The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-03-05
800 CONSERVATIVES
CAUSE Big LOSS
BOSTON INVESTIGATION SHOWS
HOW TUBERCULOSIS DRAINS
REsouRcEs-No COMMUNITY
SHOULD HEsITATE BECAUSE
OF EXPENSE.

An actual money loss in wages and
institutional car Of $500,028 was sus-
tanned by the city of Boston and by
500 male consumptives studied by DR..
Edwin A. Locke and DIR. Cleveland
Floyd of the out-patient department.
of the Boston Consumptives hospital.
This is but one of the many interest
ing conclusions presented by these
physicians in the March journal og
The Outdoor Life. New York;, the
ton for the Study and Prevention of
tuberculosis.
In order to ascertain the actual econ
omic loss from tuberculosis, Drs. Locke
Floyd selected at random 500 male
cases, men who mad visited the dis
pensary during the last five years.
Two hundred and forty-four OF the
cases studied were dead when the
investigation was begun and 256 were
living. over II per cent Of the men
were between the ages OF 20 and SO.
1t was on May /, 1911, the date OF
the investigation, that the 244 dead
men had each lost on an average OF
58.03 weeks OF work from the time
OF the onset Of their disease until
death. The average weekly a OF
wages of these men was $11.89 and
their total loss in wages amounted 10
$170.965. Tho 25e living s each
lost on an average OF 1913 weeks Of
work at an average wage of $11.3s. or
a total of $255,074, making $426.Oss lost
in wages alone by both groups.
In addition to this large SUM, IL cost
the city Of Boston s7S,9S4 to care for
these 500 men in It's public hospitals
and other institutions. This commun-
ity loss is exclusive OF the large sums
that were spent by private organiza-
tions on 4O6 out of these 500 cases.
-Four hundred and twenty-five men
had families with an average OF 4.22
members. Commenting on this phase
of the problem, the investigators saw
THE direct result ON the family In
come of the disability OF the chief
bread winner is well shown BY the
comparison OF the total and average
weekly income OF the 422 families Be.
fore the onset OF illness and after the
beginning of the stage Of c~ofnpleta
disability. In the first instance the
total weekly income from all sources
was $6807. 20, or an average OF $1l .60.
while In the latter the total weakly
income was only was only $2.0S5.eA
or an average Of $3.50. a decline al
SIS per cent. One hundred ana sixtv-
one families were without income a.
sort during the periods OF corn-
pIete disability OF the patient, whiIn
the total weekly income previous to
this stage was $~1.877.75."
If all Of these losses were adde6 tha
capitalized value OF the earnings o,,4
off by death" Drs. Locke and Flova
estimate that the loss Of the 244 deal
cases alone would bring the Total IN
to nearly $4,000, 900. And if Il thaaa
200 cas actually studied were addad
the 10000 living cases In Boaton thav
estimate the loss to the indfvidua1a
and the city would amount "a magv
millions Of dollars.
These figures OF the econon,c lo.s
loss caused by tuberculosis, thev con-
clnde, present the most compiete ins.
tification for the money Boston hsa
spent In tuberculosis work. ana show,
why other communities shn,,sa ~
hesitate for fear Of expense ID attacr
! the tuberculosis proDlern.
.EE WEN AAM AA