The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-08-22
THE CHANCES OF LIVING
What a Soldier May Expect az
Figured by an Expert.

| enlisted in the army or who expect
to be drafted for service, are wonder
ing what their chances of coming
home again after going into the
| trenches. Roger Babson, the Wells
ley statistician, was asked the ques-
tion by one of his employees who was
not afraid to go to war, but wanted to
know what were the odds in his favor
or against him:
OF course, Babson, even though he
deals with figures at all times, could
not give the young man an off-hand
answer But he made up his mind
| that the soldier to be deserved a re-
liable answer and that he was going
to find it. So Immediately the statis
tician got busy, obtained official fig
| ures and was soon able to give the
young man this answer:
Fifteen out of 16 of the boys who
fight in France in all likelihood will
be safe and sound one year after they
enter the trenches"
Giving the matter further thought
Babson decided that it was the right
OF every conscripted young man,
every volunteer, and the mothers and
fathers of both, to know just what
chances soldiers take. SO he has
arranged publicity for the result of
his Investigations. ~s
Babson's conclusions are based on
the mortality figures of the French
army during the fun three years of
the war. II should be remembered
that the present fighting is not re-
sulting in anywhere near the number
of deaths that occurred during the
first two years. when such battles as
that at the Marne, at Ypres and at
| Verdun sent the mortality rate soar
ine
| In short, the war has resolved itself
| into one Of attrition; each army is
| trying to wear the other men down
without losing itself any more men
than necessary. There is no reason
, to believe that this method of fighting
will not continue when our troops
} reach the firing line. If 1t does, the
chances of an American soldier re-
: turning safe and sound are even
, better than that quoted in his reply
to his employe. Said Babson:
In the first place, the terrible dis
ease scourges which used to raise
havoc with armies in the field are nc
more. Cholera. dystentery and also
/ | typhoid no more take a horrible toll
from the ranks; modern methods OF
sanitation and prevention have made
these things Of the past
Let's take look at the figures IN
the matter In round numbers, 5000,
600 men have fought under the ban
ner OF France since the beginning Of
: the war. OF these approximately so,
n 600 have died from diseases OF various
n kinds; comparing these with the NOR
k | tality figures of peace times for mel
y OF the same ages we find that the!
v are about the same Remember, tina
0 during the first months of the war
/, before it was possible to care prop
S erly for ailing soldiers, deaths were
r at terrible rate. which brought thu
Y rate for the three years much highe
e than it is at present. So under pres
r ent methods of sanitation, man i
:; not as likely to die from disease il
s an army as he is at home.
s. About 100000 men in the Frencl
II army have been killed or died fron
y wounds during the three years of tn
war: half OF these died during tn
II first year. But in compiling the sta
o tistics. we'll take the average, whic
n is 100000 per year, or about onesi
@, teenth OF the total number engaged
N Thus, considering a man in this wa
Ie for one year, he has Is chances of r.
e. turning home to one of being, killed
h But, as | have said, half of thes
II men, considered above. were killed !
is the first year of the war Since the
q the mortality rate has been dwindlin
until now 1t is very low for year
p such a condition continues, it is yer
pit likely that no more than one man
III 30 or 40 will be killed. That seen
tie fully enough, but the mother at hon
he should remember that II men out {
IN | every thousand. at the army age, d
e. each year during peace time; that |
no one man out of SO dies each year
he civil life.
st Figuring deaths from both diseas,
e. and wounds, under conditions such I
rs our boys are likely to encounter al
young man is only about three tim
es- as likely to meet death in the arm
re- as at home. In fact, man In u
he heavy artillery is in no more dang
of OF death than is an employe of
ell railroad.
on The person at home is prone to p
We ture the boy at the front as indulgi
Gu i'm constant charges against the er
tly my. exposing his life every hour
he the day Such is far from the ca'
err A mans turn to charge comes on
we or twice a month. Then. of cour
)ut he is in grave danger. But at 9th
to times. he is in on more danger
In death than he is walking about [
mt streets of New York city.
ort The. likelihood of death from =
Ills sonous gases has been reduced to
minimum by the use of masks. @
Get AZ the beginning of the war m
air. thought II smart not doning tn
1iO masks until the last instant; Il
ark think so no more. AS soon as Il
to get warning of a gas attack, Il
not don their masks instantly. They
now fighting with their heads as "
oot as their arms. and the result is gre
In er security.
,dq / .Nnw LOTS innt NJ thn nrohn hil