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THE
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CHEM AW A
AM ERICAN
21
TUBERCULOSIS AVAR
N E A R L Y F O U R T E E N M IL L IO N IN V E S T E D
T of nearly $20,000,000 spent last year in the tre a t
m ent and prevention of tuberculosis in the U nited
States, 69.3 per cent of the m oney was derived from
public funds, eith er federal, state, county or m u n i
cipal. T hese are some of the in terestin g figures given
in the annual statistical statem ent of th e N ational A s
sociation for the S tudy and Prevention of T uberculosis,
m ade public today.
T h e statem ent is based largely on actual reports
received from anti-tuberculosis agencies th ro u g h o u t the co untrv, but
w here rep o rts were not available, the figures have been estim ated.
T reatm en t of tuberculosis p atients in the more than 500 sanatoria and
hospitals of th e country and the construction of such in stitu tio n s cost
over $18,000,000 of th e total ex p en d itu re. Care of p atien ts in d isp en
saries and open air schools cost about $825,000. A nti-tuberculosis as
sociations and com m ittees spent nearly $675,000 in fu rth erin g their
w ork of organization and education, w hile state and local boards of
health and special tuberculosis com m issions spent over $250,000.
More than $13,800,000 or 69.3 per cent of the total expen d itu res came
from public funds. T h e N ational Association points to th is grow ing in
crease in the spending of public m oney for tuberculosis as one of the
most significant facts in th e rep o rt, as it indicates the sh iftin g of the b u r
den of institutional care of consum ptive from the private purse to the g e n
eral public purse, w here it rig h tly belongs. Since 1909 the percentage of
public money spent in tuberculosis work has increased from 53.5 to n ear
ly 70 per cent.