Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-01-13
DON'T GET FAT IF YOU
WOULD Be VERY OLD
Prohibition, However, ia Condu-
Give to Longer Span of Life,
Insurance Experts Say.

Out near Lexington, Ky, in a cabin
on the banks Of Greasy Creek, John
Shell, aged 1872, raid 20 be the oldest
person in the world, is entertai ning n
New York specialist who is preparing
book on longevity. For the benefit
Of science John Shell will yield up the
story OF his mode Of living his diet and
lifelong habits, and tell the specialist
how It happened TINT his span Of life
could embrace an acquaintance with
every President Of the United Stateal
n John Shell says be always smoked
and ohewed, spent an hour o day at
the woodpilc and read only a certain
kind oi literature. that will mean ono
thing # John Shell says he never heard
Of hobnailed liver or never drank 10
exoesa, ate beefsteak and ran for train
al at tho came time. that viii mean
something else. II John Shell can pro-
oluce family Bible showing ihe date Of hfs
birth. that wih be still another thing
But toll Johns story % the average
actuary of any big life insurance com
papy and he viii smile at ypu There as
no picture Of Ponce dc Lcon IN Tho act'i-
ary' Office But there is usually full
set of tho latest ccnrua reports and a
general air of YOU Il have 10 show me
actuarles and medical cxamincfs Tor lifo
insurance companies have long studied
At the present time a. Is estimated th :
therr arr around 1900 centnnrIans IA
this country There we're 3 SIS in 1910
Of persons oyer slcEty-iivr there arc about
$500 900 or - per cont Of the total
population Oddly enough, thle pcr-
contage has toen slowly increasing n
was 3 . per cent IN Spa and per cent
10 1000
OF this total over the agr ~ sixty-five,
~ ucr cent are white and IN Dcr cent
foreign born. OF the ccut4nariane, how
ever, NOR than ~ per ocnt were colored
persons, and All Investigations show
that lhe stated number Of centenarians
~ grossly exaggerated whirh does MT
argue well for one living ~ be 1872
years old
II j. usually explained that the oldest
persons arc almost invariably Negroes,
On the theory that with advanced age the
Negro docs rot actually know how old
he ls Then be takes pride IN his extreme
age and ryaggcrntes Thus old >nmbo.
who says he "a l2j years Old and saw
Gesrgc Washington whom he vas six years
old. always agrece when vnu eay, Then
you re really $50 years old lf YOU saw
Massa Washington. Sambn "Yassa,
dat right
Ilfn insurance 8ctuarios have plenty
If statistics On 7ld age but they have m
dictum regarding how 10 live to ~ i32
rcars old They 'rll you, Tor example,
that after 70 women 1--we longer than men
The first year ~ ONES life Is the most
dangerous. II you survive Won viii reach
the same death rate ~ the aVc nf 81 You
will have the least chance ~ diving be-
tween the ages of 10 and IL Women. "a a
rule, live longer than men. But life seems
70 lnse color after 65 Tho fact that 28
per cent of all persons over IS in this
country must depend upon charity fpr 4
living is emphasized hy the tart hat 36
persons out Of every 600 more than IS
years old take their own lives.
If i woman survives the period ri 10
10 90 and man the period from 30 10 60,
both are likely to live ~ a ripe old age.
AT IS Won have n chance 10 1--we an average