The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-02-08
From George P. West, Committee on

Ind fifty thousand men, women and
>hildren are killed each year in the
United States, and 4.7OO,OOo are
wounded because our statesmen re-
main silent N the face of the daily
atrocities wrought in times of peace
by our system of economic and indus
rial exploitation.
Such is the toll each year in the
United States of poverty and it's Off
spring, preventable diseases The
igures are ultra conservative, being
)ut half the total number of deaths
nd illnesses, which, according to the
highest medical authority could be
reverted by stamping out poverty or
merely by appropriating a third the
ost of one battleship for the public
health.
They do not include the 100000
American babies killed by poverty
each year befole they reach their first
| birthday. These and the quarter mil
lion older persons die annually as
| victims of a system by which the few
are protected by Government in the
| ownership and arbitrary control of the
| land. natural resources and machinery
| that should be a source of life and
well being to all.
No president or ex-president lifts
his voice against the ceaseless s1augh-
Yet of babies alone, the toll is one
thousand times greater each year than
that of the Lusitania torpedoing.
Instead of attacking the injustice
anu olsnohor ana cruelty OF explolta-
uon at nome, OF 4appropr1at1ng money
with which the dAath-ton could be cut
in half, our statesmen propose to spend
hundreds of millions to defend prin-
ciples and ideals that have been open
~ ana repeatedly violated mere at
nome without protest ana that are
nouteo ana cruclned by men VINO pose
as our leading citizens
NOT can awning else be expected
Until the Vlctins' the workers ana
phouucefs' AWAKE organize, ana match
thelr power against tnat OF those VINO
now exPlolts then unchecked.
Inc committee on 1noustrlaI Rela-5
t1ons mas used 1gures at the head OF
TINS column winch nave been care
lIuIly computed from United states
census Reports py competent ofnc1als
VINO a1oeo the committee surgeon
e1zi eI'l rupert piue OF the onlCeo
~ uoAic i1e1ieH oeIVice Is au-
l1oIley TOT me stateraent that nIty per
oeIlts u uea'Hs from preVenlaDle us
ease can De prevented.
Inc 1eIes. help 20 explain why
those VINO see the struggle to con-
q ti me woIL ' 1or humanity anu JUS
tice as the only real suugg1e reIuse TO
1e1 the issue De clouoeo oy Wfangllng
oetWeen oIploItlatS over points OF non
oio!ti<e olliy wen Inc
=! t 1865 u W. Hs1tioAs coIiiS
- s1Iiu ma 81
-" ..: -~'eoe az rs
81 oii tiie WIZ hAeAS oA LIS SAAAie
country,
me CoIillIllttee IN Inc Presenl pulle-
LII viii present eVloence showing tnat
PoVeily Is Inc u4rect cause Oh peace
Toll OF misery sunerlng ana oeatn
r IN tlii : % uilly SUI passIns ma
IeAeu ny the al ii!eo loiceS oA any DEL
llserent country IN EUROPE.
e1oN q nilielies"i liesiecl - t!Ie seGoIio
cause anu the I1cts dpout II VIII pc
ulSclo9eo III d seco!iue puiAeIiH DuC II
Inc money no" piliis up III view ORR
Danks 10 the creoit OF men VINO are
preparing an lmper1ahstlc campaign OF
N ' eAploiIaClon were ulstr1pueeo IN
nIgnef wages, cheap creo1ts, ana low
er rents there would be no need Tor
governmental acIion.
MAJOR General Wllham =. Gorgas IS
Inc man VINO cleaAeu up Fana!la anu
mace possible the digging OF the Ca
nal. He Is the hlghest medical ofncer
OF the Onlted states army ana IS
a sc1enust or world reputation. He
saLu'
me preNehtdple IhortanIy an TINS
country Is greaLer than the mortanIy
causeu py the european war. oclehce
Knows IiIaI Ci1e cIlieA cause Oh oAsea.Se
is poverty; that disease can never be
eliminated SO long as people are Iorc-
ed 70 EVe poorly ana close together.
Here are the hgures compiled IN CO.
operauon with government experts
and endorsed by them, showing now
poverty kills
In Brookhne, Massachusetts,, live
the WeI-to-do, and the rich OF Boston
Bap1es ole IN Brook1ne at the rate OF
70 per thousand In south Bethle-
hem, where live the steel workers
whose brain and Drawn produce the
wealth that has g1utted Wall Street
banks and the Golfers of Broadway
wine merchants, babies die at the rate
of 233 per thousand.
Where the people work the hardest,
their babies die the fastest. Poverty
kills them. It is fair to say that the
net result of the American steel in
dustry is killing babies and making