Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-09-09
Need, of Physicians as Members
of School Staff Shown By In
vestigation in New York
MANY PHYSICALLY DEFECTIVE
MaInutrition and Enlarged Glands
Characteristic of Young in the Cit
los Of the kation-yaIue Of Medical
Supervision is Pointed out-start-
ling Figures.

l
nous proportion of the school chill
dren of New York suffer from malnu-
triton, enlarged glands, and defective
breathing Is demonstrated by the re-
port Of the committee on physical
welfare. under whose direction doc
| tors examined 1,400 boys and girls at
tending the public schools.
While the report indicates that the
conditions found are neither new nor
alarming. 1t points out the urgent me-
cessity for corrective measures.
The results of the committees in
vestgations in Now York are appli
cable to all large cities, especially Chi
cago. which ranks next to New York
| in school attendance.
The 1,40O children examined here
were those reported by board of health
doctors as suffering from physical de-
fects A feature of the examination
was that a large percentage Of the de-
| fective children were of the well-to-
do class, whose parents might easily
have afforded preventive medical
| treatment The, chief troubles found
| by the examining physicians were
malnutrition. enlarged glands, and de-
fective breathing. 1t is reported that
If the percentages hold good for all
| the school children in New York, 49,
600 suffer from malnutrition, $4,000
from enlarged glands and 230,s0O from
defective breathing. total Of 1885,
| 500.
100000 Defective Children.
These figures apply to the children
thruout the United States. on the
ground that all defects found here can
be found elsewhere, and it thus is es-
timated that there are 100000 school
children in the country who have
physical aillnent. New York's ratio
worked out gives 1,440,0o0 suffering
from malnutrition, 5,615.O0O from en-
larged glands, and 5,925,000 from de-
fective breathing.
| A special point made in the report
Us that many of these defects exist
| in children without the knowledge Of
| parents. who fail to take precautions
| solely thru ignoranceS of their chill
dren's condition TheN report says
| the large percentage of the defects
indicated are easily remedied and
many could be prevented by proper
care, tho, except in the cases of defec-
tive vision. the causes are not always
easily determined
, 1t is not with any purpose of Great
| ing an alarm over the physical condi-
| ton of school children that the re-
| port is made. The object is to pave the
way for the presentation Of plan that
| the committee has in mind to improve
| conditions in rational way.
Value Of Medical Supervision.
| It is hard to say just which of these
divisions is considered the more i'm
portant, because the proposers would
be unwilling to sacrifice any one of
them unless under the greatest stress.
But 1t may be said that the examine
ton of students of the schools and the
i periodic REORGANIZATION Is considered
as about the biggest thing that can be
accomplished at this time.
| The idea is that a doctor shall be as
signed to each school. who shall have
| in charge the physical examination OF
all the students who enter and who are
! in the school at the time the system
is put in operation. He will make care
full note Of all points of the condition
| of children, so that if there are things
which deserve attention they may be
called at once to the notice of the par
| ents. The present examination by doc
| tors of the board of health is for the
determination of the presence or abb
sence Of contagious diseases only.
The periodical denominations VIII
help to determine whether the children
are making any physical advances. In
line with this part Of the plan it may
be said that there is a suggestion that
the card system used in telling of the
progress in studies of each child should
be parelleled or supplemented by an
other card system telling Of the physi-
cal standing Of the students.