El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-09-21

! have been written upon the subject Of
hygiene that would be invaluable to
the cause if they were widely used
One of them is particularly striking in
its manner of treating the subject The
actual cost of publication of this little
work. in lots of 100000 would scarcely
I be more than five cents a copy. Yet a
hundred thousand Of them put into the
school libraries of the country would
probably make a million converts to
the public health cause in single
year.
instruction of school children in
hygiene is being resOrted to in a few
schools, and the possibilities of this
kind of instruction are unlimited The
National Association for the Study and
Prevention of tuberculosis recently
issued a pamphlet giving a list OF
motion pictures dealing with health
scribed. IL in all One is The Red
Cross Seal" and another The Awaken
ing of John Bond" both of which Illus
trate the crusade against tuberculosis.
dangers Of impure milk. The Fly
Pest" the evils Of the house fly, The
Wedding Bells" the danger of sweat
shop clothing. and The Visiting Nurse"
illustrates what can be done in the
way of cleaning up. Boil Your Water"
and Summer Babies tell the stories
that no school child can forget.
A city could own three or four NOV
ing picture machines and rent the
series of films, together with other in
valuable ones that might be suggested.
and they could be operated by the high
school boys from school to school The
navy makes use of this idea. Each big
battleship has its moving picture ma
chine. and the sailors are always
pictures showing the methods of
studying diseases might thus be circu-
lated and a hundred lessons in hygiene
taught.
school Room Architecture.
But while the schools are teaching
hygiene by precept, many of them are
teaching II by example. Improved
tilation- physical exercise. and dustless
floors are some of the things that are
getting more common every year.
Medical inspection is perhaps the most
forward step of all in the direction of
better school hygiene. 1t not only aims
to cure specific cases of Ill health
among school children. but by COM
bining instruction with treatment. to
check the spread of the troubles that
may arise from school work. and which
prevent children from making the most
of the time in school.
The first American city to attempt
medical inspection, according to the
Russell Sage Foundation. was Boston,
in 1894. although Philadelphia claims
to date it's efforts at inspection back as
far as 1890 over 1000 doctors are now
engaged in medical inspection work in
the public schools of the country, while
some fine hundred nurses are helping.
Some cities have dentists to inspect
regularly the mouths of the school chill
dren. Of the cities investigated by the
Sage Foundation nearly half of them
use damp cloths for busting in their
schools, and about one-tenth of the
schools are equipped with vacuum
cleaners. Nearly all city schools are
now teaching their children the harm
full effects of intoxicants and tobacco.
while tWo-thirds of them are actively
instructing their pupils concerning
tuberculosis. Over half of the schools
covered by the investigation teach the
principles of first aid to the injured.
Sickness Among Teachers.
One of the remarkable facts about
the teaching profession. If one may take
the statistics of Michigan as repre-