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The Commoner
30
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Drink Shortens Average Life
(From the Philadelphia North Amer
ican.) Statistics showing many causes
that have shortened the lives of policy-holders
in the United States and
Canada In tho last twenty-five years
wore presented to tho recent conven
tion of tho Association of Life Insur
ance Presidents in New York city,
which for several years has been
studying ways and means to prolong
tho average span of life.
Indulgence in alcoholic beverages,
overeating and "undereating" were
among tho many reasons Indicated for
premature death among tho 2,000,-
ouu policyholders whose records were
placed in the investigation, which has
' just been finished. Emphasis was
placed on the fact that all the
lives involved in tho investigation
had been carefully examined by com
petent physicians, and that, in gen
eral, the more hazardous the occupa-
tlon, or the greater tho defect in phy
sical condition, in family or personal
- history, the more care was taken in
selecting the lives.
Arthur Hunter, actuary, of New
York, who reported these matters to
the association, is the chairman of
the central bureau of the medico-actuarial
mortality investigation, which
was conducted on behalf of forty
three leading life insurance compan
ies in tne united States and Canada.
"If the government of Russia car
ries out its present Intention to abol
ish permanently all forms of alco
holic beverages, the saving in human
, life will be enormous," said Mr. Hun
ter, in illustrating these new Amer
ican st tistics in their relation to tho
use of alcoholic beverages. "It is not
too much to say that the loss of 500,
000 men as the re..lt of the present
warfare could be madegood in less
than ten years through complete ab
stinence from alcoholic beverages by
all. the inhabitants of Russia."
The mortality investigation involv
ed ninety-seven groups of persons en
gaged in as many hazardous occupa
tions, and various other groups
among which were those having fam
ily history of consumption; defect in
their personal history, including ap
pendicitis and rheumatism; physical
condition not normal, as shown by
high or irregular pulse; those whose
habits with regard to alcoholic bev
erages were not satisfactory in the
past or who used liquor steadily at
the time of application for insurance;
those who were distinctly overweight
or underweight.
"One of the significant results of
the investigation was the high mor
tality experienced amoncr railroad
men," said Mr. Hunter. "Among lo
comotive engineers, for example, the
mortality was 60 per cent in excess of
that experienced among the insured
as a whole, which is equivalent to
five years' reduction in the average
lifetime. If these locomotive engin
eers had been in a non-hazardous nn-
cupation, there would have been
auout 661 deaths, and there were ac
tually 541 among them.
"There is a general impression that
saloonkeepers do not live as long as
persons in non-hazardous occupations,
but it is not generally known that
most classes which are connected
with either the manufacture or sale
of liquor have a hicrh mnrfnHtv
Among saloon proprietors, whether
thoy attended the bar or not, there
was an extra mortality of 70 per cent;
and the causes of death indicated that
a free use of alcoholic beverages had
caused, many of the deaths.
"The hotel proprietors who attend
ed the bar either occasionally or reg
ularly had as high a mortality as the
saloonkeepers, i.e., tne lifetime was
reduced about six years on the aver
age On aCCOUnt Of their nnminnH
In the fourteen sub-divisions of the
trades connected with the manufac
ture or sale of alcohol, there was only
one class which had a normal mor-
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Addrei. All Orders to the Commoner, Lincoln, Neb.
tality, and that was the distillery pro
prietors. "The high mortality in some of the
occupations to which reference has
been made must not be ascribed to
the men having other defects, such
as a tubercular family history. Where
there was any defect in the physical
condition, in tho family record, in the
habits of life, etc., the insured was
not included in the investigation of
the mortality of men in the occupa
tion. In the same way, in investigat
ing the mortality of insured with a
defect in family record or personal
condition, no men in hazardous occu
pations were included in the groups
investigated.
"Among the men who admitted
they had taken alcohol occasionally,
to excess in the past, but whose hab
its were considered satisfactory when
they were insured, there were 289
deaths, while there would have been
only 190 deaths had tnis group been
made up of insured lives in general.
The extra mortality was, therefore,
5 per cent, which was equivalent to
a reduction in the average life of
these men of four years.
"If this meant that four Years
would be cut off the end of the aver
age normal lifetime of each man,
there are many who would consider
that 'the game was worth the candle';
but it means that in each vear a num.
ber of men die at an earlier age than
they should. For example, at age 35,
the expectation of life is o2 years; in
the first year after that age, instead
of, say, 9 persons dying, there would
probably be 12 deaths; that is 3 men
would each lose 32 years of life; in
the next year probably four men
would each lose 31 years of life, etc.
"As a matter of fact, many immod
erate drinkers would live longer than
thirty years, but not nearly so many
as would live if they Had been mod
erate drinkers, and far fewer than if
they had been total abstainers from
alcohol. tiJ3
"With regar'd to men whn var
used alcoholic beverages daily, but
not to excess, the experience of the
companies was divided into two
groups: (a) men -who frv
glasses of beer, or a glass of
whiskey or their equivalent, a
day; (b), men who took more than
the foregoing amount, but were not
considered by the companies to drink
to excess. The mortality in the sec
ond group was fully 50 per cent
greater than in tha flrf ov, i
lent argument for moderation in the
use of alcoholic beverages.
"The foregoing result does not
mean that the large excess mortality
in class (b) was due to their drink
ing a little more each day than those
in class (a). It is probable that
among those who were very moderate
users-of alcoholic beverages there
were comparatively few who eventu
ally used liquor immoderately: but
among those who took more than a
5JlMf wWsky or its equivalent a
day there were probably a goodly
number who increased their daily
wuauuiiiuuu utter naving applied for
insurance, and who eventually drank
to an immoderate extent.
wfrt?nat?ly' tUese statistics do
not show definitely whether or not a
predisposition to tuberculosis is he
S2 u ha been &
.that there is a predisposition to light
Sfif V' hl? is a edition favor
SJit t0Athe develPient of tubercu
losis. Among young men whe were
when insured, at least twenty-five
pounds under the average weight
and who had a parent, brother or sI
ter die from tuberculosis, out of ev-
w 4U&i310
VOL. lojq 3
overweight has a materkiTTT
decreasing length of 11 fn ect in
at the mlSdle and olde r aeor
ample, among men foVtv ?
above the average weight the iffi
of those who entered thP nnI Te
at age 45 was about four yeS??
n!an tat of men of noW
Diabetes, Bright's disease, heart dis
ease and apoplexy cause a large pro
weightns.f deathS amng the
MR BRYAN'S SINCERE SBRVIPP
TO PEACE CL
It was quite unnecessary for Sec
retary Bryan to mount a miniature
dove in his buttonhole and thereto
set the humorists to making merry
As an adovcate of peace Mr. Bryan
needs no label. His efforts to attain
that desired end have been in
telligent, earnest and natrinHn im.
American hopes that in time it may
be able to congratulate him upon the
attainment of that ideal, and assures
him that to him, first among Amer
icans today, such congratulations will
then bo due.
We do not ascribe to Mr. Bryan any
superhuman qualities of foresight. It
was not, then, because he foresaw,
years ago, this European war loom
ing on the horizon that he dedicated
himself to the cause of international
peace. He can not be accused of
either manufacturing an "issue" or
having, with surpassing shrewdness,
seized upon one which he foresaw
would be forced upon public attention.
"Amonir nnranna wt. .
liBht ln weight btwo baa noTa"
family record of tuberwiln.1. .1
dgtt rate from -SSSSt 2l
"There te a01lbt tlmt mnrked
It was merely the natural working
of the broad humanity which char
acterizes Mr. Bryan's mind that led
him at his first entrance upon the
state department t take up the work
of negotiating arbitration treaties for
the furtherance of international con
cord. War was not then thought of.
Secretary Bryan hoped through his
endeavors to establish worldwide con
ditions under which it never again
would be thought of.
Of course he failed for the time.
The chemical ingredients were al
ready mixing that made the present
explosion inevitable. And yet it is
still too early to ascribe final failure
to his endeavors. The harvest of his
seeding may come after the present
cataclysm has passed.
It is well for the United States to
remember that at the head of its de
partment of state is a man every fibre
in whose being is instinct with the
zest for peace. With many oi an.
Bryan's political theories The Amer
ican is utterly out of accord. Certain
of his political methods we have on
occasion sharply criticized. But in
his endeavors to promote the cause
of peace on earth, good will among
men, he has our most hearty sym
pathy, as he should have that of all
right-thinking Americans.
To-day signs multiply that the mo
ment approaches when peace over
tures will not be unwelcome in the
chancellories of the most noisily un
pnTnTrfkTMiaiTnr f fim "TOiirnnpan belli
gerents. The period of exhaustion is
at hand. Men, weapons, food, ana,
above all, money, are growing scarce.
Some in one country, some in an
other, but a general scarcity of an
in'tbte whole theatre of war. Witliai
neither side can b ".st of any decisive
advantage gained. After almost
seven months of war the question or
superiority is still undetermined. Eu
rope is no more nearly conquered by
Germany and Austria than they are
conquered by Europe.
In such a situation the opportunity
for urging peace upon the embattleu
nations may at any moment become
apparent. The American people may
feel assured that there will be none
so cnilfik tn discern and eager to seize
Wson such an opportunity as their
I. . x .f nlnta "
peace-loving secretary ut n
New York American.
'.Mrsra
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