Omaha daily bee., 1910-08-15
Iowa
lNFANTILE DEATH RATE HIGH
Iowa Board Of Health Calls Attention
to Unusual Mortality.
NFANTnE PARALYSIS CHECKED
DIR. Frost, who Has Been Mt Mason
City for Two weeks, VIII Make
His Report Thursday
some New Cases.
(From a staff correspondent.l

AI
There is no subject which has so engaged
the attention Of the people of the state the
past few weeks as that of the general
health Of the state The fact was disclosed
in a rather clumsy manner by the secretary
of the State Board OF Health that there is
an alarming fatality this year among the
Infants OF the state This brought down
upon his head the criticisms OF the boost
ers," who will always Insist that every
thing is right, no matter what the situa-
ton. But later statistics received at the.
office of the State Board of Health have
proved that the death rate among infants.
at least in Des Moines has been inexcus-
ably large the present year.
One direct result of this has been agita-
ton on the part OF doctors of Des Moines
of a plan for the establishment of a GER
titled milk depot in the city to furnish
milk for infants of a standard quality and
guaranteed to be good. 1t is proposed in
this connection to provide that in case the
of poor people the milk to be secured, upon
the order of physician, without cost This
movement is declared by the physicians to
be absolutely necessary for the protection
OF the health of the infants 1t is in fact
a confession also that the health conditions
are not as good they should be-
Report on Paralysis.
great deal Of interest attaches to the
coming report Of Wade H. Frost Of Wash
ington, on the epidemic of infantile paraly-
sis in northern Iowa. He has been at and
around Mason City for two weeks. In
formally it lie known that he and other
physicians believe that the epidemis has
been checked in that part of the state,
largely by sanitary care. From July 90
until August 6. there has not been a new
case. But news Is being received from all
quarters of the state of the spread of the
epidemic. To the minds of the fraternity
IL is not known whether it is really a
spread, or whether the doctors are now
more awake to a knowledge of the preva-
lence of the disease.
Rockwell has two cases, had three, one
is recovering.
Newton had two cases and both patients
died.
Liscomb has one case.
Waterloo one case.s one death. This is
the home of DIR. Manus Of the State Board
of Health, himself victim of the disease.
Sidney. one case one death.
| Carroll one case, child now at point Of
death. s~
Northwood one case, resulted in death.
| Clarion two cases.
There are a great many more cases, no
doubt, over the state where doctors have
failed to report but It is the desire of DR..
Frost and the State Board of Health to get
| all the material there is and make as clean
and as full report as is possible to make.
Mine Le9islation Proposed.
| The report of Rhys T.. Rhys, the state
mine inspector foE,cthe Third district Of
Iowa, which includes a number of the
southern Iowa counties, shows that the
/ number of accidents is not increasing, but
that there are far too many. In the two
years there were eleven wifes made widows
and twenty-three children made fatherless
| by accidents in one district. Mr.. Rhys
recommends some drastic legislation for the
prevention of accidents He would have
the laws provide definitely for the duties
Of the foremen, engineers and superintend-
ents; would have telephones installed in
mines maps OF mines to be on file inspec-
ton of mine oil, greater authority for in
spectors and finally would have complete
revision of the laws Of the state as to LA
bility for accidents, so that the cost OF
accidents would be charged up to the in
dustry as a whole and definite prices be
| fixed to be paid for accidents and deaths
| without lawsuits The mine inspectors
made recommendations two years ago
which the governor embodied in his bien-
NAL message but the legislature took no
action.
Big Convention for Iowa.
Delegates for the international conven-
ton OF union carpenters, to be held in Des
Moines September 10 to October 10. will
number about 600. according TO National
Secretary Frank Duffy, who is here now
from Indianapolis to make final arrange
ments for the big union gathering. These
delegates will represent over 100000 union
| carpenters OF America.
sanatOrium Head IL Abroad.
DR.. H. e. Kirschner, superintendent OF
the Iowa state tuberculosis sanatarlum al
Oakdale, arrived in Hamburg Germany,
August on his four months trip abroad
He spent twelve days on the ocean, choos-
ing slow boat rather than the faster
| liners.
+ DR.. Kirschnsr went from Hamburg to
Berlin, where he inspected the tuberculosis
sanatariums and epileptic colony. Travel
ing into Bavaria, he expected to witness the
Passion Play" and on September he
| plans to be in Vienna. According to the
doctors schedule he will return to Oakdaie
October to resume the fight against tn
white plague" In Iowa.
Mt. Clemens, the Mineral Bath City,