The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1915-10-22
INDUSTRIAL CONDITIONS AND
THE PUBLIC HEALTH SICK
NESS INSURANCE.

NESS INSURANCE.
The Investigations which have been
conducted by the Commission under
the direction of DR.. B. S. Warren of
the public health service, are the
basis for the following conclusions:
/. Each of the thirty-odd million
wage earners in the United States
loses an average of nine days year
through sickness. At an average of
So per day, the wage loss from this
source is over $5OO,OOO,OOO.
At the average cost of medical ex-
penses CSC per capita per year, there
is added to this at the very least
$3.50, 100000.
2. Much attention is now given to
accident prevention, yet accidents
cause only one-seventh as much des-
titution as does sickness and one
fifteenth as much as does unemploy-
ment A great deal of unemployment
is directly due to sickness, and sick
ness, in turn, follows unemployment.
The Commissions recent study in In
diana showed that 17.9 per cent. of
unemployment among women in stores
in that state was due to illness. In
1901, a federal investigation of 25,440
workmen's families showed that 112
per cent. of heads of families were
idle during the year on account of
sickness and that the average period
of such unemployment was III weeks
Other Investigations show that 80 to
40 per cent of cases requiring chari-
table relief are Immediately due to
sickness.
POVERTY CAUSES SICKNESS
3. Sickness among wage earners
is primarily the direct result of pow
erty, which manifests itself in insult
ficient diet, bad housing, inadequate
clothing, and generally unfavorable
surroundings il the homo The sur
roundings at the place of work and
the personal habits of the worker are
important but secondary factors
4. There are three general groups
of disease-causing conditions: %
Those for which the eemployer and
character of the industry and occupa-
tion are responsiJle (2) those for
which the public, through regulatory
and relief agencies is responsible;
and CD those for which the Individual
worker and his family are responsible.
5. The employers responsibility in
cludes, besides conditions causing So
called occupational diseases, low
wages, excessive hours, methods caus-
ing nervous strain, and general in
sanitary conditions.
Many employers already partly rec
ognize their responsibility; aside from
"welfare work." many contribute lib
orally to employees sick benefit
funds or provide for the entire amount.
6. The public has in part recog-
nized it's responsibility in such mat
ters as housing. water supply, foods,
drugs and sanitation. But the recog-
milton of responsibility has not been
thorough-going and in the case of To-
cal health officers the tendency has
been too frequently to provide for the
better residential sections and neglect
the slums.
7. The greatest share of RESPONSE
bility rests upon the individual and
under present conditions he is unable
to meet it.
This inability exists by reason of
the fact that the majority of wage
earners do not receive sufficient
wages to provide for proper living
and because the present
methods of disease prevention and
cure are expensive and sickness is
most prevalent among those who are
least able to purchase health. The
worker is expected to provide for al
most certain contingencies in the flu
ture when he lacks means of existing
in the present,
s. If we might reasonably expect
a rapid increase in the wages of all
classes of workers to a standard which
would permit proper living conditions
and adequate medical attention, it
would perhaps be inadvisable to rec
ommend any governmental action.
But we feel assured that no such con-
dition is to be expected in the near flu
ture, and believe that new methods of
dealing with the existing evils mus.
be adopted.
8. The remedial measures for ex-
listing conditions must be based on
the cooperative action of those re-