HEALTH AND THE LAWS OF MECHANICS 129 



health augments the well-being and material 

 prosperity of the country ; the continual refrain of 

 the economic question is to unmask ignorance and 

 apathy, and the former constitutes the real crime 

 of outraged humanity (lese humanite). 



There are European peoples who have succeeded 

 in reducing considerably their mortality, as Turin, 

 for instance, which has from 45 per 1000 decreased 

 to 11 per 1000, and Havana, which has just reduced 

 its mortality from more than 40 to 17 per 1000. 

 True, this has cost money ; but the moral and 

 material benefit vastly outweighs the sacrifice. In 

 the island of Cuba, which is now one of the best 

 examples of a model sanitation, they have, in less 

 than three years, quite stamped out the terrible 

 yellow fever as well as the small -pox, and have 

 diminished the mortality of tuberculosis by one- 

 half. 



We say nothing of the moral duty of govern- 

 ments of watching over the public health, this 

 being an obligation to be observed without any 

 kind of restriction ; but unfortunately a State that 

 has no stimulus beyond moral obligation is very 

 rare, only existing indeed among highly civilised 

 nations. We therefore instance economic rather 

 than moral pressure, certain that it is the only one 

 that is regarded, despite other hypocritical excuses. 

 Savages delight in decking themselves with feathers 



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