The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1929-06-01

case as actually stated by the Metro
politan Life Insurance Company. For
the first quarter of 1929, its alcoholism
rate was 3.8 per 100000 policy holders as
compared with 80 in the same three
months of 1928 This gave rise in The
Spectator and the daily press to flaming
headlines as to an increase in alcoholic
death rate" The rate for three months
may or may not indicate higher alco-
holism mortality for the whole year of
1929 But even if it should continue at
this point of 38 throughout the year, the
Metropolitan death loss from alcoholism
in 1929 would still be 10 per cent lower
than the average annual rate of the
Company in the normal pre-prohibition
years, 1911 to 1917, in other words fewer
than 5 deaths where there the average
used to be over 6.
The Spectator reports q rise also in the
Metropolitan LIES death rate for cir
rhosis of the liver in the first quarter of
1929 as compared with 1928. But at that,
there were less than 2 deaths occurring
from this disease where there was an
average of in the Company's experience
from 1911 to 1917.
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Comparisons unfavorable to the United
States are made because the Canadian
politan Life Insurance Company have a
lower alcoholism death rate than the
American The Canadian rate in the eX-
perience of this company has always
been very low and it has not increased
since 1920 AS in the United States, the
rate is lower than it was fifteen years
ago.
Without more data than printed re-
ports available furnish, the precise rea-
son for this difference between Canada
and the United States can not be def
nitely explained It may be due to differ
ences in practice in reporting alcoholic
deaths in the two countries. 1t may be
due to differences in the type of popula-
tions which are insured, such as the pro-
portion of foreign-born among them, the
proportion of city jewellers, the proper
ton of negroes
City populations as a rule have higher
alcoholism death rate. The Metropolitan
policy holders "are essentially class OF
CITY dwellers" as they reside almost
wholly in cities" Statistical Bulletin,
July, 1926, November, 1929
Approximately fourth of the Amer1-
can policy holders live in New York, New
Jersey, Maryland and Pennsylvania
Statistical Bulletin, July, 1920. Three
cities alone in these states, New York,
philadelphia and Baltimore, contain
about as many people as the whole OF
Canada All of these states have strong
wet centers, all of them have an excessive
alcoholism death rate according to the
United States Census Bureau statistics,
and all of them have had larger IN
crease in alcoholism mortality since 1920
than the nation.
This concentration of fourth OF the
Metropolitan Life American policy hold
ers in this section may contribute some
what to the rate higher than the Ca
madam.
One other factor may have small in
f1uence. The Metropolitan Life has some
100000 negro policy holders OF whom
only about 1000 are in Canada. That is,
according to conditions three years ago,
one American policy holder in each was
a negro: only one in each IA in Canada.
There is a slightly larger proportion OF
negroes among the Metropolitan policy
holders than in the total population.
The American negro policy holder is
largely a city dweller both in the North
and in the South, thus subject undoubt-
edIy to the city alcoholism situation. The
negro alcoholism death rate in the Metro
politan Life experience is somewhat high
err than the rate for the whites, and has
shown more tendency to rise. For in
stance, for the three months period,
January to March, 1929, the white rate
was "a; it was 80 in 1925 with its peak
10 ~ IN 1905 The negro rate was IN