The Monmouth inquirer., 1926-11-11


ing the expectation of life in various countries of
the world show similar increases in the life span,
with the exception of India where the expectation
during the years 1SS1-1891 was about twenty-five
years and for the period 1901-1911 was about
twenty-five years.
ing healthier place to live in The limit set by
the psalmist is three score years and ten,. but
today it seems little feat at all to have ar
rived at your SEVENTEEN birthday.
The census of 1920 gave Uncle Sam 1851 sons
and 2,706 daughters at least hundred years
old. Some Of these undoubtedly were much be-
yond the century mark. but the makes
distinction between centenarians and supercen-
tenarians. AS far as the census is concerned, you
worthier of note at one hundred ten or
more than you are at hundred, unless Of
course, you are almost Methuselah and can prove
it.
Comparatively few of us study the census how
ever and when we hear of the existence Of CEN
tenarian it is usually that he she has just become
one, has celebrated a still later anniversary or
has died. Sometimes, observes ]. b. Glider in the
New York Times, he is person of more or less
note like the late ex-senator Cole Of California
who died at one hundred two, or the chairman of
the board Of the United States Trust company
who on August 20 celebrated his one hundred
fourth birthday.
Many Of the oldest folks in this country were
born abroad; goodly number Of the natiye-born
elders Indians negroes, which suggests that
dark skin constitutes protective coloring
point to be noted about all of them Is that the
number of their descendants is not, as a rule
exactly proportional to their age. Here, for ex-
ample is pioneer of Marquette, Mich, leaving
behind him, at one hundred two, a son and two
daughters while Tonawanda (Pa.) woman, dy-
ing the next day at only ninety, Is survived by
children unto the third generation and to the
number of ia
Notwithstanding the incontrovertible evidence
for cases of extreme longevity two English
writer's of note in the last century fit to ques-
ton the possibility of human life extending appre
Gladly beyond five score years. They had no other
but woman's reason They thought 1t so because
they thought 1t so.
The very oldest people-lke the wickedest--
are seldom to be found in our immediate neigh
borhood, or even in our own country Usually
they live very far away. Take Zorah Agrah, for
instance, q Kurdish porter resident In ConstantI-
nople we are told, for more than one hundred
twenty years, whose claim to date from November
TO- 1774 Is said to be supported by birth GER
tifcate and the testimony Of dozen old men that
he was an old man when they were lads Too
poor to buy much meat, he has relied chiefly on
dried legumes, bread, raisins, figs, honey, sugar
and tea. Water he sips occasionally but liquor
and tobacco he has always abjured.
Still further Off In the village Of Mochin Persia,
lives old woman who was discovered not long
ago BY the first census of that country, taken for
The benefit Of the American administrator OF the
national purse The Teheran correspondent Of the
London Daily Express reported In January that
this woman was then one hundred forty-six, and
that her son was one hundred seventeen We are
left In the dark to how they achieved their bur
den Of years
Even In America. however, one can live to be
fairly ED, Is was shown by Mrs. Keziah Elizabeth