The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-21

of the thirty million WaSe-earnerS III the United. States loses in the course of a year, nine days by reason of ill- ness. At the average value of la Dor of $2.0O a day, the loss to the wage-earner of the United States from
 sickness is $5OO,O0O,0OO,
 Loss of Efficiency from Tuberculosis.
 A manufac acturer employing labor
 will have greater efficiency if proper safeguards are taken to protect the Iaborer from illness which renders his physical condition unfit for care ful, productive work. In order to hold ones place in the van of eco
 homie manufacturing in these days, 1t is essentially necessary that an em- pIoyer of labor shall give careful con
 sideration to the study of efficiency. Tuberculosis of the lungs is one of the chief causes for physical impair ment with the resulting loss of earn ing power When in 8 low physical 1condition, a workman operating an lelevator, a ma chine tool or other de- vice, capable of causing an accident, lis more kliable through carelessness
 due to his condition, to lnJure him self or others, possibly by the loss of an arm or a. leg or even life Itself,
 than when in good physical condition. i All manufacturers in New England bare aware that this fact has a ten
 dency to prevent the reduction of the
 premium charged for liability labor
 insurance.
 Does the business man fully appre-
 ciate the importance of. the health
 of the employee as q factor in indus trial eficiepc cy2 Would it not pay to have a systematic supervision of
 the health of employees while at work? Would it not pay to teach en- ployees how to safeguard their
 health? What should be done for the average employee so. that he could fbe financially assisted on discovering that he had early symptoms of dis
 ease? These are important ques-
 tions.
 | Medical Examination of Employees. A good system of medical examina- 4 ton would be the basis of economic
 service to the employee, the employ
 CT, and through them to the commun- l ity and would be @ sound principle of
 public policy. Large expenditures by
 employers of labor for physical ex- lanination for tuberculosis and ar-S engagements for proper treatment of those afflicted, would not be Justified in the accounting department unless the efficiency produced would show a profit on the transaction. The at- titude of employers is generally fa- vorab1e towards measures insuring the health of their employees. Would not compulsory sickness insurance solve this difficulty? -4 .---.-~S-s-. In many f1rms.s> considerable pro- gress has been made in matters of general sanitation. comfort, sickness, disability, etc, etc. Also Employees Relief Associations have been formed usually with the cooperation and f. nancial assistance of the employers. If the majority of working men and women would join these relief asso- citations, a small per-capita charge would take care of the problem, the difficulty being that a strong, active and healthy person does not easily see any immediate necessity for medical examination.
 Compulsory insurance would be most helpful in this case. The sys-Ni tematic medical exAmination of ope- ratives by regular physicians possess l ing special experience in the diagno- sis of tuberculosis, has been adopted in Chicago, by such we'll known firms as Montgomery, Ward & Company, Chicago Telephone Company, Swift & 1 Company, Sears-R oebuck & Company, and the International Harvester Com pany, which latter firm co-operates with it's benefit association in sharing with the employee the expense of sari- atorium care. Also when necessary for the care of the family. ~
 COnnecticut'S Tuberculosis Children.
 There is great need for enlarged fa- cilities for taking care of our tuber- cu1Ous children It is not necessary to inform you that it is more econorn- ica1 for the State to cure early tuber- cu1osis in child than to wait until that child, later in life, reaches the advanced and incurab1e stage and be- comes 9. charge upon the state.
 We appeal strongly to those charf- table organizations of the state, whose rnen1b ership is composed of large h 7R9 fO at 1an lem of our tuberculous. children. We need more visitors and. a greater in terest in the work.
 We wish to spread the Knowledge of what we are doing throughout Con- necticut. Through the bountifu1 pro- vision of the state it has been pos sib1e to perform the celebrated Albee operation on those children requiring it. In one case, for example, a, small child with golden hair and bright blue eyes, had bone tuberculosis of the spine. The bones in the spine had become so destroyed by the ravages of the disease that it gave no support with the result that the child had lost all power of movement of the body below the waist, and of course was confined to his bed in a most pathetic condition.
 The Albee operation consists of fast ening a longitudinal section of bone from the child's shin in the place of. the diseased spinal vertabrae. The operation was such a success that it would do your heart good to see this child running about the sanatoriun, happy free from pain, and in 8 fair way towards rapid recovery and to become a useful member of society.
 In our Tuberculosis Sanatorfum at Hartford, there are forty-six children, ranging in age from fourteen months to twelve years. Miss Ltghtfoot, who is especially retained for teaching the older children, has regular classes or little ones in one of our shacks open to the fresh air, in all but. the most bitter weather taking care of the mental development of these wards of the state while the doctors and nur-