The Cairo bulletin., 1908-05-09
DEP tPARTMENT OF
HEALTH URGED
SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED BY u
S. IF AMENDMENT is NECES.
SARY.
CHARITIES CONFERENCE
ting Proper Health Department.
Interesting Speeches on
Many Subjects.

Richmond, Va, May S.-The estab
I ishment by the United States gov
crnment OF a public health depart
ment and the appointment Of board
of control for the management OF
United States prisoners were advoca,
ted today at the section meetings OF
THE national conference on charities
and correction. Dir. Walter Lindley of
California said the conference should
urge congress to provide proper
health department, even if it was nee
cssary to amend the constitution. Dis
cussing the discipline and employ
lment of United States prisoners, w. II.
Whitcaker. superintendent of the In
diana Reformatory at Jelfersonyille.
maintained that the conduct of penal
institutions was inefficient, the mem
hers of which had little personal knowl
edge Of the work.
Miss Harriet Fulmer, superintendent
of the Visiting Nurses Association, of
Chicago, Delivered an address on The
Relation OF Bad Housing Conditions 70
the Charity Worker"
The special meeting of the day, d.
voted to statistics. was perhaps the
most interesting the features being
a paper by Frederick l.. Hoffman, stat
istician of the Prudential Life Insur
ance Company, in which he attacked
the system of old age pensions, and
the reply of Mayor iIibbard, of Boston,
declaring that he would not discharge
any old employee of his city who had
worn away his health and energy in its
service.
Miss Kate Holladay, of Claghorn
". r., read paper on ttie7''Bse ana
Misuse of Statistics in Social Work p"
Dealing with the subject of needy fam
lilies, Porter II. Lee. secretary of the
charity organization of Buffalo, dis.
eussed The limitations of charity in
dealing with the unemployed.
No formal program was arranged for
the section on children, the discussion
being led by Mrs. NJ. p. Falconer, OF
Philadelphia, being devoted to the
proper care of the dependent child.
The days proceedings closed with
general session at St Paul's church
tonight in which all sections partici
pated The topic discussed was Grim
inals. their punishment and reforma
ton
Bad Houses.
1.-TWO thirds of the reform measures
which are yearly talked over at the
National Conference of Charities bear
upon bad housing conditions. Two.
thirds Of the delinquent children come
from homes where bad and poor venti
lation predominates; two-thirds of the
physically i'll children; one-third of
the shftless mothers; two thirds of
the deserving fathers; come from the
same homes"
This statement was made by Miss
Harriet Fulmer of Chicago, at this
mornings session of the National Con
ference of Charities and Correction,
now meeting in Richmond
Miss Fulmer stated that drunkenness
leads thel list in causes for the neces
sity of reform work but that bal
housing conditions are close second.
Her plea was for national concen-
trated action for better housing condi.
tions for the poor and small wage
earners.
Housing reform is not local ef-
fort: Il is a great national problem. 1t
touches close to the practical solution
of the great White Plague. 1t means
moral decent citizenship, Some excel
lent work has been done by the tene
ment house committee of New YORK,
the City Homes Association of Chica-
go. the committee of one hundred on
Public Health These movements are
either local or interested in ali the
sources affecting public health. What
we want in order to awaken national
interest and wide spread reform is one
great movement with housing reform
as its only specific purpose. All this
work should be under municipal, con
troll. but until the public conscience
IL awakened we are not going -
make any great strides in reform
ing conditions"