The midland journal., 1911-10-27

tains conditions that foster ignorance What
chance has the poor mother anywhere in this
country to inform herself with regard to the rear
ing Of children? What chance has the poor mother
In New York? She has money with which
to pay physician for consultation. lie she went
to q physician paid by the city, she would hardly
know what to do with her children while she
was away. She might leave them at day nursery,
1t is true; but did you ever think how many more
day nurseries and how many more city physicians
We should have to have II every mother who
needs to know how to rear her children were to
adopt this plan? We should have to have thou
sands and tens of thousands more OF each. And,
If the community were Intelligent enough to de-
mand such conveniences, 1T would be intelligent
enough not to need most of them. Therefore.
We who know enough not to need them are re-
, sponsible for the slaughter of the children OF
those who won't. And. is not that a pleasant
thought?
How can intelligence prevail against the neglect
Of communities to keep their water supplies pure?
Almost every city claims to have pure water
Almost every city Is liar. So long as We have
typhoid fever, shall know that have not
pure water. The water supply of nearly every
city is bad part of the year One city drinks
the sewage of another. The contamination could
be prevented Of course, but it isn't. Detroit. for
instance. will have another outbreak OF typhoid
fever next fall Scores, Ii not hundreds will die,
and. the following autumn there will be another
outbreak Careful parents, of course, can give
but they cannot be sure what their children
drink at school. They can only hope for the best
and be thankful If they get 1t.
The most deadly disease that threatens chill
dren this summer Is infantile paralysis. In June.
reports came from the south that the disease had
broken out in several widely separated places.
Dr. Simon Flexner. director of the Rockefeller
Institute for Medical Research, says 1t does not
follow that the disease will again be epidemic in
the east and the middle west but he cautions
physicians and parents TO be on the lookout
Infantile paralysis Is caused by living organ
ism so email that It readily passes through
germ-flter OF the finest porcelain. 1t is believed
that this germ enters and finds lodgment In the
nose, and that chisdren whose noses are not clean
are most likely to become infected.
From experiments made, upon monkeys at
Rockefeller Institute II is known that the average
period OF incubation is little less than ten days.
that Is to say. definite symptoms of the disease
appear ten days after the germ enters the sys-
tenn though illness has sometimes followed in
four days,
The first symptoms OF the disease appear to
vary somewhat with the individual. Also. no
individual has all of the symptoms Restessness
and irritabiity sometimes mark the approach.
At other times there Is apathy Also there may
be low fever for a few days.
DR., William Palmer Lucas of the Harvard Medi-
cal School, who is one OF the leading Investigators
OF the disease, offers this general advice:
Headache general or frontal is not infrequent-
ly met with in children old enough to locate the
pain and this Is often accompanied with rightly
of the neck. If with any of. these nervous mani
air passages such bronchitis sore throat sus-
picon should be aroused"
But even If the dwisease, early in its progress.
be correctly diagnosed. the best physician cannot
stop 1t. Like scarlet fever measles and all other
germ Diseases this aillnsnt must run its course