The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-12-07
TO REPORT ST
Selling Chri S t m a S Seals re a t e s t Killer Takes SecOnd Place-How Long Would You Live if You Knew Howl Is One More Apt to Be Killed by Him. self or by Another?

Christmas comes on winged feet. Mrs. Elmer H. Havens and her regiment of assistants are sell ling the Christmas seals for health; the finest Christmas gift anybody can receive.
 
 Merry ChristmasI Happy New Yearl The same to you and many of them" To live long and live we'll is the wish in every heart. The Christmas seal is a token that the wish will come true.
 The Christmas seal directs its millions multiplied Impact espec- ialIy against tuberculosis which was. upon a time. the greatest of the killers and even now. after years of struggle, the second greatest, taking yearly 99 in each 100000 insured persons; thus many who prematurely shuffle off this mortal coll.
 sss
 Comes the association of Life Insurance Presidents with addi- tional evidence that the fight is not in vain. They speak of the fatalities among 63.OOO,OOO policy holders in the United States and Canada, among whom the tuber- culosis rate has been , per cent lower than in 1921 which means 2,600 less deaths. What a triumph for public health work, for en- IIghtened social policy and phil anthropy.
 
 How long would you like to live? How long, in spite of evil dence. can you probably live? Some late, some early Expect ancy of life in America Is between 54 and 55 years. In New Zea- land, where conditions of life are more favorable, the expectation Is well over GO years.
 The life insurance presidents assert that with the medical and sanitary knowledge we have, the expectation of life can be made 65 years by establishing among us the best conditions of mortal ity. now prevailing in various parts of the world.
 Five years more for everybody is well worth thinking about. Working for and paying for Christmas seals. education in the schools, and public health service brings the longer life.
 How goes the battle for more health and more years2 The germ diseases. disease of anger. disease of melancholy and disease of reckleesness showed declining rates in 1922. Tuberculosis, scar let fever, whooptng cough. dip theria, meningitis in all its forms, show a declining rate. Suicide, disease of melancholy, decreased almost per cent; homicide, dis ease of anger, decreased II per cent.
 Another class of enemies of life, gre moro threatening. especially the so-caIled degenerative dis eases, such as Brights and or ganic diseases of the heart.
 For prevention of these diseases there Is needed more health education, more exercise, correct diet, some intelligence and a little self denial There must be some adjustment of environ ment, which needs united public action.
 Automobile accidents are a sad exception. They keep going up. The percentage of increase in 1921 was over per cent. Here is a question for the reader to ask himself?
 If one were asked to bet on the probability that a given insured person will kill himself. or be kill ed by the criminal purpose and act of somebody else. what should the odds be. as between suicide and homicide?
 Answer: two to one in favor Of suicide. For each 100000 per sons twelve deaths a year are self inflicted and six are because of greed. anger or hatred of some other person.
 Another wager might be made.
 
 will one more probably be kill cd in or by an automobile. by himself or by another?
 Automobile killings in number, are almost equal to seIf-killings and hence double the honnicides Some automobile killings are man