The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1913-03-01
DOMAIN OF TEMPERANCE.
ALCOHOL AND THE DEATH RATE
IN THE UNITED STATES.

The registration area of the United
States has a system for reporting
deaths with the cause of death, etc.,
and comprises 51.8 per cent of our
national population. In 1908 there
were 320,130 male deaths reported in
the registration area; 198,858 of these
deaths occurred between the ages of
twenty and seventy-four. According
to the estimate of the medical and
statiscal experts it was found that
1913 per cent of all male deaths and
1872 per cent of all adult male deaths
we're chargeable to liquor. These per-
centages give us, in round numbers,
for the registration area 32,855 male
deaths year as the result of liquor.
We must now try to arrive at some
conclusion as to the effect of liquor
on American women, says the Bulle-
tin of the North Carolina State Board
of Health. In New York City only
one-ffth as many women died from
acute alcoholic poisons, delirium
tremens, as died in London from the
same cause; moreover, in an investiga-
ton by the London police as to the
number of women visiting the saloons
it was found that 1854 women entered
London saloons in four hours time.
The presence of women in American
saloons is comparatively rare. With
these facts in mind, and after consul
tation with statisticians and health
officers, Mr.. Phelps concludes that
the women of this country do not use
more than 20 per cent as much liquor
as is used by men. We would, there
fore, estimate the effect of liquor on
our female population as being only
one-fifth as severe as is it's effect on
the male population; therefore, if 1872
per cent of all male deaths above the
age of twenty result from the use of
liquor, &c per cent of all female
deaths above the age of twenty would
be the result of liquor. Now, there
were 209,049 female deaths above
twenty years of age in the registra-
ton area of the United States in 1908;
2.6 per cent of this number would
give us 5,435 as the alcoholic female
mortality of the registration area.
Adding the male and female deaths
occurring in the registration area we
find total of 1928 deaths to be the
annual harvest of human life in the
registration area resulting from al
coholic intemperance.
How Many Deaths2
The next question is: If 3S,288
deaths occur in SIS per cent of our
national population from alcoholic in
temperance, how many deaths occur
for the whole population from this
cause? After making the necessary
| corrections for the greater fatality of
alcohol on urban than on rural popu-
lations, and for the difference in the
proportion of rural and urban popula-
tions in the registration and nonregis-
tration area of the United States it is
found that the alcoholic mortality of
the nonregistration area is 27,609.
This figure, added to the 1928 deaths
occurring in the registration area,
makes total Of 65,897 deaths occur
ring each year in the United States
that are chargeable to alcoholic in
temperance.
The economic value of the average
adult life is estimated by political eco
1omists at $4,000. The 65,S97 lives
destroyed annually by liquor at $4,000
apiece amounts to an annual none
tary loss of $263,58S,00O.
1t has been shown that for every
unnecessary death there are zoo days
of unnecessary sickness. On that esti-
mate alcoholic intemperance produces
in addition to the 65,897 deaths, 49,
$4,000 days, or 126,377 years, of in
dividual sickness every year in this
country.
Liquor is to blame for one out of
twelve adult deaths.
Liquor is to blame for one out of
ten male deaths.
Liquor is to blame for one out of
rs adult male deaths.
Liquor is to blame for twice as
many deaths year as are caused by
typhoid fever.
Liquor is to blame for more deaths
in four years than were destroyed in
action in the four years of the Civil
War.
The Liquor problem is a public
health problem.