New Britain herald., 1927-12-30
1928 BABIES LIVES
 EXTENDED 40 DAYS
Advantages Come From Efforts
 to Prevent Disease


 q lower death rate than any of it's predecessors and a longer eNpectan- cy of life than has ever been known
 in the history of the world, accord . ing to q symposium compiled by the Milbank Memorial Fund. with offices at 4j Wall street.
 In this symposium, says q state ment issued yesterday by John A kingsbury. secretary of the fund, noted authorities give the babies to be born in 1928 an expectancy of 1927 babies. although they concede hat the year just ending has en- loved all unusually low rate of nor tality.
 Based on statistics of past dec ades,' said Mir. kingsbury, the baby To be born in 1928 is promised 40 more days of life than the baby born in 1927. according to Edgar Syden- 5tricker, statistician of the United states Public Health Service The baby to be born in the new year. Mr. Sydenstricller said, is promised len years more of life than his fla ih"r had a right 10 expect, and near " twenty years more than his grand father hoped to live.
 This advantage which the 1928 taby will have says Mir. Syden- strickor, is on the nature of dvi- dend from an investment which his 'orebcars made in an effort to pre- vent the diseases which kill children mil which shorten the lives of adults.
 Dividend Of 40 Days
 While difficult to estimate, be- cause of fluctuations from year tu year, this dividend should be approx inately 40 days, this being the average rate per annum of increase in life expectation American babies have enjoyed over a considerable period of years. according to the vi tal s,atisticians, who are our book keepers of life. While 1t is danger GUS to make precise predictions as 10 the future with respect to life prolonGation. barring unforeseen conditions, the year 1928 holds out the promise of q lower death rate than ever before and a longer eX- rectation Of living than has ever beer known in tho history of the world
 Citing the increasing attention being given 10 tha public care of health and the spreading of medical Knowledge as factors which have al ready helped to add many years 10 the Americans average life eXpec- tancy, Dr. William II. Welch, dean emeritus, School Of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins uni versity, himself approaching the age of so, sees no reason why twenty years cannot be added 10 the aver age span of life.
 Life has been lcnCthened matc- ! rially, even in tho last twenty years. ! says Dr. Nelch. The death rate in i New York state has in the last forty i years been reduced from 24 to l2 | ger 1000. Cutting the death rate in : half means the saving of thousands 1 of lives yearly
 Sees Longer Life Possible
 The present death rate can he further reduced and more years can be added to the average life-span of man. in Dr. Wclchs opinion, by the utilization of recently. acquired | knowledge, close application of the accepted principles of hygiene and improved working and home condi- tions. If Is through the accun,ua~ tion of small injuries that constitll- tions are constantly undermined and break down before their time. Dr f Welch says. He adds;
 If we call to mind how far tho II average duration of life falls below Il the possible duration, we see how Il immense is the loss When 10 the II numerous partial deductions which II had health entails we add this great I final deduction, 1t results that ordl- narily more than one-half of life IS thrown away. Could we but add 10 our present years the hours. weeks and months Of impaired health need lessly suffered, many of us would, II within sevsral decades. find our selves living to be a hundrcd.'
 The tremendous loss to tho na- ton, calculated in dollars. through the preventable deaths of 120,06o babics each year is set forth by Dr, Louis | Dublin statistiCian. Metro- rolitan Life Insurance company. as one reason for acceloratiug public health activities in the nation " ido effort 10 promote life expectancy. I Placing q capital value of moro than S9,000 on these babies if they are boys. and of 500 if they arc girls, Dr. Dublin points out that every year moro than three c-quaiters of q bl- lion dollars are lost from this pre- ventable infant mortality.
 Loss in PrcyCntablc Deaths "Dr. Dublin estimates that tho asgro gate preVcntable deaths annu- ally cost the nation over six billions of dollars, and that the elimination of the factors responsible for these deaths will not only save the nation this annual loss but raise the aver age expectation of life nearly ten { years. an average duration of life V hiCh he believes is entirely possi- ble for the American people. "Less than fifty cents per capita probably represents the total cXpen-