Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1912-09-21

who are nourished in Natures way.
Today efforts are being made to arouse
the mothers Of the city to the impor-
lance OF this. Other cities are doing
the same. Some time since there
was q health show in Baltimore. A
picture was exhibited showing al
mother nursing her child. Below it]
was this legend: "This baby II getting
. square deal. u yoursr'
Distribution Of Literature.
Some cities have tried to solve the
infant mortality problem by distribute
Ing literature dealing with the sub
sect OF the care of babies. But it has
been found that infinitely moro effec-
tive II the idea Of the tree clinic.
which has been borrowed from France
by several cities. These clinics are
held at milk stations. hospital dispen-
saries. schools and In open-air tents
especially constructed for the purpose.
Here object lesson teaching Is resort
ed to, and usually with splendid re-
suits. Other cities make use OF the
visiting nurse She goes into home
of poverty, cleans up things for the
mother. and shows her Just how to do
things. When she Is tactful she en-
lists the sympathy and cooperation Of
the mother. and the chances Of the
child's escaping the perils Of infancy
are greatly improved.
1t is certain that for q long time TO
come the bottle-fed baby will continue
in the majority Most Of his dangers
lie in his bottle. Not only must the
mother be educated to care for the
bottle and its contents while 1t Is In
her hands. but its contents must be
protected before 1t reaches her. The
daily milk supply of Philadelphia is
100000 quarts. 1t Is handled by 5000
milk dealers. supplied by 5000 produc-
ers, and brought from four states. Chi
cago uses a million quarts day. and
it comes from 10000 cows on 10000
farms. New York gets its supply from
$4,000 farms. located in six states.
From all this it will be seen that the
proper protection Of big city's milk
supply from the time it leaves the
COW until It Is swallowed by the babies
is q Job OF monumental proportions.
The founding Of the National Child
Bureau with Miss Julia Lathrop at Its
head. had led many to hope that a new
era Of baby care is dawning. The toll
of death In that fateful first two years
of existence is so heavy and so pa
thetic that when the facts are fully
known It Is believed that belated and
widespread action for the protection
OF the babies Of the country will fol-
low.
And beauty Of successful baby
saving campaign is that it would not
only save the babies, but tens OF
thousands Of adults as we'll The les
sons Of public and private sanitation
which must be taught for the saliva
| ton Of the babies would protect the
| adult members Of the family from
germ caused diseases as we'll. Purify
the milk supply for the baby and 1t Il
| purified for father and mother and
| brothers and sisters. Swat the fly fol
baby's sake and the whole family
| benefits.
Statistics on Births.
According to the best information
the census bureau has been able tc
| gather concerning the birth rate o
the United States more than tire,
million babies are born In this coun-
| Try each year. HelT 1lOlu on lie II
so precarious that the number o
| them who die before their first birth
| day comes around is equivalent tt
one-fifth of all the deaths that occur
| According to the rates cited In thu
| public health movement symposium o
the American Academy OF Politica
and Social Science. nearly half mil
lion Of them will be committed "dus
| to dust within year from birth
, With no means whatever to protect
| themselves they must accept the foot
| that Is given them. Someone has OBJ
served that 'the business Of being I
baby is an extra hazardous occupa-
| ton" and another has remarked tina
| THE evils of baby wa sting are greater
! than the evils Of race suicide adding
| that it is not the number of babies
born that counts, but the number tina
are enabled to grow to manhood ant
womanhood. One of the most earnes
(, efforts that the sanitarians Of thu
country are going to make during thu
| next decade is to get the mothers O
the land to give their babies fail
chance in their gamble with fate
| That movement will be given consid
! cradle impetus at the Hygiene con
gress.
Tomorrow and Sanitation
IX-School Health Activities.
! A>
! Antoine Deloria, Postmaster at Gar