The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-06-21
Unique Argument Presented
by Famous Expert at Ma
tional Convention of White
Plague Fighters.
A WASTE OF LIVES
IN UNITED STATES
Like Waste of Americans in
Everything Else Brings
Face to Face with Increas-
ed Cost of Living.
(National News Association

(National News Association
Denver, Colo, June Clone Of the
interesting features of today's meet
| ing of the National Association fof
the Study and Prevention of Tubercu-
losis. was an address by Edward F..
McSweeney. chairman of the trus-
tees of the Boston Consumptives' hos
pital. on Tuberculosis as Factor in
the Increased Cost of Living
He said the increase in the cost of
living during the last decade and a
half had its initial impulse in the in
creased cheapness of gold While this
explains the underlying cause of the
upward trend in the cost of commO-
dities, it only accounts. however, for
less than One-sixth of the maximum
/, increase. The large factors in the in
crease 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
tremendous influence on the increased
cost of prices generally in the United
States. The chief cause of the in
crease in the cost of living is waste.
The largest item is that of waste from
unnecessary disease and death, in
which tuberculosis is the principal
factor. Then he continued:
Four Great Wastes.
"The four great wastes of today,
more lam.ntable because they are un-
necessary. are preventable deaths.
prventable conditions of low physical
and mental efficiency, and preventable
ignorance. all of which are playing
their part in a cruel devasting destruc-
tiOn 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 amount
of persons it has taken out of industry,
this extends demand by increasing the
consumption of goods. AS 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 ttI United
than the actual annual loss of wages
and cost of sickness and deaths from
tuberculosis alone in the United
States.
Senator Aldrich's statement that
waste and inefficiency was causing a
loss of 800 millions every year to the
United States government made the
nation sit up and take notice, and has
been the cause Of instituting reforms
in governmental methods that have
already saved scores of millions of dol
lars; yet even If Senator Aldrich's fig
ures of loss to the government by in
efficiency could be proven to be true
it would still be only two-thirds of the
actual cost in loss of wages, in main
tenance, medical attention and finan.
cial expenses of the persons who die
from tuberculosis in the United States
every year.
What Industry Loses.
"A greater number of persons are
taken out of productive industry by
tuberculosis every year in the United
States that there are wage earners in
the State of Massachusetts,.
The researches of the Sage Founda-
ton and similar bodies have demon
strated that the average family in
come in the U1ited States is less than
$500. On this basis the entire family
income of $4,000 householders would
be required to pay the nations yearly
tuberculosis bill alone.
These figures give some idea of
the cost of tuberculosis alone When
We come to the total cost to the ma
tion, of all preventable disease. we
find the figures even more startling.
Two years loss from preventable
disease in the United States. includ-
ing tuberculosis, would purchase all
the wheat. corn. oats. rye, 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
1T would reimburse England and
the Transavaal for the Boer War.
1T would repay the cost to the Uni
ted States of the Spanish
war.
1T is equal to the combined STOCK
and bond issues of all the railroads in
the United States.
1T would provide for the capitali-
cation of all the national banks in the
nation and leave enough money over
to build the Panama CANA