Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-09-19
WILL REFORM
HYGLENICALLY
TOOTH BRUSH AND SOAP is CRU
sADERs' MOTTO
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION TO ASK
PRESIDENTS AID
Less Physical Culture and Gymnastics
and More Attention to Health
Will Be Basis of CAM
paign

NEW YORK, Sept 1S.-With more hy-
giene and less physical culture and gym
nastics' as slogan and "a tooth brush
and cake of soap" as a motto, the ma
tional association for the Improvement of
the condition of the poor appointed a
committee on the physical welfare of
school children, which is now preparing
to carry the crusade into the public
schools of this city with a degree of
force that they feel will bring excellent
results.
Commencing in May last committee
appointed especially for the purpose, with
Charles C. Birmingham, former super
ntendent of education, as chairman,
started an investigation, the result of
which has just become known. 1t shows
an appalling state of affairs in this city,
which is given as a small example of
what must therefore exist in the public
schools throughout the country and the
world The report shows that 465,S00 out
of 600 900 school children in this city are
physically defective.
In order that the actual conditions in
Greater New York might be determined
a corps of physicians was appointed by
the local committee, and they visited
each of the schools in the city. They
inspected the card reports of the ply
sicians of the board of health, which
showed the physical condition of the
children.
From time to time, as 100 cases had
been examined, reports were made to
headquarters until every section of the
great city had been covered. In this way
the condition of the children of the rich
as well as the children of the poor was
made known. The children of the flats
and tenements and the children in the
separate houses, the foreign and the ma
tive born, were examined alike, and as a
result a very accurate set of statistics
bearing on the hygiene in the schools
was obtained.
When these statistics had been got into
proper shape they were turned over to
a committee composed of four physicians,
two men and two women, who were
instructed to make personal inspection
in the cases of many of the children.
In the progress of this work they Wis
tied $500 homes, in most of which they
were welcomed. In addition to the facts
by the physicians of the board
of health, the members of the commit
tee were able to get facts concerning
the social and physical conditions of the
homes; the quantity and quality of food
the children had; their sleeping accom-
the income OF the wage earn
ers, the amount paid out for rent, and
the practices of hygiene INDUCED in by
the housewife.
Surprising Results of Inquiry
AS result of this personal inspection.
it was found that out of 1853 cases of
children physically defective on account
of malnutrition, fifty-four cases were in
families having an income of more than
500 a week, and twenty cases were in
families having an income of less than
$40 week.
A rather surprising feature of this
personal investigation was the fact that
there were 1444 families who paid out
70.3 per cent of their income for rent.
At the same time it was shown that out
of these same families there was a
smaller number of children sent to the
schools suffering with malnutrition than
from the same number of families of
wealth.
Following out their line of investiga-
ton, it was found by the committee that