The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1901-1982, 1913-04-17

Howard in the report to the Concerva-
tive Commission, states as his belief,
that malaria costs annually one hun
bred million dollars and the insect
borne diseases two hundred millions.
Health promotion is a science. Wise
expenditure in certain activities will
bring returns in lowered mortality
rate just as surely as money invested
in United States bonds will return in
terest.
Vaccination of every member of the
community a. certain intervals will
prevent, absolutely, epidemics of small
pox, which without this precaution-
are sure to occur. Some communities
have become sufficiently convinced to
invest sums adequate for given re-
turns. Chicago is one of these. With
in the past 10 years, this city has ex-
pended sixty-two million dollars in
preventing contamination Of her wat
en- supply. Of this the Inter-Ocean of
January l says:
Results measured by human lives
saved, to say nothing of sickness and
suffering avoided, nor of the advertis-
ing value of the lower death rate,
proved this expenditure to be the wis
est Chicago ever made. Figures show
that our citizens have already secured
full returns from their investment, to-
gether with a good rate of interest"
To quote from official records Of
this same city definite statements of
results, "a 21-cent health department
for Chicago can hold the number of
deaths from diptheria at about 800;
from scarlet fever at about 600; ty-
phoid at about 800; and baby deaths
from summer complaint at about g.
OOO."
A health department spending so
cents per capita should put diptheria
down to, say 100 deaths per year!
scarlet fever to about 500; typhoid to
100; and cut 5 per cent from con-
mortality.
In your city of 5000 using the Chi
cago figures, a 21-cent per capita
would hold the diptheria rate to one
each year and a 50-cent health de-
partment to one death every seven
years from this dread disease.
A ca, ~ Of re
ia would mean for Conway 81, 800 and
for the state 100000. According to
the Cuban ratio, where the per capita
is 46 cents, results show that 4.32
lives per 1000 arc saved each year.
At this rate, in Arkansas, there would
be a total of 6,912 people saved an
nually. If one-fourth are wage-earn-
ers the value would be approximately
81 ,209, 900. Would the so cents per
capita investment pay?
Using these figures for Conway, at
go cents per capita, efficient health
work would cost $500 and save Is
lives every year.
1t is only recently that sanitarians
and students of economics have been
able to work out these values. Until
money had been expended in sanitary
reforms, and experiments proved,
there was no basis for such estimates.
The returns are longer lives and
more efficient men and women. These
become ultimately material wealth in
the form of bank accounts, improved
homes and in other evidences of pros
Gritty.
A saving of waste implies a CORE
spending gain. In nothing is it more
clearly illustrated than in the elimi-
nation of this element of preventable
illness. Health is purchasable. 1t is
a question of deaths versus dollars.
Not that any sanitarian believes there
can be entire immunity from disease
as yet-but he is convinced that the
application of the principles of SAM
tary science gives returns of fixed
value
There is yet another phase of the
economic aspect of investment in dis
ease prevention. Every state, almost
every community, is burdened with
tie care of a large class of unfortu-
mates. In the United States in 1910,
there were one hundred and seventy