The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1909-12-10
poor CONSERVATIVES CAUSE
VAST LOSS.
Lack OF Hospital Beds Costs Coun-
try Over Billion Dollars.

try over Billion Dollars.
Sixteen states aud territories of the
United States provide no place where
the poor consump'ive can be treated, ex-
cept in jails and insane asylums. This
statement together with another. to the
effect thai not one in thirty of the victims
of consumption who want TO get in hospi-
tails can find place there, fact which
will uieau loss To the country of s. 275.
900. ooo is made by The National Asso,
ciation for the Study and Prevention OF
Tutrrculosis in bulletin issued today.
The National Association states that
there are IL the United States a, least
600. 900 cousumptives who are SO poor
that they cannot pay for proper medical
treatment iW tuberculosis sauatoria and
hospitals Some Of them can pay small
amounts week for their maintenance,
but the greater majority OF them cannot
paw anything For this large class of
patients the entire COUNTY, has provided
only 10, 900 beds for The free treatment Of
tuberculosis In Alabama. Arkansas, |
Idaho. Kansas. Mississippi. Montana,
Nevada North Dakota. Oklahoma, Utah,
Oregon. Philippine Islands. South Da-
kota. Texas. West Virginia and Wyoming
there is no place where the consumptive
without means can be treated but in jails
or insane asylums and in most cases he
will get no treatment there. Sixteen
other states provide less than so beds
each for poor consumptives In only two
states. Massachusetts and New York have
beds for needy tuberculosis patients been
provided, SO that at least one in ten
may find place for treatment. In many
of the other. states, not one in so Of the
destitute consumptives can find bed in
hospital or sanatorium.
1t costs on an average about $3.50 to
cure an incipient consumptive or TO care
for an advanced case until death. If be
| is left in destitute circumstances without
proper attnetioni he will surely infect
with his disease at least two other persons.
and possibly many more. Considering
that the average life is worth to society
| in dollars and cents, about 81, 500, the
net loss which would accrue to a com.
munity by not treating its poor con-
sumptives in proper institutions would be
for each case, including those who are
unnecessarily infected, at The very lowest
figure. 81. $50. On this basis, if the poor
consumptives in the United States who
are now sick were segregated from their
families, aud either kept in institutions
until they died, or else cured of their
disease, the saving to the country would
be the enormous sum of Fl. 275. 900, 600
Consumption is primarily poor mans
disease DR. Woods Hutchinson, of New
York City says: Roughly speaking. the
incipient tubercnlous patient can tuy as
many chances of fresh air and cure as he
has money" The percentage of deaths
| from consumption among the peor S
100 per cent higher than among the Well
to do and the rich. IS per cent Of the
cousumptives in the United States are too
poor to provide proper means for treat
ment. They must either be placed in a
sanatorium or hospital where they can
be cured of their disease aud where they
will be removed from the possibility OF
injecting other members of their families.
or the loss resulting from neglect to care
for these poor consuniptives Will he twice
or three times as great as would be the
case if they were proptr'y housed in in
stitutious.
| The National Association for the Study
and Prevention of Tuberculos declares
that if every county or township should
erect an institution for the treatment of
| INDECENT cases of coflsumptives, this
disease would be wiped gu, in few years