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12
figures understate the value of the unit of the population
when applied to Willesden in 1914. But taking the lower
figure above given, it will be seen that the saving of 1,814
lives in 1914 as compared with 1875 means a saving of
£199,540 during the year 1914.
Three Questions.
I do not wish it to be thought that the diminished deathrate
is wholly the result of the activities of the Council.
During the period 1875-1914 the birth-rate has fallen from
44.7 to 24.7 per 1,000 of the population, and this diminution
in the birth-rate has led to a reduction in the proportion of
persons living under five years of age when the death-rate
is highest. It should not, however, be deduced from this
statement that a high birth-rate is incompatible with a low
death-rate, for under normal healthy conditions a high
birth-rate would mean that a large proportion of the population
were living between the ages of 5 and 45 when
the death-rate is lowest. Properly speaking, therefore,
and under the best conditions of living, a high birth-rate
and a low death-rate are synonymous terms, and it is a
matter for consideration under what conditions they may
become so.
This problem is not easy of solution, but can be simplified
by resolving it into three cardinal questions
1. How can the falling birth-rate be restored to its
former level?
2. How can the high death-rates under five years of
age be diminished?
3. How can the death-rates at ages over five years be
still further diminished?