Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1895-11-03
SAVING IN SANITATION.
Einaneiat Loss ss Communitios From Sick
 ness and Death.

Financial Loss ss Communities From Sick. ness and Death.
 l This is hard, practical age that de. | mands money value for every progress. i've step, and efforts to improve sani- tary conditions are too often retarded by this mercenary claim. As argu- ments sanitarians present some re. ] luarkable statistics, showing financial loss, individually and as a whole. to communities when an epidemic pre-. eails. A number of very interesting tables and diagrams have been com piled by Mir. G. E. Willetts, of Mich igan, showing mortality from general and specific causes covering a period of two hundred and fifty years. His search of the records of England has been very thorough, resulting princi- pally in estimates of London and En. glish counties.
 From tables simply arranged with heavy black columns varying in length according to the percentage of mortal 1 ity, it is shown that in London from 1860 to 16T9 the rate of mortality from levers alone was s75 per 100, 900 persons 1 times less. The reduction shows great. est between 1901 and 1910, after which it remains about stationary through 1S41 to 1871, showing slight change to 1888. Similar progress is indicated for consumption, but greater for small. pox. The latter disease killed 502 per sons in every 100000 just previous to Jenner's discovery. in 17s0 In 1883 there were only deaths from small. pox to 100, ,000 A remarkable decrease is indicated also for all general causes. In 1879 the rate stands at 80 dea ths for every 1,000 inhabitants, and diminishes to 1s4 in 1888 in London.
 The greatest progress has been made. of course, since sanitation became a science, and increasing advancement is shown when people have learned that the adoption of it's measures saves money In most states the maximum value of a mans life is put at E, GOO, and the minimum $1 900 for damages. William Farr, in his cold calculation as 3f mortality and loss, estimated the fife of an English farm laborer al S1,200 and a woman's about $500 less.
 
 can labor, and decidely low for large portion of the middle class. For illus. bration, however, the conservative fig nre $1,0oo is generally used. This amount multiplied by the death rate of a given place gives the approximate loss to that community. This does not include loss from sickness, which some statisticians estimate on a basis of ten or twelve cases to every death.
 In small towns, where sanitary measures have not been generally adopted, and proper sewerage sys- tenn is unknown, barring epidemics, the number of deaths yearly has gen. orally averaged four to seven per 10, 1000 population. Taking the money value of each life at s1. GOO, the amount of loss to the town is obvious.
 Pettenkoffer calculated after yea rs of accounting that every German sol. dier lost per cent. of his time by sick. ness. If this is true of well fed, equipped and watered soldiers, we must expect a larger rate in cities like New York, where conditions are in many places detrimental to health and the stress of life weakens physical stamina. It is proved beyond question by Sarefully kept records that proper sanitation relieves the discomfort of the poorer classes, reduces pauperism prevents famine and increases capac. ity for labor production. It is esti. mated that in London 240, GOO lives are saved annually by modern sanita tion. Proceeding with the calculation that there are ten cases of sickness to every death, and that the individual cost is not less than $1 a day for subsistence and medicine, for a maximum period of ten days. and the amount saved fig. ures $2, 400, GOO. Going further, and es. timating the annual earnings of the lives saved at $500 each, and $72, ,0oO, 0O( accrues, which, after cost of keeping the individuals is subtracted, leaves a large saving. Hard and practical as these statistics appear, they prove be. yond question that sanitary science, yet in it's infancy, is pecuniary benefit to a community, and undoubtedly will achieve even more remarkable resulti la the future. IN. Y. Times.