The Evening Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1917-1920, 1918-12-05
MILLIONS Of YEARS
OF LIFE ARE STOLEN
Influenza Epidemic Discuss
ed at Meeting of Life O..
Insurance Heads.
WOULD STOP WASTE
Average Age of Those Who
Died From Epidemic
Was 80 or Under.
By United Press.

nation wide elimination of waste, bOtf
| of materials and human energy, the
relation of thrift to the recOnstruc'
ton problems now confronting the
country is being considered at the
two-days thrift conference which
opened in this city today in connec'
ton with the twelfth annual cOnven.
ton of the Association of Life lnsuf'
ance Presidents. Federal and State
Government officials, banking and 9th
er business executives, educators
medical experts and professional men
from all parts of the country are
uniting in the consideration of Thrift
and Freedom in Nation and World
with executives representing ninety
five percent of the thirty billions OF
outstanding old line life insurance in
the United States and Canada. Among
the latter are men from practically
every state in which a life insurance
home office is located. George B.
Stadden. of Springfield, Ill. is chair
man.
Millions of the best years of life
have been stolen by the recent cpl
demic of influenza" said Actuary Hen
ry Moir, of New York. in discussing
the epidemic waste of human life. By
means of figures taken from official
reports and also contributed by repre-
sentative life insurance companies re-
specting their death claims from in
fiuenza during the month of October,
Mr.. MOir. who is President of the AC-
tuarial Society of America, said he
had found that the average age of
persons who died from the epidemic
was thirty years or under, while nor
mally the average age at death of
such persons is fifty-five to sixty
years. Hence in every case of death
from the epidemic there has been on
the average loss of at least twenty
five years of youthful and midde-aged
life.
I'm order to determine the extent
and the effect of any epidemic" said
Mr. Moir, 1T is necessary that we
have a standard The mortality table,
with which actuaries have so much
to do is a simple and accurate meas
uring rod. 1t enables us to deter
mine skillfuliy whether or not the
people of today are enjoying more
years of life on the average, than
our ancestors. During the past three
years a committee of the Actuarial
Society has been occupied in prepar-
ing a new table for standard lives
in the United States. The work was
recommended by the National Con-
ventiOn of Insurance Commissioners,
which appointed a committee of five
actuaries of State Insurance Depart
ments to cooperate with the Actuar
ial Society. The American Institute
of Actuaries was also invited to ap-
point committee to join in the DELHI
eratiOns. These three several COM
mittees have been cooperating pleas
antly and the work, commenced in
1915 and covering a vast insurance
experience during the Is years end
During that time the United States
and Canada were not affected either
by war or by pestilence to any ap-
preciable extent Accordingly the
table should give us a means of meas
uring death rates under favorable
conditions of life, and the figures so
far available show without question
that the standards of health. especial
ly at the younger ages under so, are
much better than they have been at
any recorded time in the past"
Mr.. MOir then compared the NOR
tally from disease among soldiers
in training camps in this country be-
fore the recent influenza epidemic
with the mortality of men of equal
age in civil life as revealed by the
fifteen year experience of the life in
surance companies previously men
toned.
I'VE are all interested in the health
of our army, for all of us have rela-
tives or friends in service, and cpl
denies to which soldiers are liable
touch us closely" said Mr.. Moir. I'VE
should discuss not only the relative
health of the soldiers as compared
with former campaigns and com
mend those in charge for improved
but we should also study
the situation to see whether exist
ing conditions approach the ideal.
The young men have all been medi-
cally examined and re-examined since
the army was organized and subse-
quent to the declaration of war in
April, 1917. They are therefore of a
similar class to young men exam
ined and accepted for life insurance.
1t becomes desirable to compare deaths
young men in military life
with those of young men in their
homes and attending to their regular
business. The new mortality exper-
fence enables US to do this through
reports issued from the Surgeon-Gen-
erals Office in Washington dealing
with the year ending August 31st. |
1918.
You will be satisfied with the clean !
ress of our coal at 10 cents bushel. |
~ l.