New-York tribune., 1912-01-01
PLANS 55 MILK STATIONS
HeaIth Departments Expert
Inent Leads to Extension.
HAS s423,34o FOR WORK
Dispensaries To Be Open ALI
Year-Commissioner Expects
70 Reduce Infant Mortality.

Hsty.hve infant milk stations are 10 oS
ene5sd IN this CITY az once by the Depart
meut Of Health In the spring OF last
yearf Health Commissioner Lederle estap-
pshed hftee-f such dispensaries as an eA-
pertinent The success was such as to leau
|. the Commissioner TO ask the Board OF bs-
innate for money enough to maintain many
more. The board responded with an ap-
preparation Of si25Sio. which "lli eh"p,. ',
} the ffty-hve stations TO be Kept open al
the year and viii provide for the services
Of ffty-six nurses, hfty-six assistants anu
eighteen physicians. With the estdolsh-
meRt of the additional stations the depart
meut will have begun its greatest Ilsh1
against the causes Of an excessive infant
mofvaIity rate.
With the opening of the fifteen expert
mental stations last spring. the maintenance
Of Which sostes40.OOO. Commissioner Lederie
said he hopedSto see the lives OF a thou
sana babies saved through the activity Oh
the e.depsrfn,snt dispensaries. in conjunctloh
With other public and private agencies. Az
cording 10 the statistics of the department
the lives Of 1,2i3 infants under one year
and l,755 under two years were saved III l9il'
There were l3923 deaths Of babies under
one year In 1911, as compared with Io'lol
in 1910 and 14.76s IN 1863. There were lholi
deaths under two years in 1911, as COM
pared with 1928 In 1910 and 1879 In 1919
In the pairing down By the budget COM
mittee and the Board Of Aldermen of the
appfoIrlstions asked for by the Depart
mesa of Health, the one requested to con-
tina the fight through milk dispensaries
npatnC
only enc of any consequence which was
notlelimnated. DR.. Josephine Baker. head
OF The child hygiene bureau of the depart
inesi and at the head of the milk station
work, said the city fathers could not lei
economy stand in the way OF saving babies
lives. In speaking of the work OF the in
f1nt milk stations Commissioner Lederle
4 said yesterday:
The feature of providing pure milk is
OF course only one factor In the valuable
work Of these stations. Instruction in the
proper care of babies is even more impor-
isnt In the campaign for the reduction oi
reeauses Of tllet4cessivo infant mortality
rate
lirspite Of r92pt advances, the Commis'
hoIkr said. infant mortality still remains
siib the excettSpI Of tuberculosis. the
mVN important problem confronting thc
punNc health officials.
=. fhe work OF the milk stations as CEN
,tes for the dissemination Of instruction
Y Mothers.' hc vent on, "as well as &c
Nose little mothers on whose youni
tnoOiders falls the care of so many tcne'
ioeir he use babies IN New York. has beer
~ me highest degree successful"
,.iht Department OF Health has been main
ttalnihg for many weeks the stations wnicf
rra1 20 De abandoned by the New YorH
5Mik Committee because OF lack OF funds
ltheee stations Commissioner Lederle said
ne you'd keep open until January /. They
,s.;spow TO be eipif9, .althc ugh ten OF th'
salk committee centres Will be the sites o.
uusmrtment dispensaries. In the last tive
~ tiree days hla t1lrses and assistant:
.eT Dten present at The department Office
peD&aries 1tttfff
AAnng other agencies working with the
a,pffunent last year 10 reduce the nfan
~eoraliiiy rate were the New. York MIL
syekty the New York Diet Kitchen, tn
rnshan straus laboratories, Nurses Set
sftmSnt; babes .dairies and the Morning
zoe MIX Dispensares