Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1881-09-10
Mortality of Children.


Summer after summer we have the
same fearful statistics of the mortality
of children under five years OF age, as
compared with the death-list of all per-
sons over that age. The figures are so
out of proportion that it is impossible,
it would seem, to escape the conclusion
that there must be something radically
wrong in our treatment of children.
Take, for instance, the mortuary report
for the last week, which is but q fair
specimen, as the death-lists for the sum-
mers of 1889 will verify. There died,
last week, in our city, altogether 250
persons. OF this number 144-that is,
more than one half-were children I'M
der five years of age. OF these 144,
again, 116 were infants under one year,
twenty-three between one and two years,
and five between two and five years.
These figures would, furthermore, seem
to show that, in proportion as our chill
dren are mere babies, we treat them
more irrationally. A further compari-
son of the tables of our summer deaths,
were it necessary, would show, further,
that the hotter the summer is the great
er is the disproportion between infants
and adults. Now, what can be the
reasonP The notion that children die in
such large numbers because they are
teething is absurd; because infants I'M
der one year, who fill nearly one.half of
the above mortuary list, are not gener-
ally given to teething; and because
teething is in itself not an unwholesome
operation. Besides, doctors almost in
variahly assign, as the cause of the
death of these infants, what is usually
called summer complaint, which means
diarrheal diseases. Why, then should
these diseases affect little children so
much more powerfully than persons
who are sufficiently advanced in age to
crawl or walk out of doors, romp in the
streets, 90 into the parks-in short, to
escape the confinement of close, ill-ven-
tilated rooms, and enjoy, out of doors,
the fresh air of Godp The answer lies
in the question; though be it preached
summer after summer, it will be forgot
ten long before year has again turned
around.
No sooner is a baby born, than the
fond mother and foolish father order all
windows and window-shutters of q ba-
by's room Theoretically closed, so that
the child may have no possible chance
of drawing in q breath of fresh air,
which, nevertheless is even more es-
sential to it than its mothers milk. 1t is
brought up in atmosphere SO surcharged
with poison from the exhalation of its
own and other bodies, that it is a real
marvel that baby children survive at all
in summer time. In winter, the CRATE
or stove furnishes some ventilation.
When the infant is considered old
enough to be submitted to the light OF
day, it still confined to its miserable
room, and there are few mothers daring
enough, in face of the almost cruel su.
perstition, to send their infant children
out of the house into the fresh air. Any
man or woman of experience must have
felt the recuperative power of air out
side of the house, and, in still greater
degree, of the air of another locality
Why do we 60 to Lafayette, or any
other parkP Because we Immediately
experience the benefit Of change Of
atmosphere. Are, then, the infants moi
human beings as we are? Indeed, they
need the Strengthening power of fresh all
far more than we do, for they have moi
the nervous energy which, in older per.
sons, is the most active combatant Of
disease.-St. Louis Glo6e-Democrat.