The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-11-01
PUBLIC HEALTH
DEPARTMENT
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Conducted by DR.. J. c. Mahr.
State Commissioner of Health


State to Aid Tuberculosis.
9During the past nine months the
Oklahoma state bo9.d CT hedlIh has
rendered assistance 10 $40 citizens
of Oklahoma il dlaenoyiug tGbegcu-
losis Five hl1lre1 and thirty Of
these we're Amoc'can born Twenty
five were born in Europe and one
in Mexico. OF the 5jG, twenty wera
Indians and ten We're negroes.
AS to occupations, there were nine
BARRIERS, ! lawyer, blacksmiths, %
bookkeepers and clerks, carpen-
ters, 3 druggists, electrical work
ers | engineer l artist, 101 farm
ers. 100 housewives, l hotel keeper,
20 laborers, II merchants, l miller,
3 miners, ministers, l nurse of.
flee men, oil and gas workers,
painters, II doctors, printer real :.
estate agents, l seamstress, 3 rail-
road men, 2 stockmen, SO students,
80 teachers, and 60 not specified.
There are a number of interesting
facts to be observed in this report.
OF the bookkeepers, clerks, office
men and office employees reported,
the largest percentage were of Swe-
dish parentage or born in Sweden.
This would indicate that the Ameri-
can-born citizens have a greater
power of resistance to this disease
than foreign citizens.
There is total number of 1900 :
physicians engaged in active practice
in Oklahoma In nine months II
physicians have been reported as
having tuberculosis. This would be
one out of every 200 physicians prac-
ticing medicine in Oklahoma.
OF the So students served the ages
ran from 10 to % years. In the
common schools in Oklahoma, the
average cost per year to the state,
per student for education is 500.
1t is costing the state $1,10O per year
to educate SO students who will die
before their education is completed,
from a preventable disease.
Of the 80 teachers possibly a large
majority are now teaching in crowd
ed school rooms in the public schools
of Oklahoma.
The majority Of laborers work in
the open and they form a very large
per cent of our population, yet only
20 are reported IA having tubercu-
losis.
Something like 20 per cent of our ,
entire population Of nearly 100000
are farmers. yet only 1O1 or less
than one-ffth Of the number of
tuberculosis come from this class of
our citizenship.
Every tuberculosis patient repre-
sents cost, or an expense of $1,000
due to the fact that tuberculosis
continues over quite a period of time.
They eventually have to quit work,
and they are no longer wage earners;
the expense becomes trebled by
reason of their having to employ doc
tors and purchase medicine, and fin
ally pay the undertaker's bill. Sta
tisticians have estimated that the
average expense for all tuberculosis
patients is not less than S1,500; so
that these citizens are taxed the sum
of SS34,000 by this preventable dis
ease-one that claims a higher death
Toll than any other preyentable dis
ease in Oklahoma.
Public sentiment can demand and
enforce its demands that the public
health be protected from this disease
and that relief be extended The
state health department cannot do
this work by itself with its limited
appropriation Oklahoma has cared
for the deaf, for the blind and for
imbeciles. We have protected society
from the few criminals. and we are
caring for the unfortunate insane;
but what is Oklahoma doing to pro-
tect its citizens from the ravages OF
tuberculosis? We have money for
every other purpose, surely something
can be done for our tuberculars.