The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-05-09
GOOD WAGES AND SHORT HOURS
Tend to Reduce the Death Rate from
tuberculosis

Tuberculosis.
] Washington, MAY 9.--Good wages, and
short hours of work have marked raw
orable effect on the death rate from tup-
erculosis, said DIR. b. $. Warren IN a
paper read Yesterday at the ninth an
nual meeting of the National Association
for the Study and Prevention OF Tuber'
culosis. DIR. Warren is surgeon in the
federal public health service at Wash
ington.
The problem of prevention. he said, is
an economic one, dependent upon the
nd iustment Of the industrial relations
between the laborer and the employer.
| He quoted from the reports OF the cen
sus bureau to show that in those in
dustries where the condition of the en-
ployees is the least satisfactory the
death rate is highest. Statistics appear
to prove the statement, he added. that
while some occupations are Of them
selves causes of high death rates, tuber-
culosis is not in this sense an oecupa-
tonal disease but rather one due to in
adequate compensation. with all that
that means in the standards of living.
While many government employees
are working under unsanltary conditions
at the same time the death rate among
these men is reported to be very low,
as shown by official reports for the year
during which the Investigations were
made. Overerowding, poor ventilation,
poor light. piece work, speeding-up, etc,
all the bad conditions, except long hours,
were noted among 1000 employees, with
only four deaths from tuberculosis during
the year.
On the other hand. all wages in this
group of government employees were S9
per week or more and the general aver
age was much above that All legal hol-
idays, certain half holidays, the benefits
Of the employers liability act, sick leave
and 30 days annual leave were allowed
in most cases.
If standards as high as those prevail
ing for government employees prevailed
in the various private industries, the
death rate from tuberculosis among
workingmen would be lower.
Washington, d. c., May 9.-Nearly
100000 lives have been saved in the
United States during the decade ending
1910 by the systematic campaign against
tuberculosis, said Frederick J.. Hoffman
yesterday in paper read at the ninth
annual meeting Of the National Associa-
ton for the Study and Prevention of
tuberculosis. The author of the paper
is prominent life insurance statisti-
clan. residing in Newark. \. J. The
death rate from tuberculosis during this
period, he declared has diminished from
l74.5 to 1907 per 100000 Of popula
ton. Mortality from this disease has
decreased, actually as well as relative
ly, during the last thirty days.
Where so much has been achieved said
Mr.. Hoffman. the hope is justified that
at least equally satisfactory results will
be secured in the future. The nation
wide campaign against tuberculosis
would have been well worth while even
if it had succeeded only in preventing
rise in the death rate. which, in all
would have taken place but
for this movement
A study of the combined mortality
from tuberculosis Of the cities OF New
York. Philadelphia and Boston for 100
years, commencing with 1912, shows
that the death rate from this disease
has persistently diminished from 4lS.6
per 100000 population in the first dec
ade of this period to 2l3.o in the last
decade. Furthermore, this tabulation,
which seems to be the first Of its kind
that has ever been made for any group
of large cities in the world, shows that
there has been much more decided
tendency toward reduction OF the death
rate since 1882. The death rate from
tuberculosis which was 1901 in 1881
had declined to 1901 in 1912.
Another study OF so large American
cities for the forty-year period begin
ming 1871, shows that the death rate
in this group of American cities has de-
clined from 335 per 100000 in 1881 to
1876 in 1911. The decline in northern
and western cities was from 325 to
1850 per 100000. or sos per cent. In
the white population of southern cities
the rate declined from 3ol to $50 or
502. while the colored population of
southern cities showed reduction from
COS to 1913, or 367 per cent