The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1920-01-14
ACTION
OF COUNTY COURT
Urge Appropriation for Health
Work---Report Shows
Value to County

The county courts action in re-
fusing to make the appropriation to
continue the work of the state health
board in Bloupt county, has met with
almost unanimous disapproval by the
citizens of the town and county
When it is considered that the courts
action in refusing to appropriate
S2400 for a years work, which would
eliminate disease and help to reduce
the death rate considerably, the
action is inexplicable. (The business
men of Maryville, at meeting of the
Kiwanis club Friday night, took the
matter up, and are a unit in urging
the appropriation. A committee
waited on Chairman McReynolds and
he said if an extra session of the
court is called he will insert in the
call, action to be taken on the health
appropriation. If an extra session is
not called, effort will be made to get
this through at the April term.
That the people may know what
the work is and what has been done,
the report in full of the committee
IN charge of the work here as given
to the couny court, is printed as
follows:
This report is arranged in three
sections, as follows:
Section An analysis of the vital
statistics of Blount county.
Section u.-Report of work ac-
complished during the present cam
aign.
Section INSTRUMENTATION for
further work and reasons therefor.
SECTION l.
An Analysis of the Vital Statistics
Of Blount Count.
Average typhoid rate for past
S years rs-----------------7l. A
Present typhoid rate U. S.
registration area---==-<- <---2G.0 o
Blount county excess -5l a
The present rate of typhoid fever
in Blount county is over. three and
one-half tins that of the U. S. Regis
tration Area. This means that
Blount county is losing three and
one-half times as many persons from
typhoid fever and it's allied causes as
are lost from the average unit of
population of like size in the Regis
tration Area. 1t may be said in this
connection that the Registration Area
includes 500 Of the total population
of the United States and it's rate,
therefore, may be taken as represent
ing the nearest approach to the
national rate that is available. "a
Reducing this loss to terms of fin
ancial valuation, it is found that an
average loss of $94,200 from typhoid
alone is being sustained by your
county each year. A loss of $51, 900
per year from causes allied to typhoid
is also being sustained. Hence loss
of $145,220 per year is occurring
from typhoid fever and its allied
causes of deaths. The basis for this
estimate is found in Fishers report
on national vitality and rests on a
much lower standard of values than
the present. He cites authoritative
estimates reckoning the value of a
life lost from typhoid as $4,000, and
the cost of a case of typhoid as $128.
Further, authority is cited showing
that for each typhoid death prevented
at least two other deaths from allied
causes are prevented, and that the
value of each of these lives is $1,700.
Hence the estimate is as follows:
Average of Is typhoid
deaths per year a $5,OOO-$75, 900
Average of $50 cases typhoid
per year q $128-------- 19,200
Average of 80 deaths from
causes allied to typhoid
fever a $1,700-------- $1,000
Total annual oss-----$145, 200
Though seemingly vague and in
tangible there is in reality no more
definite loss than that from prevent
able disease. Such disease constitu-
tes the most direct taxation upon a
people, by limiting just that much a
peoples ability to prosper and pro-
duce. No community can be strong
er than its people, for a community
can only have that which is produced
by it's people. To attain maximum
production the waste of mans pro-
ductive years by preventable causes
of death must be eliminated. Typhoid
fever and it's allied causes Of death
are preventable diseases and ma
jority of typhoid deaths occur before
or during mans most productive
years.
Diarrhea and Enteritis:
For the past five wears an average