The San Francisco call., 1897-10-01
CqILQ DEATH
}4l'E IN CITIES
Impur 2 = Mix Question
Before the Mayors
Congress.
Paper on Infant Mortality by
Nathan Strauss of New
York.
Mayer Josiah Quincy on Affairs as
They Are Administered at
the Hub.

OF Wednesdays session of the national
conference OF Mayors and Council men
that aroused great interest among the
delegates was the reading of paper con-
tributed by Nathan Strauss of New York
on "The Influence of a Pure milk Supply
on the Death Rate Of Children"
Most of the municipal officials here were
conversant only to limited extent with
The work being done by Mr.. Strauss in
New York City. Naturally they were
eager TO learn all its details and listened
to the recital of them with close atten-
ton. The paper was read by MIR. Ford OF
New York. Its opening statement, that
there is practically no milk delivered for
general consumption in cities that is fit to
be led in Its natural state to young chill
dren," was naturally startling. The paper
closed with the following appeal:
think I have ssirly demonstrated the pror-
osition tnat ma n thousand OF infant lives
are annually sacrificed by The neglect 10 sup
ply for the nutriment OF children milk which
has been subjected to the process of pasteur-
izat1On. L hold tina: neglect to be criminal
and leave ii 10 YOU 10 nix The responsibility
for II. We punish murder with the penalty OF
death, and then we allow murder to be com
mitted by the wholesale. l appeal 10 you.
gentlemen, who are charged with the RESPONSE
blitles attending the government OF ritie
under
which inns work Is done and carefully note
the results.
appeal to you as if you were standing be-
side great river in whose current were con-
stantIy swept past hundreds OF drowning in
fAnts, This stream is a very real thing if
people would but recognize its existence and
ali us yearly tribute OF death Is paid because
OF the puhnc neg ect OF some of the SIMPLEST
precautions for the saving of cnildrens lives
\ on, gentlemen, have the means under your
control by which these drowning babies can
be saved ask you, will you not apply. them?
Men are found capable of acts of heroism in
the presence OF danger less threatening and
less fatal All that plead for is the extension
OF the ac ivity OF local boards OF health into n
sphere which is leEiIimately theirs. bur which
they have so far lacked the conviction and
the courage to occupy. l shall not have
spoken in vain if have succeeded in impress
Ing you wlth the iaet That the dictates OF hu-
manlty and OF public duty com bine in e.
manding that this backWardness should exist
no longer.
Mayor J. A. johnson of Fargo argued
for uniformity OF State laws pertaining 10
municipal organization and urged upon
the conference the forming of a perma-
nent committee on legislation, one from
each State, 10 formulate a plan whereby
Legislatures may make their munici pal
legislation uniform as to police powers. =
The appearance upon the platform of
Hon. Josiah Quincy, Mayor Of Boston,
was greeted wlth a welcoming applause
dSCOIued no Olher speaker so lar. his eQ-
dress was sche uled as Municipal Affairs
as Administered in Boston, - but its scope
was much wider. 1t presented a clearer
analysis " the differences between Fed
eral, State, urban and rural adminisira-
tion, and defined the posi- bilities OF mu-
nlclpal public service as almost iimitless.
He said that the questions whether city
life has not already proved too powerful a
magnet In attracting people from the
ia % l..
bers of those who to-day earn a scanty
sometimes precarious livelihood in
cities would not be materially better off
in the country; whether municipalities
will not yet be forced, in self-defense, TO
open up some regular channels through
which those who become dependent upon
the public may be returned, SO to speak,
10 the soil, 10 earn their own support from
Its cultivation, raise problems for the
future which can only be suggested at the
present time. He continued
The practical fact with which we have to
deal is that this tendency toward relatively
greater growth OF urban than of rural popula-
tion does not vet seem 10 have suffered any
cheek and that the good or bad RdmiIiistra-
tion OF municipal gov rnment affects a lar
larger numberof people and a greater fraction
OF the total popule tion than ever b=fore.
Al the same time, the different kinds of
public service eitAer directly undertaken or
indirectly controlled by the modern ctty are
more numerous, important Costly ana CON-
pick ihan have ever been expected in the past
OF any kind OF local administration.
By it's action this afternoon in the elec-
tion of permanent executive secretary.
the conferenceof Mayors struck the rock
which, in the opinion of many of its most
conservative ana far-seeing mem bers
seriously threatens its possibilities for use.
fulness and may wreck 1t absolutely at the
start.
B. f. Gilkinson, publisher of City Gov
ernment was the recipient of the honor,
and in the presentation of his nam bv
Mayor Green of Binghamton, n. Y, it
was declared that if his cand ldacv should
provoke any considerable opposition, he
would not permit himself to destroy the
unity and the harmony OF the new organi-
cation at the outset.
Up to midnight, however, Mr.. GiIkin-
son has not resigned the office. There
was no objection 10 Gilkinson as 10 char
acter or ability, but those opposed TO him
felt that with him as secretary and execu-
tive officer the organization would be
hopelessly tied Up to his publication as it's
organ, and thus be charged with the re-
sponsibility for the policy OF the magazine
and all its utterances. The fight was pre-
cipitated early n the session, when the
constitution was under consideration.
The fourth article prov des that ali the
officers, except the secretary, shall be Of
hcers of a munic pality, holding member-
ship in the organization. Mayor Quincy
of Boston moved 10 strike out the excep-
ton and the fight was on.
Mr.. Quincy, Mayor Jones of Toledo,
Ohio, ana Alderman John w. ID. Arey OF
Joliet, ILL.,, led the fight against GiIkinson.
They argued that MIR. GIlklnson's publ
Gallon was persistent in its attacks upon
private ownership OF Municipal service
plants and hostile TO all corporate inter-
ests, and that his election would tie the
organization to his publication aud work
the ruin OF the league.
L constitution provides that the name
OF the Mayors organization shall be the
League of American municipalities. Its
objects are the general improvement and
Iacili.ation of every brancn OF municipal
ad ADMINISTRATION.
John McNicar of Des Moines, Iowa, was
elected president; Mayor Collier OF At
lania. vice president; Mayor Black of
columbus, treasurer, and the following
trustees: Mavor Warner of Peoria, IL. |:
Councilman Walker of Trenton. n. J.. and
Council man Rand of Minneapolis. Detroit
vas chosen ms the next place of meeting.
Delegates tonight predict the failure of
the league if II is to be run as a sides how
TO monthly publication. There are
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