The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1911-06-22
WHITE PLAGUE WAR
HAS COST MILLIONS
Stupendous Expense AS
tounds Denver Convention
a Great Wastes.

Denver, June 22.-The large factors
in the increase of the cost of living,
with the serious consequences it en-
tails on the American people, are not
the tariff nor the trusts nor the lille
gal actions of monopoly, although they
have a tremendous influence on the
increased cost of prices generally in
the United States. The chief cause
Of the increase in the cost of living
is waste. The largest ite mis- that of
waste from unnecessary disease and
death. in which tuberculosis is the
principal factor"
Such was the declaration of Edward
F. McSweeney. chairman of the board
of trustees OF the Boston Consump-
tives hospital, who addressed the Ma
tional association for the Study and
Prevention of tuberculosis in this
city
The speaker continued: 'The four
great wastes of today, more lamenta-
BILE because they are unnecessary, are
preventable deaths. preventable sick
ness, preventable conditions of low
physical and mental efficiency, and
preventable ignorance, all of which are
playing their part in cruel destruc-
ton almost incredible to human minds
and which together operate to bring
about an advance in commodity prices
by affecting the supply of the neces-
saries of life, restricting supply by
taking persons out of productive en-
terprise. thus making production more
expensive. At the same time, while
restricting production by the number
of persons it has taken out of indus.
try, this extends demand by increas-
ing the consumption of goods AS a
rule, the victims of tuberculosis are
all confined to the productive period
of life.
"The total annual tariff revenue of
the Payne-Aldrich bill Ito the United
States government is 20 per cent less
than the actual annual loss of wages
and cost of sickness and deaths from
tuberculosis alone in the United Stat
es. A greater number of persons are
taken out of productive activity by
tuberculosis every year in the United
,, States than there are wage erners in
the state of Massachusetts,
THE researches of the Sage founda-
tion and similar bodies have demon
strated that the average famil income
in the United States is less than $500
On this basis the entire family income
of 562,5O0 householders would be re.
| quired to pay the nations yearly tu.
berculosis bill lalone.
These figures give some idea OF
the cost of tuberculosis alone. When
we come to the total cost to the ma.
tion of all preventabled isease, we
| find the figures even more startling
1.-TWO years loss from preventable
disease in the United States. including
| tuberculosis, would purchase all the
wheat, corn, oats, barley, buckwheat
potatoes. hay and tobacco produced
last year in the United States.
"One years loss from preventable
disease, including tuberculosis, in the
United States would pay the national
debt.
1T would pay the annual interest
on the national debt of the world. II
would reimburse England and the
Tranvaal for the Boer war. 1t would
repay the cost to the United States
of the Spanish-American war 1t is
equal to the combined stock and bond
issue of the railroads in the United
States. 1t would provide for the capi
tilization of all the national banks in
the nation and leave enough money
| over to build the Panama canal.