Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-01-22
Second Circular by the
State Board Of Health
Issued for Distribution in the
Schools Of Maine.
Military Board Holds Final Meet.
ing at Portland Thursday.
STATE HOUSE CALENDAR.
Next Meeting of Governor and Councl'
Tuesday, Jan. IS, at 10 A. M.


Young. the secretary Of the board, is
sending out "Leafet No. 2" for use
in the schools of the State. The sub
ject of the leaflet is THE Cost ana
Waste of Preventable Diseases and
the contents is as follows:
DO you ever hear anybody COM
plain of taxes? If so, do they know,
and did you ever think of this heav-
lest, this worst of all taxes, that
which is laid upon us by diseases
which should be prevented and may
largely be prevented? For what we
pay in taxes generally, we have. or
should have, something to show for it
education, improved roads, protec-
ton of life, liberty and happiness, etc,
but for this tax we have nothing to
show but sheer loss, sorrow, and
heavy handicap to prosperity.
LAS an example, we will consider
the one terrible disease, tuberculosis,
as a tax collector. Every year, more
than l 900 persons in our good State of
Maine die of tuberculosis In the
times before the Civil War, slaves
were sold from the block for $1,000 and
upward. Then is it not low esti-
mate to say that on the average each
of these 1000 persons among us who
go down to consumptives' graves
every year would be worth to us $l,500
if they were saved? The most of
these are cut down in youth, in early
man hood or early womanhood, or in
middle life when their working and
earning capacity is the greatest. or
| the consumptiveS who died in 1908
| over so per cent. were between the
ages 30 and so, and over so per cent
between the ages 10 and 60 years.
This 81, 500 multiplied by 1000
| equals $1.500.O00. That means loss
of million and a half year as the
value of lives destroyed by teubercu
| loss.
But this is not the whole story
| The loss of earnings while sick, the
| cost of medical treatment and of
| medicines, nursing, and the waste of
time of relatives and friends, travel
ing and funeral expenses, undoubted-
ly cost. on the average. fully $1,000
for each of these victims of tubercu-
losis. These expenses or losses are
| far below this for some of them, but
for many others it is far greater, and
| is many thousand dollars for some.
/
State of Maine of another 100000
every year, making at least total
annual loss from this one disease of
| 81 SOC, 900.
1T is hard to understand the full
meaning OF this taX-this loss. Com
| PARSONS may help. The total amount
spent upon the common schools in
Maine in 1908 was $16S1733 The
| -
the construction and repair of high
| ways is over S1.O0O,OO0 less than the
cost of tuberculosis.
Nor is this the whole of the gloomy
| story. With this scourge snatchng
away the life of one of our people in
Maine every seven hours and a half.
there is an ineXpressiole misery ac
disappointment. SORROW. des-
titution, mothers struggling to the
limit of endurance or beyond for their
orphaned children, children with food
insufficient for favorable development
| Of mind and body children pressed
prematurely, by dire necessity. into
the ranks of industrialism, handi
capped with incomplete mental and
physical development, children de-
| prived Of the saving influence of home
and school and thrown or impelled
| into lives which lead to shame, pauper-
| ism and crime the handicap of these
| upon a state cannot be estimated.
And, if we only stop 10 think of it,
what tax, what a burden is this. AS
large as our estimate of the money
| loss and prosperity loss is, it cannot be
considered an overstatcmcnt of the
| tribute laid upon us by tuberculosis.
At the International Congress on
tuberculosis held in Washington in
| 1908, Irving Fisher professor of politi-
cal economy at Yale University, read
a paper which gave the results of his
careful estimate of the cost of tuber-
culosis in the United States. He
| showed that the total number of per-
sons constantly suffering from active
tuberculosis in this country is about
half million. OF those now living
| in our country, the number who will
| die of tuberculosis, if we let the pres
| ent death rate from that disease con-
tinue, is about 100000. The gross
| loss for the United States exceeds
$1,100,000,000 every year. And how
| much is that? 1t would be equal to a
| tax of more than $12 on every man.
woman and child, calling our national
population SS,00O,O00. On the basis of
| his estimate the yearly loss to Maine
would be much greater than we have
put it.
"And still, this worst of all diseases
| is preventable In 1892. 1913 persons
| died from tuberculosis in Maine. In
| 1903 there were only LAS. II we now
| had the same death-ratc per 1000 Of
population from this disease which we
| had in 1892, we should have had 1,665
deaths from tuberculosis in 1908, over
| 500 more than we actually did have
virtual saving of more than 81 ,O00,-
000.>
we must and we can lessen the
tuberculosis death-rate very much
more. In view of the preceding state
ments, can we afford not to do II
much more rapidly than we are now
doing it? In this fight against tuber-
culosis, the State Board Of Health
wants the help of every pupil in every
school.
AS the first step in helping. carry
this lea1et home, read it, and keep it
| on file with other home and school
health leaflets which the board is pub