The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19??, 1909-11-05
TO SAVE
the BABIES
CONFERENCE TO BE HELD TO
CONSIDER WAYS AND MEANS.
CAUSES OF HIGH MORTALITY

Light and Air-lmproved Tenements
May De Solution OF Problem.
Apropos Of the appalling mortality
among the babies not only In our own
land, but throughout the civilized
world, no single factor can be pointed
out as the primary cause of this blot
on our modern civilization. The prob
lem and the possibility of its proven
ton are to be considered at a special
conference arranged by the American
Academy of Medicine, to be held at
New Haven, Conn, Nov. IL and -.
What are regarded as contributory
causes can be gathered from some of
the subjects mentioned in the an
nouncement for the meeting. Four ave
nues for the introduction of preventive
measures are indicated by the titles of
the scssions-mCdical. philanthropic,
institutional and educational Practi-
Cally all causes suggested under these
headings are summarized in the four
mentioned in the section on medical
cvention-cOnEenital debility, insult.
able nourishmcnt. improper care and
communicable or infectious diseases.
When 1t is recalled that the men who
are In the thick of the fight against
the needless and unnecessary waste of
baby life assert that the present in
FAINT death rate could he cut in half
by the enactment and rigid enforce
mcnt Of laws requiring the adequate
Inspection of the sources of the milk
supply, coupled with the sanitary in
spcction of tcnements, the accurate reg
istratiOn of births and the instruction
OF the mothers by visiting nurses or
other properly accredited representa-
tives of the local boards of health. it
Is readily seen that two very grave
sources of danger are to be found in
the quality of the nourishment fed to
babies and the conditions of the homes
themselves. Serious as the problem of
pure milk supply Is, it is much less
difficult of solution than the more com
plicdted one of housing conditions.
overcrowdlns Prime Cause.
One hundred years ago three and
One-third per cent of the population
Of the United States lived in he cities
Today thirty-thrce and one-thrd per
cent of our S5.00O0OO people are
crowded into the cities. Overcrowd-
Ing, the congestion of population in
Stun districts. the herding together of
the great unuSSimiluted mass of immi-
grants in inadequate and inSanitary
quarters, the selfishness of property
owners, the apathy Of municipal gov
ernments in dealing with situations
which require drastic measures, all
contribute to make this one of the
most complex as we'll as one of the
most diSheartening factors in the big
problem of the prevention of infant
mortality. According to Il recent re-
port, there are 100000 absolutely dark
bedrooms in the city of New York
alone where humankind, old as well
as young. are supposed to live and
move and have their being.
That congestion of population with
in Il given area would not necessarily
mean the absence Of hyGicnic coudi
lions was pointed out recently in II
paper by DR.. StoweIl of New York
visiting physician to the New York
City Children'S hospital and schools
As instances Of congestion under fa
vOrable and under unfavorable cundi.
tons he cOntrasted the largest apart.
nj in Ia,
which houses 12G2 persons to the
acre. with the notorious ChryStie
street tenement block, In which
l,2SO persons are housed in single
acre. The hotel covers total area of
LII acres Of ground, and houses 1000
persons in $500 rooms. As there are
sixteen inhabitabie floors, the total
area amounts to about twenty-SiX
acres, ana all of the rooms are open
to the outside, admitting the sovereign
prevCntiveS Of disease, light and air.
In the seven years since the place
was opened not one of the 400 en-
ployecS has become victim of tu-
berculoSiS. The tenement block. on the
other hand, has been veritabIe breed
ing ground for that disease.
"GarGen Cities" Established.
As means Of decreasing the over
whelming mortality in cougeSted in
dustrill cenGrrs the garden city"
ike that ut Bonneville. near Brming-
ham, England, is being established in
some parts of Great Britain and IN our
own countr", The removal of the
manufacturing plant which employs
very large numbers of individuals to
some suburban district and the cree
tion of cottages with gardens attach.
cd fer the workers and their families,
the establishment # schools and other
features Of city life ana the develop
mcnt Of the property along community
lines with the agreement that al inter-
est over per cent ON the investment
Shall be devoted to public improve
mcntS are features of this plan
Obvious difficulties make the applica-
tion Of the plan ON general scale i'm
practicable, ana the improved tenC-
ment Offers more feasible solution of
the problem for the majority of cities.