Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-07-07
Stretching the Life Line
BY Frederic J. Hsskin

and ten, because you live In . healthier
century OF course, you may depart this
life suddenly before your time by getting
in the way Of n rapidly travelling auto, or
as result of an insignificant PIN scratch.
But barring accident, the chances OF liv-
ing to grow old gracefully are getting better
every day.
Two hundred years ago, tho average
person lasted only twenty years on TINS |
danger-lnfcsted globe. Half a century ago, |
the average life line had stretched to forty
wears. and now il is estimated to have
reached fifty years. IL is true that IN the
davs when germs fourishcd unmolested
some folks lived To be one hundred years
and more, but babies died by the thou
sand and surgery was in the saw ana
hammer stage when to perform a major
opcrat,on was practically murder. Today,
II YOU get stabbed in the heart n surgeon
coollv opens YOU up, takes out your heart
in his hand, repairs it and sows IT IN as
good as ever. =.
Improved sanitation and scientific war
on mosquitoes, flies and rats, are recent
dcvelopements which are making lie
safer. So are anti-toxins, vaccination,
anesthetics, antiseptics and public health
education. But along with our hrmer
grin on Father Times cont-talls, we are
old age diseases. The Public Health Service
reports that never before have there been
so much heart trouble, cancer. chrome
Brigh.s disease, and artery troubles,
largely because never before have there
been so many elderly people.
DISEASE STARTS IN YOUTH.
In time. no doubt, We will attack these
diseases Systematically III youth whch
n. Il M n
stance that 10000 school children IN
New York CITY have evidences of heart
disorder. and this knowledge has led to
spocial attention TO their teeth and ton
sils diet and exercise Many OF these chll-
drcn live IN five-story walk up teno-
mcnts. which accounts in some cases Tor
symptoms of strain.
H. is suggested that pupils with weak
hearts should be put IN separate schools
where their health could bc more care
fully watched than in the regular pubic
school buildings. Onc-hfth OF the deaths
over forty wears are due 10 heart failure,
though n large proportion of heart trouble
Is preventable, or curable # taken IN time,
Is old age n disease2 what causes itT and
finally and most important, - IT prevent
able are questions which have been answer
cd in many ways. but 70 which conclusive
answers are still being sought.
1t isa well-known fact that old age y
usually accompanied by hardened m-
,eriey. stiff joints, loss oi faculties and gen
| eral debility But these conditions DO
mi inevitably occur Thomas Edison,
Who il seventy-three. and who hopes to
| live to see one hundred and fifty, says that
| because he sticks to q spare diet his ar
| teries arc as soft az i'll hoyhood Most oi
| MS have known people of moro than eighty
/ wears who were more spry and mentally
| alert than others Of sixty. These people
/ seem to offer greater resistance to disease
| due to strong constitution and healthy
| habits of life
LONG LIFE HTREDITARY.
! DIR Alexander Graham Bell who has
collected data regarding 5000 persons
who lived to bc eighty wears or over,
| concludes that these characteristics are
| often handed down so that longevity be-
| comes a family trait He believes that
longevity should be cultivated as IT has
| been in the HYDE family noted for consis-
tently long lives through many generations
| DIR. Bell s plea IN short. rs for healthier
race which will have long life as one of the
| signs of its vitality.
No practical method of preventing
senilitv has ever been discovered Mech
nikohs idea that # mans long IN
tcstlne. which is a great collector Of germs
were cut out. he would stand good c ance
Of greatly extended youth, has lost favor,
Those who have attained 20 vigorous
old age furnish theories that arc at least
more practicable though less sensational
Most very old people are proud OF then
antiquity and like TO hand their recipe
on to posterity Up to seventy, age Is q
] L 4 ,7npufbl. hat N hnY
the Bible limit is passed safely, and the
elderly person feels as fit as ever, he be-
gins to take pride in himself as sort oi
conuueror of time He develops a phll-
osophv as a guide for others, the only
difficulty being that few of the guides
agree,
Thus, many centenarlans advise those
who would emulate their achievement TO
get plenty of sleep-meaning eight TO
twelve hours at night, and few maps IN
your spare time in the day. But along
comes some other old age authorities,
Edison. for example, who hold that six
hours of sleep in twenty-four will give the
best results.
MANY ancient sages think that only
total abstinence from drinking and smok-
ing keeps them youthful, though occa-
sionally an expert OF equal longevity
takes issue with them There was still living
not long ago a woman known to be ll3
wear old VINO had been a devotee of the
corncob pipe for ninety years.
ONIONS PRESERVED BIER.
One old lady who reached 107, LEFT
word for posterity that onions did it
one at every meal no matter whethe
company was coming or not. An old maj
concluded that only by refusing to kls
or be kissed had he kept his vigor to 100
Most centenarians, however, agree tha
, simple food, enough sleep fresh air, and I
calm temperament are the prime factor
! in warding off old age. Apparently tn
i only thing to do is to work out your Owl
: plan Then if you live to 100 or so you cal
, brag about your system If your system
fails nobody can say to you, Il told yo'
, so, anyway which is one comfort.
, 1t is not of great Importance TO the rae
to devlop q half dozen centenarians or
single duocentenarian except that the.
| are an indication of the possibilities c
i. resisting disease. 1t is a more significan
| achievement, so far as the race ls concern
ed, to increase the period of maximum
usefulness, TO produce men who will a
sixty have the vitality which their father
had at fifty And that is being done
. not by startling fountain-of-youtht theorle
but by the steady advance in health stano
ards and intelligent use OF modern di'
T coveres.