The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1910-03-05
TWO PAMPHLETS.

The Intermountain Catholic is in receipt of two
pamphlets-one entitled "The State and the Death
Roll" by E. E. Rittenhouse president of the Prov
dent Savings Life Assurance society, and the other
bulletin of the State Agricultural college of Mis-
souri,. In Mr. Rittenhouse's pamphlet read that
over 100000 human lives are needlessly sacrificed
in the United States every year. In the Agricul-
tura bulletin we read of the champion calf" of the
world which, only year old, weighs eleven hun
dred pounds. We read in the "Death-Rol' that
"there are constantly about 100000 persons seri
ously i'll in the United States, more than one-half
of which illness is preventable." In the Agricul-
tural bulletin we read that the state of Missouri
some time ago appropriated $4,000 for experiment
tai work on the subject of hog cholera, with the
suit that the farmers of the state saved half
a million dollars year a result of that $4,000
appropriation.
There are great many similar comparisons
which could be made of the two pamphlets, but
those we have mentioned will suffice The Missouri
Agricultural college is not the only institution of
its kind which is showing the farmers of the
try how improve their CATTLE sheep and hogs, how
to fight orchard pests and how to eradicate enemies
of the field and forest. Coming at the same time
the other pamphlet has led to the comparisons we
have made "The State and the Death-Roll" is the
first of its kind which has come to our attention.
The inference is natural that we a people and
as a government doing more to improve our
farm animals and increase the productiveness of
our lands than we are to promote health and happi-
ness among the people If it is the function of the
state to study hog cholera, and to appropriate
money to study the disease and nobody seriously
questions the right and the duty of the state to do
this work. surely it is not asking too much of the
state to take up the study of preventable diseases
from which a million and half of people are con-
stantly suffering in the United States, and which
claim an annual death-ron of 100000 persons.
Already the state has taken up the study of tu-
bercuoss and its prevention, and results compiled
into tables show slight decrease in mortality from
the great white plague. There is a lesson for hui
mainly, too, in the methods employed by the Mis-
souri, Agricultural college in the treatment of its
cattle. Many a and many woman spend
their days In stuffy offices or homes in which the
air is contaminated by much tobacco smoke and
much rebreathing. The prize cattle of Missouri,
however, spend their days in the open air Cattle,
believe, will gladly leave the barn even in the
coolest weather and will stand in wind-swept field
chewing cuds In preference to being penned up all
day IN a barn. If the wind gets too strong they
will seek shelter, but it requires almost blizzard
to drive them into the barn before the middle of
the afternoon. It is not strange that no trace of
tuberculosis has ever been found in the cattle at
the college.
The cost of preventable disease in the impaired
value of the lives affected is estimated at billion
and half dollars year. If all this illness is pre-
ventabe, as is claimed, and the results of appro-
priations looking toward prevention work out as
they did in the Missouri hog cholera case, where
$4,000 saved 100000 annually an appropriation of
$15,000,000 ought to eradicate all this invaidism
and make us nation of people who suffer
the fortunes of preventable illness. Surely the
American people would like to be Shown" as the
hog-raisers Of Missouri have been. In that case,
perhaps our militant Congress would forego the
pleasure of building just one battleship to make
all well and happy.