH
RATE ON RECORD
Only Is Deaths per 1000 Population
in the Census Bureaus Regis
tration Area in 1909.

Washington, D. c., Sept. 23.-The
death rate in the death registration
cities and states of the United States
dropped to Is per thousand of pro-
visionally estimated population last
year. according to the Forthcoming
United States Census Bureaus bulle-
tin On mortality statistics for 1909.
which has been submitted to Direc-
tor Durand by DR.. Greasy L. Wilbur,
chief statistician for vital statistics.
In 1908 the death rate in the Cen
sus Bureaus registration area was
1874 per thousand and in the bu-
reau's annual report for that year,
issued last spring. it was stated that
| it is evident an era of low mortality
has begun.
The death rate for 1909 is, the
bulletin states, lower than that for
any previous year OF registration
and probably is the lowest that ever
occurred in the history Of tn Unit
ed States.
1t is stated that the mortality was
distributed with more than ordinary
uniformity throughout the year 1909
and no epidemics of other than a
very local extent were found to have
occurred. r,w'l'
1t is fact of much interest, the
bulletin states, as showing the gener-
al prevalence in 1909 of extremely
fable conditions for human life,
that teh death rate of England and
Wales for that year was 14.5 per
thousand, which was also the lowest
on record for that country, while the
rate of 4 for the city of London was
even lower and demonstrates the fall
lacy of the belief that high death
rates are necessarily found in large
cites.
The total number of deaths re-
turned from the registration area for
1909 was 1858. an increase of
40,964 over the number, 691,574,
returned for 1908.
OF the total number in 1909, there
were 398,597 deaths, or 54.4 per
cent, among males, as compared with
SAB in 1908.
| The largest number Of deaths re-
turned for any month in 1909 was
70,093 for March. With tho great
majority of the registration states
and cities 1t is the month having the
largest number Of deaths, while June
is the month of lowest mortality.
The Professionally estimated ag-
gregate population of the registra-
ton area of the United States in
1909 is 48,776,s93 or 55.3 per cent
of the total estimated population OF
continental United States.
i The official death registration area
is composed of those states and cit
les which require the registration OF
a death before the issuance of a bur-
ial permit and which have complied
with other requirements imposed by
the Census Bureau as conditions pre-
cdent to inclusion In this area whose
death returns are annually collected
tabulated, analysed and presented in
bulletin and report form by the cen
sus bureau. In 1909 the death regis
tration area included the following
states:
| California, Colorado, Connecticut,
Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Nassa-
chusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire,
New jersey, New York, Ohio, Penn
sylvania, Rhode Island. South Da-
kota, Vermont, Washington and
Wisconsin.
In addition to these returns of
deaths were received from 81 cities
in demonstration states, in which
the registration under local ordi-
nances is considered satisfactory
The District of Columbia, which is
coterminous with the city of Wash
ington, is not included in the list of
separate registration cities. For
most purposes it is treated as a city,
but in the table showing groups OF
registration states the District of
Columbia is included as a state area.
M