The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1916-08-12
on purely financial basis Sixty per-

on purely financial basis Sixty per-
sons die in Wayne county every year.
If we could save one-third of these
is hard to estimate the average finan-
cial value Of human life, but after
the child has been born, nourished, ed.
ucated and is arriving at young man.
hood, his life has distinct financial
value to the community depending
upon his earning power. Clearly
man who earns just enough to feed,
lodge and clothe himself has no none
tary value to anyone else because be
is just self-supporting, no more, but
as soon as he begins to earn a sur
plus above his personal requirements
he has marginal value and this sur
plus earning power is the correct basis
for the financial valuation Of life.
In getting at this value rough and
ready rule given by insurance COM
panies is, (see Field Notes, North
western Mutual Life Insurance Co,
Han. 1910, page 81 such an amount OF
insurance as will, at $50 interest re-
place three-ffths of the income OF the
insured. The theory being that the
individual personally absorbs two-fifths
of his income leaving three-ffths for
his family. Thus it would require
$4,000 at $50 to replace three-ffths
of an income at 81, 900. But this is too
much because the income is not per-
petual since the man must die. We
must therefore find the annuity value
for such sum as put at interest at
$50 will give the same income ($1,000)
during the years he will probably live
as calculated by the annuity tables.
The present value of an income of
three-fifths of $1,000 payable annually
during the lifetime of husband and
father aged 35, is $S,6S2. If the age
be less than 30 the value of the life
Is greater, If 1t be more the value of
the life is less.
Other Expense Items
These life values of course only
apply to the bread winners. The earn
ing power of women is less than that
of men but il we take the value of the
average life at even half this figure we
have $4,S41. Then in considering the
loss by tuberculosis we must add the
care of the sick man for perhaps two
years of his illness when he is earning
nothing and where others are occupied
in nursing him although the living e.x-
penses go on as before. Then there
is the doctors bill and the medicines
and the funeral at the end.
Mr. Strawson, State secretary of the
Anti-tuberculosis Society Of Indiana
polls estimates that the average loss
in each case of tuberculosis, followed
by death is $4,000 Now suppose we
could reduce our death rate one-third
as they did in Connecticut, we should
have twenty deaths less every year.
There is 100000 saved each year. II
Mr.. Strawson's figures be considered
too high surely 100000 is a conser-
vative estimate.
Many Dollars Saved
Besides the saving in deaths there
would be a saving in the cases which
are ultimately cured and in those who
do not contract the disease at all owing
to the quarantine and the better con-
ditions which the hospital would in
augurate. 1t is of course idle to give
precise figures but is it not certain
that thee loss of every life destroyed
by tuberculosis involves a money loss
to the community running up into the
thousands of dollars and is not the
saving of these lives good economy?
Cost of Hospital
How much will the saving of these
lives cost? In the first place hos
pital must be built. Let us begin mod
estly and let the work grow. hos
pital for twenty patients will cost
somewhere between $4,000 and $40,
600 That is the first outlay, to build
and equip such an institution. Indeed
we could begin on even less, adding
new buildings as the need arises. DR..
Smith, DR. Ross and others can give
you the cost Of equipment and main
tenance. Indeed we have ample ex-
perience from other hospitals to- show
what the cost will be. In pamphlet
on County hospitals stating the cost
of building and of maintenance in diff |
ferent parts of the country it appears
that the latter is about S1.53 day for
each patient or something less than |
$500 a year.
The report of the Connecticut Tu |
berculosis Commission declares that
the state is now conducting four hos |
pitfalls of 600 beds at a maintenance /
cost of quarter million dollars. that
is about $400 year for each bed. At
East Haven the cost for the excellent /
treatment of the insane including !
is only about 5000 a year
for each patient. But let us fix our I
cost here at a higher figure because T
the hospital is small one. Let us +
say $500 to $500 for each patient t
That would be at most $4,000 a year. |
But part OF these patients would be I
able to pay for their own maintenance /
and ought to be required to do SO !
where they can. If half or even a
quarter of the expense could be thus /
provided for $500 year should pay
the bill $500 year for the saving
Of lives whose mere monetary value /
is more than 100000! Can any more
economical investment of the County's I
money be made?
Proposed Site
For the first year the S25 900 needed
would have to go exclusively to build
ing the hospital. In addition to this
The Commissioners should allow the
use of portion of the County farm
Tor this building. The site on the