The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1910-03-07
Science Association Will Fight
to Reduce the American
Death Rate. -.
PROMINENT MEN LEADERS
Or. PAUL kENNADAY, ONE OF
THE PROMOTERS. HAS OUT
LINED THE WORK THE oRcANi-
zATIoN IS PROMOTING.
(American News Service)

effort will be made during the present
year by the committee of one hum
dred, an organization formed in 1907
by the American Association for the
Advancement of Science for the ex-
press purpose of reducing the death
rate in the United States-to have
the Federal government establish a
bureau Of health.
This committee is composed Of rep
association, of the National Associa-
ton for the Study and Prevention Of
tuberculosis, OF the Association Of
American Physicians. well known ex-
perts on various phases of health
work, clersymen and lawyers. such as
Rev. Lyman Abbott and Archbishop
Ireland, Hon. Joseph Fl. Choate. Hon.
George Shiras and VIM. A. Townsend:
educators like ex-President Eliot Of
Harvard and President Hadley Of
Yale and such citizens of national
reputation as Jane Adams and Felix
Adler.
Mr.. Paul Kennaday member Of
one of the subcommittee. outlines
the work of the organization as fol-
lows:
War on tuberculosis.
Our sole aim is to reduce the
death rate in the United States by
preventing preventable diseases.
stamping out tuberculosis, with its
the country of typhoid fever, stopping
the yearly sacrifice of infant life and
bringing health and longer span OF
life to the American people.
Our committee. large as it is. and
eminent and representative as its
members are. has none too many men,
members are, has none too many
members nor any too much wisdom
for the task it has undertaken.
{ Years of effort in separate fields
have convinced the members that the
time has come for the national gov
eminent to take hold of this work Of
national Importance and magnitude
Nothing less than a federal bureau of
health can satisfy those who have
looked oversthe field of wasted health
and premature death.
"As President Taft has said, We
must increase bureaus to render those
services which We hope modern ma
ton ought to render to it's people. For
instance, We should have a bureau of
health to do for the people what the
department of agriculture does for cat
tie"
All Urged to Act.
And the men and women of Amer
lea, regardless OF party, should show
to their representatives in congress
assembled and to their president that
in this they are with the administra-
ton: that they approve wholly and
heartily of the sta<d the president
took when in his first annual message
to congress he said:
"The opportunities offered for use
full research and the spread of use
full information in regard to the Guilt
Walton of the soil and the breeding
of stock and the solution OF many of
the intricate problems in progressive
agriculture have demonstrated the
wisdom of establishing that depart
ment. Similar reasons. Of equal force,
can be given for the establishment OF
a bureau of health that shall also at
ford an opportunity for investigation
and research by competent experts
into questions of health affecting the
whole country. or important sections
thereof. questions which. in the alb.
sence of federal governmental work
are not likely to be promptly solved.
Could Increase Life.
We can say, with perfect conf
dence, that by stopping. as we may
three-fourths of the loss of life from
tuberculosis. from typhoid fever, and
other preventable diseases, the aver
age length of life in America would
be increased by Is years.
That some estimate may be form.
ed of what will result of this national
movement for health, we will put a
money value upon human life. and IL
We count each life lost at only $1,7oC
and reckon the average money lost
by illness at 500 per year for grown
men, We find that the economic gain
from a mitigation of preventable dis
ease in the United States would ex
coed $500. 100000 a year. This is
nearly one-fifth of the total value OF
the farm products of the country, and
almost $200.000.0OO more than the
value of last years imports of mer
chandise from abroad
Such figures stagger the imagin
alton. Our first impulse is to say that
these things may be nicely calculated
on paper. but in the stern world OF
reality. of hard struggle for a living
in the heat and stress of actual life
that they never can be realized
Probably this was the notion held
by the Spaniards in relation to yellow
fever which killed off ,42O persons. in
Havana in the eight years from 1891
to 1898. But science, skill and deter
mination cares nothing for prejudice
and ignorance, and the eight years
following the American Intervention
saw the deaths from this disease re-
duced to 465.
III some diseases, once the securge
OF humanity have practically disap
peared from the civilized world, why
must we suppose that this beneSicsn,