Henry Baird Favill, AB, MD, LL.D., 1860-1916, a ... - University Library

MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 407
expectancy, apparently on equal terms. Closer analysis,
however, will show that between the ages of 20 and 30 a certain
number will drop out from causes more or less related
to that period of life; between 30 and 40, others mil fall by
the way; between 40 and 50, still others; and between 50
and 60 there will be a grand tr^^-out of the fit and unfit,
until the advent of what may be called "old age," when
only a remnant will survive and be found to be in firstclass
condition.
The question will always arise as to how necessary
this diminution in the ranks may be. How many of the
causes leading to this
situation are avoidable and correctable?
To what extent is this condition due to mass conditions.
To what extent is it due to individual habit?
Even with regard to the individual who has reached
advanced age in good condition, is there any doubt as to
his having summed up a greater usefulness and happiness
in his career?
This involves some discussion of the nature of our
physical deteriorations. Most of them are due, to a large
extent, to improper habits operating through a long period
of years. The difficulty in educating people to an appreciation
of this fact is, for the most part, due to the
that untoward results are separated from their causes
fact
by a lapse of time so great as to quite obscure the consciousness
of cause and effect. It is a fair question. Is a
man in perfect physical condition a more effective factor
in business than a man who is not so perfect?
It is not easy to generalize about this, and j^et close
analysis of the matter, from the standpoint of a physician
dealing with all conditions and all ages, leads to the conclusion
that the benefits of wise living are not only manifested
in a longer life, but concurrently, in the happiness,
comfort, and effectiveness of daily life.
Health as such is hardly to be pursued except as it
is something which can be used and used freely. Merely