The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-22

From the Charities and the Commons.
 The largest and most representative
 body in the medical profession has for
 many years demanded the establishment
 of a health department in the federal gov
 ernment, implying that it's head, with q
 seat in the cabinet, should be physician.
 Organized labor insists that the labor bu- reau' should be erected into department,
 it's head in the cabinet being a representa-
 tive labor man. If teachers have not al
 ready in so definite a way organized to
 secure a national department of educa- ton with cabinet official at its head, as
 in Germany, France, England and all other civilized countries, this is not from
 lack of appreciation of the advantages which the school system might derive from such an advance, but rather because
 of the somewhat stronger feeling in the
 case of education, that the field is one for the states rather than the nation. With all three of these demands we are
 naturally in sympathy. Recognizing,
 however, that there are serious, and
 probably insuperable, obstacles to the establishment of an additional federal department and the further enlargement of the cabinet which would result, we
 believe that progress is possible only through the redistribution of existing bureaus in such way as to secure one great department of health, labor and ed
 ucation, with physician at it's head, or a layman who mas the confidence of both the medical and the teaching profession on the one hand and of organized labor on the other
 One of the existing departments, say that of commerce and labor, or that of the interior, could readily be transformed into such a departmnet of social welfare as we propose The bureaus of health. of labor of education. could be transferred into the department selected for the pur- pose, and the bureaus which would not naturally be combined with them could be transferred from it to the departments in which they would most naturally be- long Into it would naturally come the pure food activities and certain other scientific work now carried on by the de- partment of agriculture, and perhaps also the division of vital statistics from the census bureau, although there may be valid reasons for retaining the present
 close relation between the collection of vital statistics and the collection of the
 general statistics of population Certain ly, however, no one can defend the anom-
 alous and, absurd distribution of func- tions by which the cabinet officer whose duties are mainly fiscal-the secretary of
 the treasury-is responsible for the col lection of statistics of morbdity while / another whose primary duties relate to commerce and labor, is charged with the collection of statistics of mortality.
 It would appear that the gathering of facts about the prevalence of diseases and about the deaths which they cause ought at least to be in the same depart rpent. This is not the case; and the , slightest examination of the situation dis
 closes other equally glaring absurdities
 Probably the chief objection to the crea- tion of a department of health. labor and education, would come from the side of labor It may appear that the change would subordinate rather than increase the importance of the labor bureau. At present labor is linked with commerce and hopes to become entirely independent. Why then consent to be relegated to department in which two other interests so important as health and education are also included? This is plausible, but su- perficial It is a sacrifice of the spirit to the letter What are really the inter- ests of labor which justify federal inter- vention?
 On close examination they will be found to be very largely health interests or educational interests. The shortening of hours of labor, the lessening of acci- dents, the protection of women at work, the Sevention of child labor-the entire nal Ss interested in these things and