New-York tribune., 1908-03-19
MILK AND THE BABY.
New Food Committee Doesn't Leave Bacteria
Leg to Stand On.

pesnjte the depressing weather and the apparent
ly urexcitin of the subject, the audience az
the first meeting of the newly organized New York
Food Committee treated to some startling
statements al Madison Square Presbyterian Church
yesterday afternoon. A fly bearing 10000 disease
bacteria attached to limbs and making straight,
head on the baby's milk bottle. was the dis
tres ing picture painted by scientist This.
combined with DR.. Rowland G. Freemans demand
for S.e,aeoo endowment for milk depots in New
York City and with Miss Alice Lakey's impassioned
statement that women TO blame for every evil
that exists and that the men will give US any
thing anything if we only ask for it, was suffi-
GEM 10 indicate that the food committee can at
lesst furnish food for thought
Or John r Huber. visiting physician OF St
Joseph's Hospital for Consumptives, was RESPONSE
BE for the fly At least. he said that Dr. Jack
son. in q report on health matters for the Mer-
chants Association Of New York had sworn to the
fy. 70 the 10000 bacteria and TO the hys steady
and systematic progress toward the milk bottle
when interrupted.
He also told of the millions Of men and boys
who "enjcy the luxury of a sewer bath In sum-
uer Of the shores of Manhattan swallowing
water inpregnated with sewer filth. and OF the
mothers who come to the recreation piers In
summer with their babies. into whose open
mouths crawl the flies from the floating sewage
heoR-" He spoke gently of the fish caught on
Manhattan. impresnated with odor Of sewage
snd Of the sewage fed oyster OF Manhattan
Now. the life history of disease germs is al
most as exact as mathematics said he. The
ecisntists know all about them, where they come
from and what they do We no longer talk or
tne hand Of Providence or the angel OF death
when there an epidemic. We know It's not
Providence at all hut had milk water or some
thing Ike that There is no necessity az all for
ell this terrible infant mortality Nearly all OF
II is entirely preventable 1t is only necessary
10 educate the public 70 the point where 1t de-
msnds and takes the necessary precautions
Dr. Rowland g. Freeman explained some OF these
Precautions. In the last seventeen years. he
Esd, mortality Of infants in their first year In
Ne" York has dropped from 2fo to 1o+ in the
thousand. This decrease is due doubtless TO
several causes. but very largely TO the seven
milk depots established by the philanthropy of
ene man. Ne should have two hundred of these
In New York instead Of seven That would re-
cuire endowment Of $5.oooooo. which this city
eight 70 give. for IL would some three thou
sand lives a year. The city. however, viii not
give it Il must come from private philan-
nropy.
This terrible infant mortality does not occur
among uei-to-do people. OF babies which are well
e1fed Tor in private practice not five in thousand
o'e n their first year. 1t is the tenement mouse
"snles that die This slaughter is unnecessary IL
csh and must be done away with. One thing VIII
Ls'e more effect in doing away with II than every
thiag else together-steriized milk. in steriized
'otle, with a sterized nipple, ali ready to put in
me nabys mouth. given out from numerous ac-
shie milk depots, together with instruction from
physician
The tenement house people will not go very far
" ihe milk depots. because they cannot. They
1ahhot afford carfare, and they cannot leave their
"ioren But the tenement house mother is sus-
'puDie TO education. That was conclusively proven
~ an Investigation into the feeding OF twenty-five
'usard tenement house babies Only a very few
'e led raw milk. That she must cook the milk
y 'he baby is something the tenement house
u'er has learned very thoroughly.
,es hn honkers infant mortality from diarrhoea was
eo ~ per cent simply by milk depots In
'a'h small towns Marseilles. in Southern
"oe Infant mortality has been reduced from
- Per 100 &c %. from l35 to So and on. solely
,0uen milk depots. Rockefeller Institute fol-
"ee The feeding OF certain tenement house babies
s'" York and kept records. Nineteen per cent
~ e pspies fed on condensed or loose milk from
q. summon stores died. Only per cent OF those
III On mix from the milk depots died"
s Lakey clinched this with two stories OF
es known to herself
..A Sranford have one tuberculn tested
said She The milk from that is known
- pure, and ii costs more. One family there