The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-01
WANTS STATE
 INSURANCE FOR SICK WORKERS
John F. Gunshannan Addresses New Britain ". M. C. A.
 On Important Topic.

Former Tuberculosis Commissioner John F. Gunshannan addressed the Mems Meeting at the v. M. c. A. Sunday afternoon, taking for his sub ject .eCare of the Sick Poor. 2
 The speaker stated that Professor Fisher of Yale. who is considered an authority, has estimated that s,ooo,- 900 people are constantly sick in this country, and that more than 1,500, 000 0 die annually, one-hah of which num- Der die of preventable or postponable diseases The loss of wages is esti- mated at $500. 900, 900 and cost of care at $460,O00.OO0, making a grand total Of e6o, 900 ,00O annually.
 pr. Wiley says: Mature did not in- tend man to die of disease, and yet everyone dies before his time because you and the State have not looked out for your health
 What is5 needed, then. to prevent this great waste of both life and mon ley is education, and the place to com mence is with the child at school Every boy and girl who reaches the eighth or ninth grade in school should be taught something about caring for the sick and injured and about preventable diseases.
 Our girls to-day have a fair knowl- edge of the commercial world, but how many are fitted to become the mothers of small children. who re- quire constant care and attention as to their health?
 The wage worker is fortunate who gets wife capable of managing his home and not one who has had ex- perience only in the business world. The wage worker is more respon- sibIe than any one else for this condi- ton of affairs because, and it is quite natural, he wishes to give his child the best to be had in the way of education as it exists in our schools to-day. with no thought of advocating change in the course of study to include in the list such studies as would fit his child to become the head of home in the near future.
 Another important part of this great problem is the financial loss sustain ed by the family of a sick bread win ner. The State today has made lsome provision for the wage worker when injured. and there is no reason, 1 the speaker thought, why the State should not make some pr ovision dur ing a period of sickness This could be brought about by some form of State insurance, whereby every work CT should contribute a portion of his weekly wages.
 | Mr Gunshanan said that mutual l benefit and fraternaI societies allow a member to-day about $500 a week for a period of thirteen weeks in any
 
 l amount for him to live on during his time of sickness, and the unfortun- ate consumptiye, whose illness gener- ally runs from one to three years, ! finds no provision made for compen- sation during thtrty-nine weeks of each year.
 It would be cheaper for the State | if it paid the wages of incipient con- sum ptive wage earners for period of one year, in order to allow them to take rest and treatment, in 80 per cent of the cases restoring them to 1 health, than to allow them to become more advanced cases, of which not more than 10 per cent. are restored to health and for which the State is pay | ing ST a week during their confine- | ment in a State sanatorium for a pe- riod of two years and upward. i In closing, the speaker said that he is considering at the present time the l drafting of bill to present to the 1 next General Assembly covering this important question.