FAMILY 

 INCOME 



NUMBER OF ILLNESSES OF 

 ONE WEEK OR LONGER PER 1000 PERSONS 



On relief 



Under $1000 



$1000 to $2000 



$2000 or over 



Entire population 



^£^ ^^^ ^E:^ ^E:2:j ^^=:3j ^:i^ ^a^ ^e:^ ^^i2j ^^^ ^=2( ^ 



]^^ ^E-l ^=^ \^^'^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^gUS) ^ 

 ^^S:^ ^^^ ^^==1 ^::^ ^E:2| ^Z2j ^^ ^ 

 ^^=:^ ^^ ^==^ ^E:^ ^E:^ ^^ ^^ ^ 



N^^i h^^ \'^^~^ \^'^~^ [^'■'^s^ [^g=-^ [^>g=^ h^-j h 



Each ["^^^^^ =r 20 illnesses 



Average for 

 entire population 



THE POOR GET SICK MORE OFTEN 



It has always been known that being poor increases the chances of being sick. But 

 how poor must people be to be sicker than the average? Does a high enough income 

 insure against all illness? And are not people sometimes poor because they are too 

 sick to produce and earn? 



Ways of Living^ If we compare peoples in different periods or in dif- 

 ferent parts of the world, we find certain connections between modes of life 

 and states of health or well-being. Epidemic diseases are, of course, associated 

 with crowding. Famine is associated with depending too closely upon "na- 

 ture" — living from hand to mouth, making no provision for possible drought or 

 for other interferences with crops or game. We are no better able than the an- 

 cients to control the weather, but we do know a little farther in advance when 

 changes in weather are likely to take place, and we can plan farther ahead. 



Within our large and mixed population, families and groups differ greatly 

 in their ways of managing their homes and persons, in their ways of eating and 

 dressing, in their ways of working, resting, playing. These variations bring 



THE POOR REMAIN SICK LONGER 



Not only is sickness more frequent among the poor, but the average loss of time for 

 each illness is also greater among them. If it were merely a matter of luck whether 

 sickness strikes one person rather than another, there should not be this great differ- 

 ence in time needed to recover 



iSee No. 2, p. 638. 



611 



