Evening star., 1937-12-19

III
M gift of science to the United
W. States alone since the American
' L Revolution.
1t is twice as many years as the total
since Time itself began, when the planet
earth was tossed into the cold of space
from the white-hot sun.
A child born $50 years ago could expect
to live from 80 to IS years Some. of course,
would survive only few hours. Others
would be alive at 100 But the average was
only about three decades.
A child born seven years ago could ex-
peet to live from 50 to 63 years. girl
baby four years longer than a boy.
That Is, the average length Of life has
increased by approximately rs years
There are 125, 1000, 600 Americans. It figures
out more than 1000, 600 900 years for the
generations now living, and 1t has been a
cumulative process for almost century.
! Coins Of Time.
One might think of these years as
great river of coins pouring out of the mint
that makes Time-the endlessly whirling
machine of star systems and universes that
cuts and polishes little chunks of eternity
and stamps them with the eagles and In
L
coins have all sorts of values, although all
are of the same size. A few are coppers
Of age-swiftly fleeting years, heavy to
carry, which buy little of pleasure or ac-
complishment. But wo-thirds of them are
the pure gold pieces of childhood-long,
long years with infinite purchasing power.
For mans life is like meteor falling from
star, gathering momentum and heaviness
IL tho rfh uybo mil
The figures are from the statistics of
Harold F. Dorm Of the United States Pub
lie Health Service. In sense it is an old
story. For the past half century stats
ticians have been noting steady increase
in the average length Of life and life in
surance has been getting cheaper Mr.
Dorn's figures make it more specific. Here
are some Of his findings:
The increase in expectation Of life since
1900 is equal to the increase in the last
100 years.
Since 1920. the gains have been chiefly
for white males under 80 and white females
under TO- That is, man Of 40 has no
reasonable expectation of any more addi-
tional years than he would have had in
1915.
A colored baby has a much better chance
Of living to maturity, but the life expectancy
Of a colored adult, male or female, is not
quite so good as it was 20 years ago.
The average length Of life Of the city
dweller, with the advantages Of medical
care, comfort and sanitation. has increased
much more since 1900 than the average
length of life in the country. But at the
start of this period city life was shorter.
1t has almost, but not quite, caught up.
Midwest Promising.
A good way to live longer is to be born
in North or South Dakota, Kansas, Ne
braska or Oklahoma-and to stay there
Here is an opportunity for vaudeville
joke from which we forbear. The statistics
show that the expectation Of life in those
States Is almost 10 per cent greater than
for the United States as a whole. AS q
second choice one might pick Washington,
Oregon, Idaho, Montana, wyoming, Min
nesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wiscon-
sin, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky,
Alabama or Mississippi. AL the other
States are below the Nations average
The increase has been due in part to
advances in medical science. An enormous
number Of young adults are alive today
who, 80 years ago, would have succumbed
to diphtherla. Medicine has found ways
Of beating the childrens diseases, scythes
Of death for past generations. Babies are
better cared for both before and after they
come into the world.
Perhaps to an even greater extent, the
increase has been due to sanitation-to the
pasteurization Of milk, inspection Of meat,
publication of public water supplies, extern
sion Of sewage systems, and well-lighted,
comfortable schoolhouses and workshops.
The new science of public health takes
| rank beside the science of medicine in this
| great gift of life to America.
The figures apply, of course, only to the
average" number of years lived by the
individual. The span of human life has
not changed through the centuries. F'rob-
ably as many persons lived to be 90 in
ancient Rome as In Washington, D. c., in
the 20th century. Nobody knows exactly
what this span" is. Probably it Is about
| 100 years. The census Of 1880 showed 1884
| persons In the United States who had lived
century o. mare. The figures s.s open 10