The Washington times., 1907-04-23
KEEP HANDS OFF
DEPARTMENT OF
PUBLIC HEALTH
President Roosevelt
President Roosevelt
Issues Order Against
Government Employees
Fostering Project.

President Roosevelt has taken hand
in the movement TO create new De
partment OF Public Health. to be repre-
scented in the Government by a Cabinet
officer. He has issued instructions that
/ Government employees must not serve as
members of the general committee of
100. which is in charge of this move
ment or OF subordinate committees TO
promote e.
The movement has for its purpose to
establish a department that shall not
only take over the duties of the meat in
spection, Federal quarantine. pure food,
public health. and marine hospital SER
vice. vital statistics. work Of the census,
life-saving service, and some other bu-
reaus. but shall include Q number of
new ones. Among these are proposed
! bureaus of infant hygiene. education
and schools. sanitation, immigration and
labor conditions, registration Of physi-
clans and surgeons, and a number OF
others. Il is declared that the bureaus
already organized. which Il would be
desirable 10 place under the new de-
partment, are costing the Government
about 100000 a year. and that 100000
O0O could well be expended in The ag-
gregate activities Of such a department
It is explained that President ROOse-
velts prohibition Of Government Off
cials interesting themselves is not based
on opposition 10 the project, per Sc,
but On his sense OF the prophecies The
need Of the department is 10 be widely
set forth by the circulation OF an ar
ticle by J. Pease Norton. assistant pro-
fessor Of political economy at Yale.
Death Comes Too Soon.
This article cannot fail 70 interest
those who like a coId-bloOded. scientific
discussion Of things. Prof. Norton ex-
plains that the chief reason why the
country doesn't get rich any faster is
that persons die before they have much
more than worked their passage
through the world II they were pa
triOtic about 1t they would stay longer
work longer. and leave q surplus Of
posterity. de says:
If we estimate the average life at
! forty years. and twenty Of il unpTO-
ductiye, / have calculated the economic
gain il the average span were forty
( five, nifty and nfJy-nye years. Placing
the burden of an unprOductiye year at
SlGg 10 500. and assuming the average
span increased TO forty-tive years, the
burden of the unpTOduCtive years Of
childhood, lghteued hy tie increase in
ille average SklAs NOAlQ give an eco
monte gain per year 10 the nation OF
100000; and II the life span could
/ be increased 20 fifty years IL would be
| twice this. OF Sl.650 100000.
II the burden of death and illness
is $500, and the average age 1T death
forty years, death expenses average a
/ tax of Sl5 per year on the period Of
productivity. Could the age be raised
20 fifty, the burden falls To SO. For
/ s00040g0 people the saving thus would
/ be $l20,O00O00
Would Save Millions.
Then Prof Merton takes I'D the eco
nomic cost OF sickness. Taking an av-
orage Of nine days per year lost by
! sickness, the total for the nation is .
100000 years of life lost per aunum.
Placing wages at only 81 per day. the
! loss IS thus S1H4000.O0O per annum in
/ this way. Cut down the illness one
third and the annual saving would be
[ 500 GOO 600.
Prof Norton doesn't see how anybody
can oppose the baEaJelle OF 100000 90
a year invested in the new department.
70 make the nation richer and richer
lie urges that everybody boost for his
plan, and meantime try TO live as LONG
as possible so as 10 be richer at death.