The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-06-25
WHAT MAKES HIGH
 COST OF L|V|NG?! MT. McSweeny Says It Is
 Tuberculosis STATISTICS. ARE GIVEN
Two Years Loss From Preventable Disease Would Pay National Debt, Provide Capitalization of Banks
 and Build Panama Canal

Denver June 24.-"The large factors In the increase of the cost of living with the serious consequences it entails on the American people, are not the tariff nor the trusts nor the illegal actions of monopoly, although they have a tre- mendous influence on the increase cost of prices generally in the United States. The chief cause of the increase in the cost of living is waste. The largest item is that of waste from unnecessary dis ease and death. in which tuberculosis is the principle factor"
 Such was the declaration of Edward F. McSweeney chairman of the board Of trustees of the Boston consumptives hos ptal who today addressed the national association for the study and preven- ton of tuberculosis. The speaker con tinued:
 "The four great wastes of today. more lamentable because they are unnecessary, are preventable deaths, preventable sick ness, preventable conditions of low phys ical and mental efficiency. and prevent able ignorance, all of which are play ing their part in cruel devasting de- struction almost Incredible to human minds. and which together operate to bring about an advance in commodity prices by affecting the supply of the necessaries of life, restricting supply by taking persons out of productive enter prise, thus making production more ex- pensive. At the same time, while re- t1n .f persons 1t has taken out of industry, this extends demand by increasing 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 to the United State. 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 States.
 "A greater number of persons are taken out of productive industry by tuberculosis every year in the United States than there are wage earners in the state of Massachusetts.
 The researches oi the Sage foundation and similar bodies have demonstrated that the average family income in the United States is less than $500. On this basis the entire family income of 562, 300 household ITS woulc be required to pay the nations yearly tuberculosis bill alone.
 "These figures give some idea of the cost of tuberculosis alore. When we come to the total cost to the nation of all preventable disease, we find the figures even more startling
 Two years loss from preventable dis ease in the United States, including tu- berculosis, would purchase all the wheat, corn, oats, rye. barley, buckwheat, po- tatoes hay and tobacco produced last year Tn the United States.
 s"One years loss from preventable dis- ease, including tuberculosis in the United States would pay the national debt
 Tt would pay the annual interest on the national debt of the world.
 Tt would reimburse England and the Transvaal for the Boer var.
 '2It would repay the cost to the United States of the Spanish-American war.
 'It is equal to the combined stock and bond issues cf the railroads in the United States.
 Tt would provide for the capitalization of all the national bar.xs in the nation and leave enough money over to build the Panama canal"