The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1912-11-07
CAN PREVENT
. THIRD OF DEATHS
1900 a Day Die Unnecessa-
] TiIy In the United States.
Or. FISHERS STATEMENT
Yale Professor Declares That Life In
surance Companies Should Prevent
Deaths as Fire Insurance Companies
Z Prevent Fires.

"Out of some. i.5OOO00 deaths an
nually In the United States. AT least
100000 are preventable.' declared Ir-
wing Fisher. professor of political econ
omy at Yale university. In his address
before the fourth national conserva-
tion congress NJ indianapolis. This
means over LOO unnecessary Deaths
per day, or more than the lives lost In
the great Titanic disaster. which
spread pail OF gloom over the world.
The daily average death rate rarely
gets a passing comment"
As FIRST step In the great works OF
human conservation Professor Fisher
urged the establishment of an nde
quate system Of collecting and distrlb-
utng vital statistics similar TO the
system IN use Ia sweden.
Probably the greatest hygIenIt
achievement of any country thus far *
hat OF Sweden" said the professor.
where the duration OF life Is the
longest. the mortality the least and
the improvements the most general
There alone can II he suId that the
chances OF life have been improved for
all ages OF life.
Vitality Detsriorsting Here.
Infancy middle age and old age to-
day show lower mortality In Sweden
than In times past. while In other coun
tries. including the United States. al
though we can boast OF some reduc
ton In infant mortality. the mortality
after middle age Is growing worse
aud the innate vitality of the people
is In all probability deteriorating.
''ln the United States public health
has been regarded almost exclusively
ms u matter Of protection against germs.
but protection against germs. while eff
fective In defending us from plague
aud other epidemics OF acute diseases.
is almost powerless to prevent the
diseases OF middle and late life {
These maladies- Brlghts disease. I
heart disease. nervous breakdowns-are ,
dle primarily 10 unhygienic personal s
habits \
There are three great agencies to
which we must look for the saving OF {
human life in the future. and II has l.
been the object OF the committee of
,ne hundred on national health. of d
which am president 10 help stir these o
hree agencies into activity In this a
They are the public press. the 4
assurance companies and the govern u
nent. p
Public Interest Greater. u
"A few years ago popular articles on u
ublic health were seldom seen. because y
be public and the press thought the l'
ubject OF diSease uninteresting and re- "
ulsive. Today. on the other hand one
an scarcely pick up popular maya ~
Inc without finding not only one but u
pveral articles dealing with questions &c
I public health te
Life insurance companies can save
'oney by preventing deaths. Just as
re insurance companies have saved
oney by preventing fires and steam
,iler insurance companies have saved 90
oney by preventing explosions. gr
We need national department of op
'ath or Il department of labor which Tn
lal include In its operations the con. be
rvation of human life or,
but we need first OF all to do what 70,
yeden has done for 100 years-name- ~,
TO establish proper vital statistics.
tai statistics are the bookkeeping OF ~ =,
alth. AT present only little over Ell
lf OF the population OF the United ey
ates has statistics on its deaths ace
One OF the most encouraging symp- Da
nus OF progress is the great attention
lich Is being paid to public health In
e present political campaign All
rec of the party platforms included ,ha
inks In behalf OF public health" :.