Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1916-04-15
PUBLIC LIFE DOESN'T
TEND TO LONGEVITY.
Prof. Irving Fisher Of Yale Believes
That IL IL the Simple Life That
Attains Old AGE.


Attains Old Age.
That the simple life Is the long life
and that the wear and tear on the
life of a congressman and other men
holding the higher public positions
are not conductive to longevity. are
statements made by Prof. Irving
Fisher. uae wen known economist, OF
Yale University. in an interesting
article just made public Professor
Fisher has made a study OF the lives
Of congressman and senators and
presidents 70 ryears, and comes to the
conclusion that the vitality Of these
men u bound to crack under che
strain"
Presidents. vice presidents and
congressman" says Professor Fisher.
are select group endowed at the
outset with unusual vitality.
The vitality Of most of them IS
severely taxed and materially reduced
by the heavy responsibilities and bad
personal hygiene incident to a public
career.
"A minority escape the worst of
these conditions and retain the major
part of Sheir natural endowment OF
Bad hygiene has been more de-
strucIve than the weight of re-
sponsibility. This conclusion is sug-
gested by the fact that the vice pres
idents suffer greater curtailment of
life than the. presidents. although
vice presidents have far less respon-
sibility, but spend much more time in
Washington social life than the presi-
dents. 1t is also suggested by the fact
That the civil war period. with its
greater weight of responsibility, but
more simple living, showed a lower
mortality than the periods preceding
! and following, with less weight Of re-
sponsibility. but less simple living.
Historically there has been a pro-
gressive decrease in those causes OF
death consisting OF infections which
/ kill their victims chiefly at the earlier
ages but a progressive change for the
worse in those causes OF death con-
sisting of the wear and tear diseases
| Cor degnerative diseases) which kill
| their victims chiefly at the later
years These opposite changes in the
/ infections and degenerative diseases
mortality al the earlier ages and on
| the hand, the non-improvement land
| in the case Of the Yale graduates even
| positive retrogression) in the mortal
| ity at the older ages: again they
would explain the marked exception
I atty Of the older ages in the civil
war period; for If IL was plain living
! which explained the low mortality of
l that period we should expect the most
| marked influence Of this factor TO ap-
pear just as it does, at the older ages
| at which the wear and tear mortality
is chiefly registered
The chief causes Of wear and tear
/ on the lives of congressman are the
same as those applying to modern
! convivial social life in general; they
/ are the causes emphasized by the
I Life Extension Institute which,
through its hygience reference board
/ Of hygienists and scientists. has de-
| scribed these causes in its recent
handbook How to Live The chief
I causes emphasized are indoor and
/ sedentary living. a crouching. champ
/ ing posture, late dinners, overeating,
/ especially Of heterogeneous foods, such
! as meats and eggs. over concentration
/ or lack Of bulk in diet, hasty eating
/ constipation. irregular hours, lack OF
sleep. worry, and the use of drugs,
! especially narcotics like alcohol and
/ tobacco. In short, the chief reasons
/ why congressman shorten their lives
| are avOidable. being due, not 30 much
| to their work as to the kind OF Life
/ into which their work leads them
The damage to vitality, which we
I find from public life is not, there
/ fore, put forward as an argument
I against entering public service: nor
/ will a knowledge Of the facts proba-
/ bly, tend in that direction. certainly
not among those who place pubic
Z interests above personal interests, "a
/ every public man should But know
/ ledge is power and a knowledge Of
/ the facts should enable US to protect
! our public man or enable them %
I protect themselves, and to do so in
I the public interest This can be ac-
/ cOmplished by better general health
Z conditions in the country and its cap
I ital. by better health customs and
I habits. by better health ideals, and
/ by a more systematic application OF
I the imperfect ideals already exist
I ing"
! In connection with his study Of the
( figures Prof Fisher says:
The longevity Of each president II
1 reclzOnee fru@- the date OF inaugura-
l tiOn-that Is from the time Of his
/ first being president Thus Washing
I ton became president At 81 years OF
I age, when the expectation" of life,
according to the American experience
/ table. was Is years. He actually lived
/ however. only II years instead or the
/ is. That is, he lived only 11-16. or
/ SO per cent. OF his expectation John
Adams. on the other hand, lived after
! Inauguration % years. which was 2-z3
1 times his expectation Of 10 years.
/ The percentage of actual expected
I life has been as follows:
| Greatest longevity-John Adams
\ (223) Madison (1SO). jefferson (Is7),
]. O. Adams C55), Van Buren, (13e).
\ Least Logevity - Harrison (ths
I frst) ID, Garfield CD, Taylor (s).
/ Polk (1s), Lincoln CID, Mckinley CAD
Arthur C25).
The five presidents Of Yale univer-
/ sity for substantially the same period
as that of the above table. show q
/ longevity equal to 131 per cent of
| their expectations The consistent
/ conformity OF all the results to the
| hypothesis that a simple" life Is a
/ long life and that a complex life II
a short enc is at least striking.
I