Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1906-05-18
TYPHOID FEVER
COSTS $l4,OOO,OOO

y
lvania a money loss of about fourteen
million dollars year, declared
Health Commissioner Samuel G. Dix
OH at public meeting at West Ches-
ter Tuesday night, and he strongly urg
ed upon the citizens the necessity of
sanitary sewage disposal.
DR.. Dixon stated that the as yet i'm
perfect vital statistics of the depart
ment of health showed that during
January last there were in Pennsyl-
vania $3.50 deaths from typhoid.
ONE DEATH TO TEN GASES.
Estimating the proportion of deaths
to cases at about one in ten, as we
have right to do," said DR.. Dixon,
"there were it is safe to say, 1850
cases of this pestilential torturing dis
ease in Pennsylvania in January. Thi
is something frightful to contemplate.
Consider the suffering, the distress,
the anxiety, the domestic disturbance,
| the days of anguish and the nights of
torture, the burning heats, the glacial
chills. the consuming thirst, the rack
ing pains which often mark single
case, and then multiply that by thirty
odd thousands and you will begin to
appreciate what typhoid means to the
people of this Commonwealth.
VICTIM VALUED AT $1,000.
"All things considered we should
not be going to an extreme if we valu-
ed the life of the average typhoid vic
tim at So, OOO Among them of course
are men of immense value, and men
whose value to the community as fact
ors in the production of wealth and
prosperity is beyond all estimate.
Taking typhoid deaths as they go,
old and young, rich and poor, produc-
ers and non producers, and accepting
the valuation named above, we find
that the State of Pennsylvania lost i'll
lives alone in the month of January
last over million dollars. Should this
rate of mortality continue for the year
it is not difficult to make the calcula-
tion that the loss for the year will be
over twelve millions, sum nearly
sufficient to pay the running expenses
of the State government for that
period.
LOSS IN WAGES.
1.-THE average duration of a case OF
typhoid is not less than six weeks. The
loss of productive labor during the
illness of the individual cannot better
be estimated than by days wages.
This of course is placing it on the low
est possible level. No child, however,
should be a productive laborer before
the age of fifteen. Comparatively few
are. But as already said, typhoid is not
so much disease of youth or old age
but of early and middle adult life. We
shall be making due allowance on this
score, therefore, if we estimate the
number of cases at 1880.
80. 600 DAYS OF LABOR LOST.
"Averaging the period of illness al
fortytwo days, and leaving out Sun
days, we have then thirty-six days o.
enforced idleness for each individual,
or 80, 600 days of work lost to the State
| think it will be conceded that 81. 81
per day is not an excessive wage.
Hence the money loss would amoun
to $135, 600.
II have said nothing of the expense
to the family on account of loss o
time by those who nurse, of doctors
bills, of drugs and funeral expenses
Leaving out the family expenses th'
annual loss to the State from typhoid
fever at the rate at which it prevailed
during the month of January, 1906
sums up to S13, $50, 600.
Every man for himself and tn,
devil take the hindmost,' has been VI
to this time the selfish principle of ac
tion in all schemes for the disposal o
sewage in this State and Nation. 1t i
time that we should take juster ant
more righteous view of the question
J We begin at the wrong end of the pro
position. We introduce copious sup
, plies of water into our towns, whicl
we have no provision for getting ri'
of. What we should do if we wer
longheaded and farseeing, would b
first to build our sewer system wit
J an adequate sewage purification plant
} and when that is complete, bring il
our abundant water. Then we coul,
return it pure and limpid to the strean
, whence we took it, without having i
on our conscience that we are sending
death and desolation to other com
munities. The present scheme of op
. Grafton has been not inaptly compare,
to putting the cart before tn
horse, "