The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-03-30
Human Lives as State Assets.

This fact has an immense personal
meaning for all people of the state
among these rescued lives might have
been your own, your wife's, your
child's; but they also have a value
which is measurable in dollars and
cents. The political economists now
recognize that the most valuable kind
of wealth is the human life-that hu.
man labor is worth at least five times
that OF all other forms of capital.
Even the newly landed immigrant, ac-
cording to these investigators, has a
per capita value of 1915; that is. he
| adds just that much to the nations
capital. Professor Irving Fisher, of
Yale, one of the foremost American
economists, has painstakingly figured
the financial value to the state of
every citizen at particular ages. A
newborn infant, says Professor Fish
err is actually worth $50, while a five-
year.old child is worth $3.50. From
this point on his value rapidly in
creases; at ten, could he be sold at
auction, his market value would be at
least $4,000; at twenty 1t would be
$4,000. and at thirty. s41o0 From this
point the average human being begins
to lose value, in proportion to his de-
creasing productivity, until at fifty,
| Professor Fisher gives him a value of
only 500. This same authority places
the worth OF the average life lost by
! preventable diseases at s1700. Taking
I La
rate in Pennsylvania for the last two
/ years represents money saving OF
! $22, ,64l 900. The state, in other words.
/ is just that much richer-has Just that
much more available capital. For its
actual expenditure to date Of S3,000,-
| 900, including a large portion for per-
msnent improvements, 1t has taken in
more than 323,0oo,0o0. The earnings
OF the new Department OF Health, con.
sldered purely from the commercial
standpoint, thus represent dividends
of mere than 766 per cent in four
1 years.
/ What is the value placed by the av-
erage citizen upon his children's lives
not the financial value estimated by
/ the Unconditional economist, but the
worth in affection. good citizenship
and in all that holds the social organi.
zation together? Is II good business
/ policy to save the lives OF children at
81 apiece? Is it paternalistic and so
cialstic to protect them against dan.
gerous infections at the rate OF 81 per
head, That is what the state of Penn.
sylI snia is doing now. This conserva.
tive old commonwealth has reached
that stage of paternalism where the
government will not sit quietly by
and watch a little child choke to death
with diphtheria when the expenditure
OF few dollars from the public treas.
ury will relieve its sufferings and save
fits life.
Saving the Little Ones.
For the last ten years the practical
remedy for diphtheriA has been avail
able for the children OF prosperous
households. but It has not been avail
able for the poor. Since Won Behring's
Immortal discovery that the blood
serum OF a horse which has recovered
from diphtheria possessed wonderful
curative properties. and when intro
duced into the human organism, would
usually destroy the disease, this for
mer scourge OF childhood has lost
nearly all Its terrors. In the old days
diphtheria destroyed nearly one hall
of all the children Il assailed IL would