Evening star., 1941-06-19
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
BIZ Thomas r. Henry.

By Thomas r. Henry.
For the fourth successive year the
chief killers in the United States have
increased their toll.
The record, per 100000 of the popula-
ton, from 1886 to 1910. inclusive:
Diseases of the heart: 1883. 1852,
266.7, 1883, 2616.
Cancer: 117s. 1l44. 1l3, 1881, 1925.
Brain hemorrhage: ss5, 85.7. 1874, s44,
sS4.
Accidents: 7o3, 6S5, 696, 78.e, 83.9.
These are the preliminary statistics
compiled by the United States Public
Health Service on admittedly incomplete
returns for 1910. AS a rule, the report
says, figures made up at this time are
about as accurate as Census Bureau ones
issued months later.
There was a lower death rate during
the past year for all the so-called acute
diseases except infantile paralysis and
encephalitis, both of which are relatively
unimportant as causes of death. Espe-
cially noteworthy was the low mortality
rate for influenza and pneumonia in
spite of one severe epidemic. The rela-
tive number Of fatal pneumonia cases
has declined rapidly since the introduc-
ton of sulfanilamide and related COM
pounds-the death rate in 1910 being
only little more than half that re-
ported in 1896.
The four chief communicable diseases
of early Observation-Disclosures measles,
scarlet fever and whooping cought-were
about a fourth lower in 1910 than in
1889 Thirty-one of the States reported
lower mortality from tuberculosis than
the previous year. The maternal NOR
tality rate declined for the 18th sue
cessive year and for the entire group
of States it was only about two-thirds
that for 1896.
The gain during the two previous
years in lowering the death rate from
automobile accidents was wiped out COM
pletely in 1910. At the same time the
relative number Of other fatal accidents
increased. These reflected, on the whole,
improved business CODQll1OnS.
Only 10 States reported an increased
infant death rate. The rate for 1910
was 16 per cent less than that for 1896.
There was widespread increase in the
birthrate during the year. Thirty-three
States had higher rate than in 1899.
AS a result that rate of natural increase
of the population through births was 68
per 1000 population compared to ga for
193s
A new habitaJion site of ancient man
in America will be excavated this sum-
mer by DR.. Frank H. H. Roberts, jr..
srcheologist of the Smithsonian Institu-
tons Bureau Of American Ethnology.
The site is just south Of the town OF
San Jon, N. Mex, at the edge of the
staked plains. Shortly after the close of
the last ice age, the evidence indicates,
much of this area was covered by lake.
The lake bed long since has been COM
pletely filled in. Its location has been
revealed by an arroyo cutting back from
the Great Plains into the bluffs at the
staked plains.
There, some years ago, a local cowboy
found several curious projectile points
known to have been used by some Of the
earliest inhabitants of North America in
hunting animals which now are extinct.
The indications are that bands of hunters
camped year after year on the shores of
the lake
Preliminary Investigations conducted
by the University of New Mexico show
that the site is very promising. The
projectile points found are those of the
type known as Yuma They differ
slightly from the Folsom points which
have been found scattered widely over
the United States and. from previous
evidence gathered by Dr. Roberts. they
probably are somewhat later in time.
They belong, however, to the same gen.
eral period when the only human in
habitants of this country were nomadic
hunters, perhaps only few generations
removed from the original migrants from
Eastern Asia who were the ancestors of
the American Indians.
For the past six years Dr.. Roberts has
excavated a site in Colorado which ap-
parently was q summer camp used year
after year by Folsom hunters who fol-
lowed the retreated ice sheets to trail
the bison herds.
None of the bones found on the San
Jon site have been identified positively
as belonging to extinct mammals, but
their general pattern is close to that of
the remains found in the Folsom site.
While Yuma points have been found
distributed widely over the West, this
appears to be the first concentration of
them in a geographically datable site.
The University of New Mexico is CO.
operating in the project of turning over
its claim to the site and furnishing ad-
vanced students to aid in the excavations.
DR.. Kirk Bryan of Harvard University
will supervise the geological studies
necessary to proper dating of the de-
posits.
Believes Germans Misused
Brains" and Other Assets.