The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-04-14
4 THURSDAY, APRIL IA, 1904.
The Value Of Health.

i liz ~, 1OSs ~ 49,
rhe state Health Commissioner or
$s,New Yorl, has recently made public Il
report In which he says that nlll'otls
39 l,non millions OF dollars arc annuailS lo S
S3SSto the people Of that State through pre-
yontable diseases. ."1f the monetary value
Of a human life is assumed to be $'eVV'
" SAWS he 'the deaths from only five or
tho nreventable diseases during l9o" III
Y this State represents q loss OF S9l,9oo'VVV'
4s3f,rhesc sfisures.tseerl8.ap appalling. and YET
\ millions upon. millions can properly pc
added TO this sum. in loss of wages, ex-
pcnsc of the care Of the sick and many
Il stnther expenses incidental to the manage
ment of these epidemic and infectious
diseases"
That is very practical and cold blood
$G@ cd view OF disease. but 1t Is sensible
sl Wow. 1T cannot be too often said that
the real wealth of any city. State or
VI nation is IN ITS men rather than III It's
I accumulation. for3 there can be no accu-
mulation of wealth. without work e IS
work that makes wealth, and the more
efficient the workers are, the greater VIII
be the accumulation. lis in this view
that education has its practical value
we educate our boys not merely because
education Is moral force, but because
& il is a material force, enabling man
&8to increase his working capacity.
In the same view it Is important l1tia t
orlo c},p hc.'
served Disease Is always Expensive.
When a woT r is sick h. loses valu-
Il able time; his earnings cease; and there
Is the additional expense of doctors and
medicines, This expense must be whether
or not he RECEIVERS If he overcomes his
disease and goes back to work he VIII
In time In a mea sure recoup his losses.
But there will still be loss In greater
or less degree. and If he dies from his
disease the loss is complete. Every now
and then when a good man dies in this
community we say that 1t Is public
loss, and so It is. Some Of us also say
that when man dies, no matter what the
circumstances .his time had COME as
n sort OF fatality. But The Times-Dis-
patch does not believe in any such doc
triue. Many man has died through
public neglect. through failure on the
part of the authorities to adopt such san
itary measures as are necessary to pre-
vent disease and in this day OF medical
science almost 81 diseases are, scientl-
fically spcakils areveiitablc.
Can any sensible man doubt that thou
sands and hundreds of thousands OF lives
have been saved in the city Of Richmond
by adopting a scientific drainage. system?
Without such a system, would not disease
he rampant and would not our citizens
perish by the hundreds and thousands.
where they are now enjoying life and
health? There was n time when smallpox
was one OF the most dreaded of all dis
eases. for we knew of no means of pre-
venting It. But now smallpox is of very
s rare occurrence and II the proper precau-
lions are taken, it will never exist at all
There was a time when yellow fever
was almost sure to break out In some OF
the extreme Southern States during the
hot season But science finally discovered |
that the source of that disease was Cuba, |
and when the United States government
took Cuba into its own possession and |
cleaned it and fumigated it and stamped |
out the yellow fever germ, 1t set the |
Southern States practically free from the
ravases of yellow jack, There is now
little or no yellow fever in Cuba, and
we have had no yellow fever epidemic in
the Southern States since Cuba was fum-
gated
To-day the most dreaded of all diseases
Is consumption, and it claims It's vic
time by the thousands Yet science tells
US that consumption is a preyentable dis
caae. and that with proper scientific pre-
cautions il may be avoided altogether
Scientific men have absolutely no doubt
on This score. yet consumption Is stu
preyipg upon The people, a movement has
been started in this city 10 take scientific
precautions against consumption. and It
is TO be hoped that the movement will
progress until Its great purpose has been
accomplished.
Returning 10 the original subject we
ask the thoughtful consideration of the
people of Richmond to this report from
New York We should be liberal in our
appropriations 10 the Health Department
We should emplcy the best experts aud
give them abundant means TO keep the
city clean, 10 find the disease germs
wherever they exist, and stamp them out.
~ and IN the broadcast sense to conserve the
public health. 1t Is more than a moral
question, II IL a question Of good bull