The Belding banner-news. (Belding, Mich.) 1918-1973, 1918-07-31
MANY SOLDIERS
AFFLICTED WITH
WHITE PLAGUE
STATE COMBATS DISEASE BY
MAINTAINING 40 BEDS FOR
DISCHARGED MEN AT THE
HOWELL SANATORIUM.

Nearly 500 Michigan soldiers have
been d scharged because of tubercu-
losis and returned to their homes, ac-
cording to statistics gathered by the
Michigan Anti-Tuberculosis assocla-
ton.
\ When the association reported this
fact recently to the state war board,
the board members were almost in
credulous that the number could be
SO large, but they were soon convin-
ced as the state association had the
names and addresses of them all, and
there was no difficulty in securing
state aid as soon as the members un-
derstood that the problem was a big
one.
IL believe" said Attorney General
Grosbeck, "that in spite of the great
amount of work which has been done
in the anti-tuberculosis movement,
the bulk Of the people are still insen-
sible of the responsibility which they
surely hold in regard to the complete
eradication of this disease. | be-
lieve that it can be completely stamp
ed out and that we should spare no
effort to bring this about. 1t will
involve expenditure of money but such
expenditure is more eccnbmical than
the loss of life which is now entailed.
That is true not only of the state
as a whole but of every individual
county as well the Michigan Anti
tuberculos association declares. The
indirect tuberculosis tax which every
community pays is enormous. The
disease costs perhaps 80 times as
much in actual cash as il would cost
II the problem were attacked on
broad scale and in vigorous way.
A completely equipped joint county
sanator. UNI for instance would cost
the counties taking part in the project
about $4,000 jo ntly. A county tu-
bercu,osis nurse, a city tuberculosis
expert would add to the total cost.
Open air schools would cost some
thing and the several other ways open
to the average community for ccm-
batting the disease mean the expendi-
ture of money. People are afraid of
the cost and SO they end up by doing
] tile or nothing.
But all the time there are scores,
perhaps hundreds in those commune
ties Ill with the disease, a certain per-
centage dying each year All are
paying doctors bills, are losing time
from their work, are non-producers
for their community and for the ma
ton. Perhaps in the end the county
has to shoulder the burden of the
maintenance of their families. The
total cost is cut of all proportion to
what the cost would be of preventing
all this illness and suffering and
death by adopting the tools that can
done but it is still too much like try
fyac RI NJ tho xxytfh a fon
spoon.
The fact that the state war board
recently appropriated nearly 1000
for the maintenance of 40 beds for
tuberculosis soldiers at the State san
atorium at Howell will have a good
effect, it is believed, on the plans for
building joint county sanatoriums in
various prts of the state.
Preliminary plans for such projects
haze been under discussion in more
than a dozen counties during the past
year. But boards of supervisors
necessarily proceed slowly. This was
all the more so because in each case
the boards of three or four counties
are involved. Frequently the super
visors of one or two counties are
about ready to go ahead but the other
county lags and SO the plans are held
up.
But the example of the state war
board is expected to direct the at
tention of the various boards to the
building plan. If the state of Michi-
gan finds it necessary to take a step
of this kind in order to save the lives
of the soldiers. the various counties
likewise need to do something for
their own population.
Michigan's greatest handicap in the
tuberculosis fight is want of sana-