Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-03-15
What Sickness Costs America

I'll Is declared Dy competent students OF
the subject that in the United States,
at any given time, some two million
people are needlessly, that is to say, pre-
ventably sick, and that every year a million
die prematurely. If these figures were given
out as the record of an epidemic or the toll
Of q military campaign, the nation would
stand aghast. Is 1t not time that we were
taking thought of them in their less i'm
pressive but not less important setting? To
the individuals and families concerned, and
to the community as well, the loss, the suf-
fering and the heartache are much the same
whether they come commonpIacely or with
throb Of war drums.
The human cost of these million prevent
able deaths and two million cases of I'M
necessary sickness is beyond calculation.
But what OF the economic loss? Authorities
reckon that it amounts to considerably more
than four billion dollars a year in capitalize
ed net earnings, in actual costs, and in loss
of current earnings. That the figures are not
overdrawn is clear from the method of esti
mating, as described by Mr.. Henry w.
Lanier, in his Illuminating article National
Waste Through Ill HEALTH" in the current
REVIEW OF REVIEWS. Twelve years
ago." he says, Professor Irving Fisher in
his remarkable report on National vitality
took Fairs estimate of 500 year a
safe minimum average of American earn
ings. He deducted one-fourth to allow for
persons of working age who are not work
ers, but are supported for the most part by
earnings of capital-giving Let average OF
1925. I have raised this to conform to facts
here today. Careful study has established
that for each death there are little more
than two years of illness; or, to put it diff
ferently, there are twice as many people con-
stantly sick as die il. each year" Regret
tally enough, and to the shame Of the de-
linquent, twenty-three of the forty-elght
States have 10 adequate system of vital
statistics, so that it is impossible to say eX-
actly what the national death rate is. For
the registration area, however, which COM
prises two-thiros of the population, the rate
was a fraction more than fourteen to the
thousand in 1917, and is computed to be
eighteen to the thousand for the country as
a whole. This means two million deaths an
nually, and Con the generally accepted basis
of two cases of illness to every death) four
million persons constantly sick.
professor Fisher concluded from his in
vestigations" Mr.. Lanier adds, that at the
very least half of this was preventable,
though it is only fair to say that there are
differences of opinion here. DR.. Lee K.
Frankel, for instance, who has an eXtraor-
binary knowledge from the life insurance
angle, would cut this to 80 per cent. The
Life Extension Institute, a result of its
examination of 100, 900 workers. would raise
1t to so per cent or higher Further DR..
Biggs figured years ago that the actual cost
of medical attendance, medicine, nursing,
ETC., for the consumptive poor of New York
was at least $3.50 for each day Of illness.
Unquestionably this average cost today for
all classes anC all kinds of Sickness would be
more than double this; but calling it only 81.
yun have r11 Of of
money. In the same way, it is clear that
million among these million-and-a-third of
needlessly sick arG act"al workers and must
lose their earnings-as we have seen, more
than $500 each. There is the second bill
lion of loss with an excess of conservation.
Anybody who prefers can cut t. csc estimates
in half, II that will satisfy his mind any bet
ter. There still remains a formidable total
of a couple of thousand millions year,
worse than thrown away by nation com
planning loudly of "cru3hing taxes"
Obviously there ought to be a rebuilding
and trebling of effort. on the part of nation
al state, county and municipal governments,
to prevent disease and to foster health. The
primary responsibility, of course, is the in
dividuars and the famivs; but the utmost
care and intelligence in those quarters will
not suffice unless communities, from the
least to the largest, stand ready with sus-
tanning and reinforcing measures. Indeed,
many Of the largest and acutest health prob
lens public health problems. Geor-
gia's plainest need in this supremely impOr-
tant matter is the recording Of vital statis
TICS without y-hich no adequate basis or plans
for combating disease can be laid, and a
general adoption by the counties of the svs-
tenn provided for in the Ellis Public Health
Act At an expense Of few cents per capita
this conserving measure could be put into
operation throughout the Common
wealth. Within a single year 1t would save
many millions of dollars, many thousands
of lives, and would Increase beyond meas
ure the stores of energy and producing
power.
Some men are to be trusted and some
others are not in the trust.
A man doesn't cut much ice when he tries
5o,,- y ;Fo,- ILL,