The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1910-08-11
ONE OF THE NATIONS PROBLEMS
Question in which Country's Think-
ers should he Interested.

~ HA... - "-.HhN M.. NNUF
ouestion I'm which Country's Think-
ers should BE interested.
According to DR.. Madison C. Peters,
famous and brilliant New York clergy
man, n of the greatest problems
which confront our nation to-day, a
problem worthy the earnest attention
of our statesmen and lawmakers, is
how shall we minimize the infant NOR
tality and how shall We do away with
physical detection in the young?
] DR.. Peters states:
The school children of New York
City may be considered as typical of
the school children of tn entire coun.
try. A committee on physical welfare
investigated the home conditions Of
1,400 New York school children, re-
ported by physicians to have physical
detects. This com .ittee says. The
overcrowding indicated that whatever
might be u conventional idea Of tho
dependence line. physical defects must
be expected in children where three
out of four families have four rooms
or less for cooking, working, washing,
and sleeping"
II New York Is typical of the rest
of the country there must be In the
United States to-day more than 12,-
000, 900 defective children. IL these
were born right, what is the cause? A
study was made Of the Washington
schools for the presidents home COM
mission. From a tabulated statement
we learn that among the white chill
dren there were 1880 notations of de-
f~ections. a relation Of 1873 per cent
of the whole. The total defects noted
among whites and colored were 1904,
or 35.5 per cent Of all examined.
Omitting from this consideration the
6,6ss pupils who needed perhaps only
dental care, important to the general
health, we have to deal with 8,606, or
20 per cent Of the total, whose physi-
cal condition should have been a mat.
ter Of grave concern to the parents.
Most of these defects could have
been remedied in the children II the
parents were enlightened and instruct
ed in the proper care Of their off.
spring and then compelled by law to
adopt the remedial measures. Most
crippled children could be saved from
permanent disability by skillful sur
gical operations, Poverty is no excuse
for not having them performed, for
In America the medical charities give
their science to all. Parents should be
schooled as to the serious consequences
which neglect entails.
The great trouble is that the par
ents in the large cities are so driven
by the iron whip of compulsion to
labor for an existence that they have
no time to devote to their children.
The poor, tired workers come home to
their comfortless apartments, exhaust
ed physically by the days labor and
mentally by the worry; they are glad
to lay down their tired bones on hard
pallets and try to WOO sleep. Alas!
they only awake from their ftful re-
pose to obey the call of the factory
whistle and resume the gripping grind
They are merely automatons wound
up like a clock until they run down
again at the close Of another day.
The children In the miserable rooms
are left to take care of themselves.
Often there Is but one room. and here
they cook. eat and sleep. No fresh
air, the sunlight Is barred out, filth
Is in every corner. and disease has its
home in the germ.infected air. 1t
seizes the little children who can least
resist its embrace. and carries them
OF to a premature grave.