The Washington herald., 1911-06-02
WILL SAVE LIVES
OF MANY INFANTS
Mr.. Sulzer's Strong Plea for
the Straus Laboratory.

The committee which. under the chair
manship of Mr.. Julius I. Peyser, is woSk-
ing SO industriously to secure the ac-
ceptance by the government of the
Straus pasteurized milk laboratory. is
greatly encouraged by the favorable con-
sideration which thus far has been
shown TO the project. As stated in The
Washington Herald yesterday morning
the hearing before the House District
Committee afforded an opportunity to
present many arguments in favor Of the
proposed legislation. One Of the most
convincing speeches was made by Repre-
sentative Sulzer of New York, who gave
evidence from personal knowledge as to
the good which Mr.. Straus has already
been able to accomplish in New York.
Mr. Sulzcr said that IL the government
could provide for the conservation of
the natural resources OF the country and
for the protection of the public health,
It could do something to save the lives
of the babies. The mortality among in
fants Is so large, according to the CEN
sus, that although on April Is, 1910, there
were over 100000 babies under one year
Of age in the United States, no less than
$50 900 have died since that time, while of
the babies aged between one and two
years one dies every six minutes.
In New York. where the Straus plan
of pasteurized milk was introduced, the
death rate has been reduced in ten years
from 1854 per thousand to $50 per thou
sand. Similar institutions in Chicago,
St. Louis. Philadelphia, and a number of
cities abroad. started with the aid Of
Mr.. Straus, have had similar life-saving
In ho
babies that have been supplied with milk
from the laboratory in the past year,
none have died from the intestinal dis
orders that carry Off q per cent Of all
the babies. Fifty-seven per cent of the
babies brought to the laboratory were
ILL., yet the death rate among them was
only s per cent.
Mr.. Sulzer said that the acceptance
Of the laboratory would be Of great as
sistance to the government in fighting
the tuberculosis plague. and concluded
his argument as follows:
'In Offering this laboratory to the
Secretary of the Treasury Mr.. Straus
has written that he does not seek rec
ognition. He has received gold medals
and diplomas in Paris for his work for
humanity. In Vienna . diploma was
awarded him. In Heidelberg he was
called to lecture at the university. He
the Dowager Grand Duchess Of Baden,
and the King of Sweden. The German
imperial health Office has take cogni-
zance Of his work. But all he seeks is
to aid his fellow-men and to save the
babies. He wants the whole world to
know how the lives Of the little ones
can be protected from the diseases that
can be prevented by the pasteurization
of milk, and he does not seek any per-
sonal glory.
He would willingly continue his
work in this city rf that were the best
way to save the lives Of the babies
here and to spread the knowledge of
the method. but he prefers to eliminate
himself so that the work carried on In
the name of the government will have
official weight and authority, and thus
viii attract more powerfully the atten-
tion of health officers and philanthro-
pists. who will be more likely to copy
the methods exemplified by the public
service than those Of an individual