The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-03-15
HEALTH, THE BEST INVESTMENT.

HEALTH, THE BEST INVESTMENT.
! If you want better health. pay the
price. Money spent in protecting the
health and the lives of the people is
| the best of all investments. Don't be
| too eager to pass more health laws.
but provide sufficient means to en-
force those already on the statute
books. This is in brief the message
sent by the United States public
health service to two states separated
by several thousand miles.
1t is a well-known axiom that pub
lie health is within certain limits a
purchasab1e commodity, and that
each community practically fixes by
it's sanitary policy its sickness and
death rates from such preventable dis
eases as typhoid fever, malaria, tu-
berculosis, smallpox, etc. The best
indication of the adequacy or made
quacy with which a community is
handling it's health problems is shown
in the ability of the existing health
organization to lessen the prevalence
of sickness.
A great many states and cities have
of late expressed a desire to be made
familiar with their assets and def
ciencies in this respect, and in COM
pliance with requests from the proper
authorities, the United States public
health service has been conducting a
series of Investigations of public
health administration and legislation.
The most recent of these inveStiga-
tions have been made in the states of
West Virginia and Washington, the
reports of which have just been pub
lished.
The studies in West Virginia were
made at the direct request of the gov
ernor, H. D. Hatfield, and in Wash
ington. at the request of the state
board of health. The reports cover in
detail the requisites of efficient health
organization and point out certain re
forms which should be carried out in
order to obtain the best results. In
the interests of economy and eff
cheney, for instance, all sanitary work,
be it child hygiene, industrial SANTA
ton, school hygiene, milk control, etc,
should be centralized and co-ordinated
under properly equipped state depart
ments of health. Local health admin
must be strengthened by the
of health officers giving
their entire time to their duty and
fully responsible to the state depart
ment of health.
While the meritoriouS work accom-
plished by the recent authorities is
recognized, it is stated that the adop-
ton and enforcement of measures for
the protection of the public health in
these states have not kept pace with |
their growth in wealth and popu1a- |
ton. Neither of the two states has
been sufficiently liberal in it's appro-
priations for health work. For exam
pie, in 1914, both Washington, with a
land area of 66,S36 square miles and
a population of about 100000 inhab-
itants, and West Virginia, with an
area of 24,022 square miles and a pop
ulation of over 100000 inhabitants, !
only $4,000 each for the |
use of the state board of health, while |
with an area of 9,941 |
square miles and about the same pop |
ulation as West Virginia, appropriated |
$145,OOO, and Florida, with a much |
smaller area and population than
appropriated over $780,
900 for the same purpose. The public
health service holds that at least
per cent of the public revenue should
be spent for sanitary work, since from
no other expenditure is so much prof
t ultimately derived.