Newspaper Page Text
ALL
OVER.
Why So Many
Americans DIE
IN THE PRIME
OF LIFE
A STUDT of the vital statistics of the United Stairs
for the pant twenty-five years reveals the alarm
ing fact that the death rate for all ages over
forty-five la rapidly Increasing. In other wtrds, more
men and women are being cut o(T long before they
should, and our chances of living after 'we reach the
prime of life are growing steadily less and less.
That this .lamentable state of affairs is one which
Could undoubtedly he remedied by radical changes in
our manner of living is proved by a comparison of our
own death rates wdth those of other countries.
In England, In Wales and In Sweden the death rates at
all ages show a marked decrease. In the United States,
on the other hand, the rates show a decrease only for
ages under forty-five year*. For all ages over forty-five
years there Is a steady iucrease In the percentage of
deaths.
Medical and surgical arience may well be proud of
what has been done to reduce the death rate In Infancy,
youth and early adult life. In these three periods tre
mendous gains in vitality have been made In the past
quarter century. Trench after trench Iihh been taken
from such malignant enemies of childhood and youth
as diphtheria, diarrheal diseases, typhoid fever, tuber
culosis and even pneumonia, long a stubborn fighter.
The lines of all these foes have been steadily pushed
backward and Ihelr ultimate control seems probable.
But front full maturity to old age, when death Is
Chiefly eatiHed by the breaking down or wearing out of
the vital organs, there la a different story to tell. The
How Our VITAL ORGANS WEAR OR “RUST” OUT FAR MORE QUtCKLY Than They Do if
Other Countries
Increases and Decreases in the Death Rates from Cer
tain Diseases in the United States from
1890 to 1900.
A—Tuberculosis; B—Pneumonia; C—Typhoid Fever; D—Liver and
Digestion; E—Apoplexy and Nervous System;
F—Heart; Q—Kidney and Urinary.
Increasing Death Rates at Ages over 45
in the United States —►
24 2534 35 44
Decreasing Death Rates at ages undtr45^
in the United States
Decreasing Death Rates at All Ages
in England and Wales —►
Diagram bnowmg How Unfavorable Is the Compari
son Between the Death Rates of the United
States and Those of England and Wales.
enemies of middle life and old age heart disease, apo
plexy, paralysis, Bright's disease of the kidneys and
cancer—are far from being conquered. In fact, as the
death rates show, they are steadily advancing their
lines.
It Is well known that cancer Is heavily on the in
crease, but not ao well known that the death rate from
diseases of the heart, blood vessels and kidneys has
practically doubled in Ibis country during the past
thirty years, while in (ireat Britain there has actually
been a slightly reduced mortality from these causes.
In 1813 between the ages of thirty and sixty, there
were 85.Out) deaths In the United States registration
area from these degenerative affections, exclusive of
cancer. This moans that for (he country at large there
is an annual loss of more than 130,000 citizens in the
prime of life. That most of these deaths were prema
ture and that 50 per cent of them could have been post
poned many years by early warning and guidance is r
conservative estimate, according to Ur. Eugene Lyman
Fish, of the Life Extension Institute.
Against this class of diseases American science has as
yet waged no systematic and persistent warfare. Tbe
lines of attack are not so simple and
direct as in the infectious and epi
demic maladies. We cannot vacci
nate an Individual against heart
disease, thickening of the blood
vessels or kidney trouble. To pro
tect a man against these maladies
we must study his personal needs
and perhaps remodel
istence.
his whole ex-
Nevertheless, distinct gains can
be made in combating these maladies
by following certain broad general
principles.
I
If a man asks, “How shall I live in order to avoid
these chronic degenerative diseases?" the general an
swer is, "Temperance all along the line—in eating,
drinking, working, playing and even in resting.’’ It is
possible to “rust out,” on the one hand, or to “wear
out” on the other.
But what Is temperance for one may be excess for
another. Hence the most important step in protecting,
against degenerative maladies Is to have a thorough
physicial examination at regular Intervals—at least once
a year—so that Jife may be regulated according to one's
physical equipment.
The chief factors in developing these chronic mala
dies of the vital organs may be classified as follows:
Overeating, especially of meat and 'of rich, highly
seasoned foods.
Too little exercise.
Too much exercise; prolonged, exhausting manuj
labor or athletic excess.
Abuse of alcohol and tobacco.
The diseases of vice
Hard work, in which one has an interest, not carriei
to the point of undue strain or Interference with th(
normal sleep, exercise, diet, etc., is not in Itself harmful
Overstimulation of any kind, excessive emotional ex
eltement and prolonged mental strain may, however
cause the human mechanism to break down instead ol
running down.
“Lobslded” brain work and bad mental hygiene—i e.,
too much work, too little play or too much play, too
little work, are important factors in bringing on prema.
ture disease. The brain worker needs some physical
work and mental play. The manual laborer or mechaniq
needs some physical play and mental work.
Many of the chronic degenerative disease of adun fifj/
are due to persistent insidious infection hy various
forms of bacteria. These bacteria find lodgment in dis
eased gums and tooth sockets, naval cavities, tonsils
and other localities favorable for the development of
germ life. From these localities they move out into ths
circulation and into the tissues, like submarines from a
base of supply, attack various organs and often causa (
troubles in the heart, kidneys, blood vessels, stomach,
gall bladder, appendix and joints. Sluggish, dammed-up
bowels are also often a source of chronic infection and
poisoning that gives rise to circulatory and kidney
affections.
The remedies are, after all, simple, namely: Periodio
examination to determine the physical condition and
any possible source of infection; removal of Infection;
and then regulation of living habits so that the individ
ual may, so far as possible, be adjusted to hts life work
or his life work adjusted to his physical capacities.
SITTING
IN BLEACHERS Almost as Good
Exercise for You as PLAYING BASEBALL
What MASSAGE Will Do for FLOWERS
F
E VEN women with su artistic sense often find It
difficult to arrange flowers for a dinner, owing
to the fact that the growth of tlie blossoms does
not harmonize with the plan. The trouble may arise
from a natural fault, which can be put right by ar
tificial means.
In this connection few people understand tlie value of
flower massage, an idea which has been fully developed
in Japan. The wonderful flower artists of that country
are able lo turn the stem of a blossom in au.v desired
direction. The method may be readily applied lo all
plants with succulent stems, such us hyacinths, fillips,
narcissi and llllias in general.
Take a vase foil of tulips, In which one or two of the
blooms have grown so awkwardly that, however they
are placed, they 4o not seem to fit Into the plan. Noth
ing in the way of forcing should be attempted. The
only plan ie by very gentle rubbing and bending to turn
the stalks in the desired direction.
Always rub up to the flower head, and divide the
massage Into two or three periods of a few minutes.
At the end of this time the stalk will have taken on
the desired turn, and the whole appearance of the
flower will be entirely natural. Bends and twists in the
stem may often be taken away by massage, although if
the deformities are bad. more lime must be allowed.
In tile case of flowers with woody or fibrous stalks,
massage cannot be followed with much hope of success.
Here we must take up a different method. If any sort
of force is used, it is likely that the stalks will be
broken.
A very Ingenious method or keeping the flowers in
Ihe desired position Is by tying them with pieces of
cotton. Thus a wayward stalk may be drawn toward
another, and the cotton will never show, if you are
careful to have It. match the prevailing lint.
When the stems of flowers are too short till the vase
up to the necessary height with damp sand and push
I lie short stalks Into this.
During the daytime almost auv nice arrangement of
flowers will look effective on the table, but with ar- ‘
tlflcial light the case Is altogether different, (leneraliy 1
speaking, no dark shades look well at night, and yellow ‘
is not always satisfactory. Bright mauves and pinks <
always give a very fine appearance, and some of the <
prettiest dinner tables bava been decorated with these
shades.
Flowers for the table should- be arranged some hours
before the meal, as many kinds of, blooms may droop
for a while. The cause of this is often traceable to the
stems being tightly pressed together in the vase. The
remedy is to plunge the stalks into water which is not
far short of boiling for a few momenta.
By William Lee Howard, M. D.
’ ATHERS, sons, sisters, the
whole crowd of spectators un
consciously derive physical
benefit from watching a game of
baseball.
The red-hot fan gets about as
much physical exercise as the play
ers. While this does not apply to the
big muscles of the limbs, it does ap
ply to those small and frequently
underdeveloped muscles of the lung
box, the arteries, veins and the tiny
brain vessels; for remember that the
flow of blood depends upon Ihe con
dition of the little muscular tissues
of these organs. That is, Ihe more
active 'and developed these little
muscles are, the better the flow of
blood throughout the system.
About as good a thing as 1 know
of to prevent the onset of arterioscle
rosis hardening of the arteries—is
to cultivate the habit of going to a
good game of baseball and letting
your enthusiasm roar out at umpire
or player.
The psychic excitement fs the
o,ause of the healthful influence ex
erted upon the spectators. The
mind ana nervous system are keyed
til) to the exploding point by antici
pation and absorbing interest. This
opens the arteries and veins, keeps
the heart rhythm vacillating and the
nervous system active Every fan
is in a better mental condition after
toe game is over. Taere is real
physical relief following.
The howling, yelling crowd of
young and old; their Jumping and
wild gesticulating efforts, the explo
sions of disgust or joy, the coining of
crude terms and monitory exple
tives are only expressions of normal
physical energy. And the man with
out this reserve force of energy—
the individual without enthusiasm, is
in a sad plight.
All this howling enthusiasm seen
at games opens the lungs. Fresh
oxygen rushes in and worry, hatred
and business anxieties are tempor
arily forgotten. Fresh, red blood
reaches the brain cells—man is
again in his primitive state, for
watching physical contests between
men absorbs all other worldly in
terests.
All the howling, discussion, dis
pute, joy and frolic are merely bene
ficial expressions of human enthus
iasm—the necessary outlet of sup
pressed forces. This produces a
form of harmless intoxication where
every artery, vessel and muscle can
respond to tension and flushing, en
larging the calibre of blood vessels
anti forcing the blood to irrigate
newly forming fibres and cells. The
ductless glands are stimulated end
pour into the blood their energizing
forces.
To witness a hotly contested game
: - a great feeding process, and the
psychic activities respond tp the nor
mal stimulus. In fart it produces a
general purging of all the organs.
For the genuine fan a good game
fs better than a dose of salts. For
the tired and worried man it is equal
to a drink of whiskey without this
poison's injurious effects.
The witnessing of playful but
serious contests of men rejuvenates
the body, lungs; brings new ideas
surging through tbe mind, increases
brain tissue; aids In decent living.,
Are the BEST BRAINS USUALLY INSIDE THE BALDEST HEADS?
W HAT ought to be a good deal
of consolation for ihe bald-
headed Is supplied by the
scientific theory that the best brains
are found Inside Ihe baldest beads,
and that Ihe superman of the future
will undoubtedly be an absolutely
hairless creature. In short. Ihe
familiar saying that “brains and hair
nevpr go together” Is now believed to
he more a fact titan an idle Jest.
l)r. V. T. Ewari. a Scotch scientist,
Is one of ihe authorities wlio hold
this ties-. His researches have led
him to believe that the loss of hair
,.n man s head and other parts of his
body is a certain Indication of Intel
lectual progress. "This fact," lie
maintains, “explains to some uxteut
the baldness which Is always so
prevalent among college professors
and members of learned societies"
According lo researches made by
Dr. Ewart the presence or down or
soft hair upon the newborn baby in
dictates that man or his primitive
ancestor was born hairy and re
mained thus wild ami woolly all bis
life.
in the Infancy of tbe race, and be
fore man began lo conquer the earth
from (lie Equator to the Arctics, a
complete covering of liair on Ihe
human skin may have been a most
useful protection, belli from moisture
•and from cold How modern man
gradually rid himself of tills hirsute
covering ami supplied himself with
artificial, instead of this natural
clothing, is a problem.
The followers of Darwin still main
tain that 1 tie whole change lias come
•about by natural selection, the sur
vival of tbe fittest, and other factors
of evolution. Zoologists, who are
more modern, take Into account the
newer laws of heredity, such as ttie
inheritance of a true line of people,
wlio suddenly aprung Into creation
without hairs and passed ibis higher
stage of human development oil to
future generations.
Dr. Ewart holds that gradually, as
human intelligence became better ap
plied, men, by mating, selected wives
whose sklus were smoothest) and
these iu turn chose husbands with
tbe least hairy clothing. The upshot
of tills was to produce offspring with
less and less hair between the neck
and feet, and the Intelligent choice of
vegetable ami animal substitutes for
garments.
Darwin held that, since women of
ail races are less hairy below the
neck than men, it is proper to con
clude that women hundreds of thou
sands of years ago were the first sex
to be divested of Itatr. Thus they
obtained an advantage In the eyes of
their masculine admirers.
With modern man the sense of )
feminine beauty is intimately inter- £
woven with woman's smooth skin.;
Man long ago decided tiiat hairless s
cheeks and a flesh uncovered with)
hair are necessary to Ihe ideal mate, s
Tims It came to pass that tbe female ;
offspring without hair except on the i
head and eyebrows—became Ihe-
mothers of a pure line like them-1
selves, while the hairy woman re
uialued a bachelor maid.
The bearded lady in (lie side show,
(he Siamese hairy families, and
women with superfluous hair on the
lips are anything but attractive to
men. On the other hand, the beard
adds virility and power to the ap
pearance of man, atnl thus becomes
an allurement to womankind. Beards
fully developed or partially so in
women revive the old prejudice that
their possessors are deformed, men
tally or morally, as well as physically.
The Inner meaning of llie modern
mode of clean-shaven faces for men
is, Dr. Ewart says, a transferred one.
Tiiat is to say, it is deceptive. The
mustache and whiskers are a constant
emblem to women that a man Is a
virile, vigorous power, which scorns
her, If she fails to be feminine and
smooth skinned, and to realize her
need of a protector.
SCIENCE NOW KNOWS-
When You May Die of Cancer.
T HE chances of a person's dying of cancer before the age of thirty years ,
are very small indeed. It is estimated that 97 per cent of the persons
who die of this disease are over thirty and that 90 per cent of them are
over forty.
Judging Cloth by the Noise It Makes.
T HE ear can be trained to accustom Itself to the sound of the tearing ol f
various materials. The noise accompanying the tearing of cotton is ' 4
unlike that of linen. The warp has its voice and the filling quite another,
the former being shrill while the latter is apt to be dull.
How Hot Top Hats Are.
T ESTS with thermometers have been made to show how unhygienic men'l
top hats are. A thermometer kept in a top hat showed an inside tem
perature of 90 degrees when the outer afr stood at 77 degrees and of 108
degrees when the temperature rose at noon to 90 degrees. In the evening
there was a temperature outside of 6S degrees and inside ot 88 degrees.
Fewer Germs on Linen.
E XPERIMENTS have shown that germs do not Increase as rapidly on
linen as on wool, silk and cotton. This is why it is of so much valua
in surgical use and why many persons think it the most hygienic undejv /
wear. ’
How Many Languages There Are.
M ORS than four thousand languages are spoken throughout the world,
Including dialects, it is estimated that mere are more than 200,000
varieties of human speech.
What a Man Eats Every Year.
I T is estimated that the average man consumes a ton of solid and liquid
food every year.
How Much Land There Is,
I F all the land now above sea level, 25,000,000 cubic miles, were spreatj
uniformly over the globe, it wojjld form a shell about 660 feet thick.
PULLING A WIRE STAPLE from a MAN’S LUNG
(
W‘
“RICKETY” BABIES Need MORE AIR
R !
lOKETS Is one of the most sprlous diseases which
threaten young children. It used to be thought
that it was caused by Improper or insufficient
lood. Now. however, science believes tiiat among civ il-
aed peoples It is probably brought on by lack of fresh
llr, sunshine and exercise
Recent Investigations in the poorer sections of T-ondon
ind other large cities show that the smaller the amount
of air space allowed to each child the more cases of
rickets.
Probably the want of sufficient fresh air acts in a
twofold manner, in the first place, the absence of pure
sir will act as a sedative and tend to make the child
less inclined for exercise, if a child Is confined to the
Souse it is more easily tired, is less active and wishes
to go to bed earlier, so that the living in overcrowded
moms acts just in an opposite manner to taking the
Child out. Again, It 1b not unlikely that in overcrowded
Souses the amount of work that devolves on the mother
will hinder her from attending properly to the child.
Closely allied to the above is the amount of time that
the child spends In the open air. In the larger propor
tion of the cases the mother confesses to not taking
ihe child out ftt all. These two factors, confinement
i _
and deficient fresh air, act by making the child more
lethargic, and less inclined to exercise itself, although
it Is quite possible that deficient oxygenation of the
blood Itself helps to produce the condition known as
rickets.
English scientists who made these discoveries felt
convinced that rickets would doubtless be found ex
ceedingly prevalent in the cold northern countries,
where people are confined In small, badly ventilated
houses and'deprived of aunshine for long periods. But,
curiously enough, a fairly extensive search through the
diaries and Journals of travelers in Iceland, Greenland
and Alaska failed to reveal a single suggestion that
rickets is ever encountered. It therefore seems proba
ble that centuries of existence under unsanitary condi
tions have rendered the people of the cold northern
countries Uumune to rickets.
The excellent results which follow the treatment of
rickets with massage, passive movement and electricity'
are considered strong additional proof that lack of fresh
air and exercise is the cause of the disease. No variety
of dietetics or medicinal treatment brings about the
same rapid and complete cure. Under the newest meth
ods of treatment children are encouraged to walk, -with
out suffering any ill effects.
Copyright, ivl5, by the Star Company,
HILE at work on his farm a Kansas
man carelessly put a wire staple
Into his mouth. It was a staple
such as is commonly used In tending wire
fences, about an inch in length, a halt inch
in breadth and having two sharp pointed ends.
Something occurred to make blm start sud
denly and the staple was drawn down his
windpipe, it went down with the points
uppermost, finally lodging, as X-ray photo
graphs lafer revealed, in the lower lobe of
the right lung.
Local physicians were unable to remove the
intruder, and so, two weeks after the accident,
the farmer went to Pittsburgh to consult Dr.
Chevalier Jackson, a surgeon who had had
considerable success in solving similar prob
lems.
Dr. Jackson, by an operation more difficult
than any of this kind yet performed, suc
ceeded In removing the staple not only with
out injury to the man's lung, but without
shedding a drop of blood. His account of the
achievement, as given in the Journal of the
American Medical Association, is an excel
lent example of the patience and ingenuity
which spell success for the modern surgeon.
"nje first step was the making of a series of
X-ray photographs of the lung These showed
that the staple had worked down by a ratchet-
like movement deep into the lung. Every
breath favored its going still deeper, but was
powerless to force the Intruder back because
ot the immediate catching of one or both
points.
An instrument called a bronchoscope was
introduced down the patient's throat and into
the lung. This revealed the staple tightly
wedged iu the smallest lung passage it could^
enter and with both points concealed in'
swollen mucous membrane. To pull on such
a body would mean the ripping of the bron
chial wail and certain death to the patient;
and the metal was too tough to bte bent,
sprung or broken, as is often done with a
safety pin.
Working the body sjlghtly downward with
a forked rod passed through the broncho
scope, the points were liberated. The staple
was slightly rotated with forceps so as to
bring the points in new placeB. With the
combined use of hooks, side-curved forceps
and the lip of the bronchoscope, the Btaple
was gradually, after many sltppings-back,
manipulated less than half an Inch upward to
a place where a pair of suitably apaced ori
fices of branch lung passages were available
for the admission of the points.
The curved end of the staple was seized
with rotation forceps which form an eye on
closing. Counter pressure being made with
the bronchoscope lip on the two points, the
latter were guided into the branch orifices as
traction with the forceps caused the staple to
turn over, loop-end upward. The staple being
much too large to enter the bronchoscope, the
loop was held against the bronchoscope tube-
mouth, the points trailing harmlessly behind,
while the bronchoscope, forceps and staple
were all withdrawn together.
The operation lasted an hour and twenty-
one minutes and almost all this time was con
sumed in the delicate task of raising the
staple the one-half Inch necessary to find a
8afe resting place for its points.
Great Britain Rights Reserved.
How the Staple Was Removed.
Fig. 1: H—Bronchoscope; A—Points of Staple Imbedded
In Swollen Mucous Membrane.
Fig. 2: The Staple (E) Haa Been Manipulated Upward
(from D to E) Until the Polnta Are Opposite the Branch
Bronchial Orifices (B and C)
Fig. 3: Traction In the Direction of the Arrow (F) and
Counterpreeeure on the Points of the Staple Permit the
Points to Enter the Branch Bronchi and the Staple to
Be Turned Over.
Fig. 4: With the Points Trailing Harmlessly Behind the
Staple It Drawn Out.
Fig. 6: Actual 8lze of the Staple Which Wes Turned
Over While imbedded in a Man’t Lung and Removed
Sloodlessly Through the Mouth.
I