Evening star., 1941-11-15
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Rerry.

Americas birth rate is rising and her
death rate falling.
This is the conclusion of the United
States Public Health Service from pre-
l1minary data obtained from 80 States,
which In the past have reflected accu-
rately the trends for the country as a
whole.
The mortality rate for all causes per
1000 population, statistics for the first
six months show, is Ill, compared with
11.3 for the same periods in 1899 and
1910. Small as this seems, it means that
5000 fewer persons have died.
The birth rate has increased approxi-
| mately one per 1000, from 1876 to ia.
| This is reflected strikingly in the rate
| OF increase of the American population
6.3 per thousand per year compared
with 5.3 for each of the two preceding
| years.
The slight death rate decrease is be-
lieved by Public Health Service statis-
ticians to be due largely to the great
| decline in deaths from pneumonia due
| to the various sulfa drugs and improved
| serums. While these had been avail
able during the two preceding years,
| physicians have acquired greater skill
| in their use.
There also have been very slight re-
| ductions in deaths from some of the dis
| eases of adult life such as cerebral
| hemorrhage and heart and kidney dis
| orders. Small as the decrease has been,
it is considered very encouraging be-
cause hitherto these rates constantly
have been on the increase.
This has not, however been particu-
larly healthy year and the gains have
been almost offset by deaths from other
causes. The influenza rate has been 20
per cent higher and the measles rate
six times as high as in 1910. Neither of
| these maladies, however, has appeared
| in a particularly virulent form Death
rates from cancer and tuberculosis
| showed very slight increases.
A disturbing factor is the increase
In deaths from accident-possibly a re-
| fection of the increasing nerve strain
OF the people and the pressure of war
industries. The rate started to go up
last year and this year is running 4
| per cent higher. Fatal automobile acci-
| dents show an increase of Is per cent.
The infant death rate was precisely
the same as in 1910. Maternal mortality,
| however. continued to show decided
| decease. approximately three mothers
| died per 10000 births, decrease of 20
| per cent below the rate for last year
| - &4H
DroughtS sufficient to ruin agriculture
and make the country uninhabitable for
| farmers devastated the Western plains
| specifically large areas of Kansas and
NebraSka-long before the days of the
| first white settlers.
| This is shown by recent archaeological
| Investigations summarized by DR.. Waldo
| R. Wedel, Smithsonian Institution arche-
| ologist.
| The first white expedition to cross
| this region was that of the Spanlard
! Coronado. He found it sparsely in
| habited by Indian tribes who lived chiefly
| by hunting. Excavations of village sites
| however, show that these were relatively
latecomers and that they had been
| preceded, perhaps over period of close
| to thousand years, by agricultural
! peoples, living in established villages. and
depending only secondarily on hunting
for a livelihood
| Periods of occupancy are separated by
layers of accumulated dust. This has
led to the conclusion that, just as
through the thirties, farming was rem
| oered impossible by drought, and the
Indians obliged to abanf IN their settle
ments just as thousands of white families
have been forced to migrate.
DR.. Wedel presents critical evaluation
of the evidence The tragedy which
came with the recent droughts has been
| attributed to unwise extension of inten-
sive agriculture into areas untitled for
it. This hardly could be attributed to
the Indians. They were, at the best, only
small-scale farmers with simple stand
| ards of living Their farms, judging
| from historical observations in the re-
| gion, were only fair r-sized gardens, culti-
waited largely by women. Droughts have
usually been of short duration.
Still, DR.. Wedel concludes, the previous
deductions of archeologists probably are
true A few rainless years would have
made the agricultural ways of life i'm
| possible and would have forced the
native farming tribes to retreat east.
ward
| Four distinct cultural periods have
been traced-each followed by periods
| of dust deposition. The last may not
have long preceded the coming of the
white men.
1T need not be assumed concludes
DR.. Wedel, that any major climatic
change or permanent deslccatlon has
taken place in the Central Great Plains
within the span of time represented by
the various pottery-making groups resi-
dent there within the last eight or ten
| centuries. In all likelihood, however
shorter or longer periods of deficient
rainfall have occurred repeatedly in pre-
| ~