Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-06
TO SAVE 100000 BABIES
THE WORK OF EQUITIES DE LAIT"
IN FRANCE

Translation in Boston Transcript From Lectures
Pour Tous.
The greatest danger that can threaten
a country is certainly that of progressive
depopuatfon. Now for more than thirty
years the population of France has re-
manned stationary. Some even go SO far
as to say that It is diminishing What
makes matters worse is the fact that among
our neighbors things are going quite differ
emily. Across the Vosges you may today
count GO, 100000 Germans, and there are
only 370O0,o00 of us French. Moreover, the
last census showed that 100000 foreigners
We're living In France; in other words. that
almost a tenth of our population was COM
posed of foreigners. What will become of
us in twenty years more If this state OF
things does not change. II it is true that
the evil is a result of decline in the birth
rate, then how much stronger should be-
come our incentive to surround the children
we now have with a thousand safeguards
and to prevent their being decimated 10y
disease.
People have no idea of the horrible death
rate among little babies In France. Says
Dr. Bergeron, "A newborn infant has less
chance of living week than a of
ninety has, and less chance of living a year
than a man of eighty has" Nor need any
one suspect that this phrase is mere
paradox. Bergeron's assertions are relent-
out of 600 babies under a year old, POP die.
On the other hand, take 1000 old men be-
tween the ages of seventy and seventy
nine. Do you know how many OF them
die In year? ninety-six or ninety-seven.
Even men between eighty and ninety are
less often cut off by death than the little
musings, for every year only 1913 out of
LOCO old men between eighty and ninety
die Thus. for million children born in
France every twelvemonth, 200 are car
rIed off by death within their first year
How can we fail to realize the horror of
this proportion especially when we con-
slider that most of them might be saved
IL they were properly cared for and proper
ly fed.
Intestinal Complaints.
What, then, are the diseases that make
such ravages among our babies? They
are chiefly intestinal troubles Why SO?
Simply because all those diseases are the
result of bad milk. Statistics make this
point perfectly clear They tell us that
out of thousand babies who die before
they are a year old. 3s4-that Is to say,
more than third-are victims OF intes-
final troubles. And pray note that this
figure is only an average. II we take
the mortality of certain cities, we reach
far more appalling figures: 514 at Lille,
555 at Nantes. 574 at Rennes, 5S4 at Dion.
6s4 and even 1871 at Troyes. Such being
the hecatomb caused by bad milk other
cant. Tuberculosis, of which SO much Is
said today kills only twenty five babies
a year We are all stricken with terror
when our babies fall Ill Of Group diph-
iberia scarlatina. typhoid fever and vari-
Gus other contagious and infectious germ
diseases. Yet, all combined. these scarce
ly account for forty victims a year out OF
thousand babies who die before they
are twelve months old.
Nor are the ravages of bad milk by any
means limited to deaths caused by intes-
final troubles. Indeed. many children who
escape from the first onslaught of disease
are left irremediably weakened by It If
they chance to recover they feel the corise-
quences for a long time and are predis-
posed to all sorts of sicknesses and sooner
or later succumb. their enfeebIed little sys-
TENS being unable to resist the attack OF
the deadly microbe.
Overlooking.
Bad milk-that is the en.my, the MUIR
derous enemy which is responsible for a
verftabIe slaughter Of the innocents. Yet
we must, not forget that there Is another
prominent source Of danger for tiny chill
drens and that danger Springs from the
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