The loss of wealth by the loss of health / by John Watts.

  • Watts, John
Date:
[1879?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The loss of wealth by the loss of health / by John Watts. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    . idemng circle of knowledge at their command is constantly m^^^^^^ useful to all who are brought under their care ; and the jery tact hat this advice is needful is proof that with more knowledge there vill be less disease-in other words, that much of the present ;uffering need not be. . , • r • 11 • 4.-^„ fV,on And as we know that mortality is less m friendly societies than n the population generally, is it not fair to conclude that sickness s more rife amongst non-members also, seeing that they must be iccounted less prudent, and can only be divided into those who -un the risk of serious pecuniary difficulties if they iieed medical lid, those who go to the free medical charities for help, and those .vho entirely neglect any means of reUef until they are past help md past hope ? . •, , 1 „f Now if I have satisfied you that any considerable amount ot the sickness at present experienced would, under improved con- ditions, be prevented, it will be well to learn to what extent personal and social suffering is accompanied by pecuniary loss. It looks a small matter that a man should miss a few days work .occasionally because he is not quite well; but when we learn that in the Manchester Unity of Oddfellows alone there was paid tor sickness in 1878 the sum of ^347,213> or 13s. 4d. per member, and that this large society, whose ramifications extend all over the civilised world, only represents about 10 per cent of the heads of families in England and Wales, and only about 2 per cent of the whole population, it is no longer to be called an insignificant affair. The heads of families in England and Wales number about 5,111,111, of whom 4,259,259 are working-class families, whose weekly wages will amount to about ;^5,322,675, or ^^887,112 per working day. Now the heads of families do not comprise all the workers therein, but they are sufficient for my purpose. The experience of friendly societies, according to Mr. Neison (1867), shows an average of about 2-45 weeks per annum per member for all ages between 21 years and 70 years. But we have to include m our calculations the less prudent men, who are not members of friendly societies, and we may therefore safely assume an average sickness of 2 working weeks per annum, and then we shall find that by loss of work through sickness the working men lose no less than ;^i3,3o6,687 per annum; and if we add 25 per cent to that sum for the losses of employers and dealers by lessened trade, we shall find a loss to society the measure of which is ^^16,633,359, or 108,890 for each day of sickness. Here, then, is our additional motive for work as sanitary
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