The Detroit times., 1912-01-22
SKTY-S|X THOUSAND
KILLED BY ALCOHOL IN YEAR
Experts Figures Show Great
Waste OF Life From IntoXi-
cants in United States.

NEW YORK, Jan 22.-Edward Bun
neil Phelps has made scientific
study of the mortality of alcohol in
this country in a book, recently pub
lished. He has based his figures on
the year 1908 and finds that alcohol
caused $4,000 deaths, directly or in.
directly, in that year Commenting on
this. the Medical Record says:
The effect of alcohol upon the
mortality figures of a community has
become a threadbare subject in
speeches and writings OF prohibition
and antiprohibition publicists; yet, in
deed. few subjects OF sociological ma
tture deserve more frequent mention.
lThe trouble has been, however, that
such mention was rarely, IL ever.
founded upon a real study OF the sub.
ject. but was simply an indicator OF
the intolerance of the defenders OF
one or the. other political or social
creed
There is no question that for men
interested in insurance matters the
problem OF the mortality OF alcohol
| is one OF foremost rank and IL is to
their credit that one OF the best scien-
tihc studies of the matter that has
y
number. Mr.. Phelps, who has publish
ed several statistical studies In SINH.
lar fields, has taken the total adult
mortality in the United States for the
year 1908 as the groundwork of his
study
His method was simple. He OBJ.
talned from the medical directors OF
three large insurance companies their
a. nf 10 Of 10
deaths between the age OF 20 and "a,
directly or indirectly due to alcohol,
! foI each OF the loo causes of death
listed in the census statistics for that
year. From these estimates he figured
the probable mortality from the same
causes among females and then made
an approximation OF the probable
mortality OF the whole country, includ-
ing the so-called non-registration area
from which direct mortality statistics
were not available.
In defense of this method OF study
it may be granted that medical direct
ors of insurance companies have much
broader knowledge OF the general sub
ject OF mortality and the effect upon
1t of certain specific causes than even
the busiest and most prominent OF
practitioners of medicine. Moreover,
the differences in the individual esti.
mates were such as TO lead to the rea.
sonable conclusion that a poll of, say,
several hundred physicians would not
have resulted in nearer average ap-
Proclamation than the average obtained
from the poll of these three physicians
only.
Without going into minute analysis
- of hxy ~ aIn
we may say that, to disinterested
mind, his use Of the statistical tables
seems 10 be correct from the stand
point both OF statistical science and
OF every day methods OF arriving at
approximations.
His final result is that $4,000
deaths were directly or indirectly due
TO alcohol in this country during the
wear 1908. or in percentage figures,
about per cent of the total mortality
from all causes at all ages during that
year.
This, then, forms the first scien-
tifically constructed approximation or
the effect Of alcohol upon mortality in
this country. To the rabid prohibit
ZIONIST 1t will appear to be too low
figure. To the medical man, how
ever, this figure is large enough 10
prove the appalling waste OF life due
to the excessive use of alcohol More
over, no mere mortality statistics can
give an idea OF the economic waste
due to loss OF working time and OF pro.
ductive efficiency among habitual and
heavy drinkers, and the daily scenes
in our courts of law, both high and
low. are an indication of the number
of crippled and unhappy lives which
result from the abuse OF alcohol