The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-26
WASTE OF CHILD LIFE.

1 uG IiIdUL D6oNll 1l1tC dI ADONG That of Adults.
 The statistics of child mortality al- ways bring with them a feeling of shocked surprise. It seems altogether out of the course of nature that the mortality among children under five should be greater than the general mortality at all ages.
 There has been some improvement here and there, but it remains true that death rate equal to that among infants is not again experienced until the age Of about eighty years. In England and Wales in 1896 the in- fantile mortaIity-that is to say, the number of deaths of infants under one year of age to every thousand births was 1475.
 In Massachusetts, in the twenty years, 1S74-93, the infant mortality per one thousand births averaged 161.9.
 In Hamburg the mortality under one year old in the years 1SS2-96 per one thousand, living at this age, has ranged from 2O1.9 in 1894 to 86S.S in 1886.
 There has been during recent decades a gradual lowering of the general death rate This is shown in the im- proved expectation of life. In the case of boys born in the last decade of the century, the average expectation of life has risen to 44.6S years; in the case of girls to 47.44 years. Yet the death rate among infants has shown very little tendency to grow smaller.
 The fact of the matter is that we have been attending too much to peo- pie in the mass, and too little to the in diyidual, says the Medical Brief Ap- parently it is with the mothers that work must be done. So long as they are ignorant 1t doesn't matter how learned the board of health is.
 What can be done by tackling the mother end of the problem was shown in the little commune of Villers-le-Duc, in France During the years 1900 to 1893, the infantile mortality was very high. It is said that on an average one child out of every four died during it's first year.
 Rules were made which involved in- dividual care of the mothers and su- pervision of the children. Free medi- cal aid was provided for those who re- quired it. A sum of money was also paid at the end of the year to the mother or nurse if the baby was pro duced in healthy condition.
 The result of the regulations made was remarkable For ten years no in- fant $ death took place in the village.
 The second experiment is being car ried on in the large English manufac- turing town of Huddersfield. MT. Broadbent, mayor 1.-the town, deci- ded to see what could be done to lower an infant death rate which seemed to him appalling. A beginning was made in a comparatively healthy district.
 The women appointed as health visi- tors by the corporation now visit the children soon after birth, and leave a card of advice with the mother. The baby is then allotted to one of a band of volunteer helpers, who visits it peri odically and exercises a kindly over sight upon it. These lady helpers do not administer charity, but aid the mothers with advice and sympathy.
 On various occasions, such as Christi mas and Easter, little remembNnces are sent to the babiesuand at the com imencement of the,s diarrhoea season. and at the onset of cold weather @ short personal letter of advice as to the precaustions needful are sent to each mother through the post. Cases requiring sanitary attention are repor- tied to the public health officials.
 One part of the scheme remains to be described. This took the form of promise to pay one pound sterling as birthday present to each baby born in the district above referred to between November 9, 1904, and November 9, 1905. on it's attaining the age of twelve months This promise was made by means of a legally drawn promissory note, printed on a card on which was also given as much condensed good ad- vice as could be compressed into the space.
 The average infantile mortality in the area originally included in the ex- pertinent had been one hundred and twenty-five for ten years, for the twelve months period referred to the figure is fifty-four. In other words, the mortality has fallen to less than one half The working of the plan has now been extended to include other districts of the city.