L. W. Squier[141] tells us that of the 18,000,000 wage earners in the United States, about 1,250,000 reach the age of 65 in want and are not sufficiently supported by public or private charities which, in round numbers, cost the country $250,000,000. Of the 2,000,000 non-fatal accidents Hoffmann estimates per year, the old, to be sure, have somewhat less than their share. The United States Bureau of Labor lately estimated that $220,000,000 per annum is the average the laborer has to pay for medicines alone, not including doctors’ bills, and about 79 per cent of those in almshouses are either physically or mentally defective. Our total pension outlay for the War of the Revolution, that of 1812, the Indian wars, Mexican, Civil, and Spanish, in regular establishments and unclassified, he estimates at $4,230,381,730. Despite the world unrest there are probably ever increasing numbers who look forward to a quiet old age, and we must depend more and more upon inculcating thrift wherever possible and encourage all to earn more than a living wage. Present-day man, at his best, is certainly far below the standard, for nowhere among wild animals do we find so many with defective teeth, vision, tonsils, bowels, flat foot, etc., and the rejection of nearly one-third of the drafted men for physical unfitness was a most significant fact. The trouble is men will not take pains to prolong life and still shrink from medical examinations at all ages. Some tell us that old people do so most of all, fearing to know the truth about their condition. This very cursory sketch must suffice to show the increasing interest in and the growing magnitude of the economic problem of old age. But before closing this chapter let us glance at the efforts of the new Life Extension Institute to prolong life and increase efficiency. It is said to be “five per cent philanthropy,” and all those whose lives are insured are to make a definite effort to avoid sickness and defer death. Members are inspected gratis and all others can be for a moderate fee. A regular system of examination for repairs is provided for, just as all manufacturers do for their machines, with a written report to the person’s family physician. At the start the Postal Life Insurance Company turned over to the new organization its well established system of examinations for policy-holders and the Metropolitan Life made an agreement for periodic examinations. The company’s conservation policy leads an impaired man to consult a physician before it is too late, and this, we are told, has reduced the death rate among those examined. They plan to extend this over the whole country. Two-thirds of the profits beyond 5 per cent are to go toward increasing the further usefulness of the Institution. Judge W. H. Taft is chairman of the Board of Directors while Irving Fisher is chairman of the Committee of One Hundred on Hygiene.[142]