White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-06-22
CONSERVATION OF
NATIONS BABIES
EDUCATION. SCIENCE AND SAM
TATION ARE PRODUCING GOOD
RESULTS IN LOWERING RATE
OF INFANT MORTALITY.

What the American cities are do
ing and can do toward preventing in
FAINT mortality and the high death
rate of children under 5 years of age
is the subject of a bulletin now in
press by the Children's Bureau. It is
the purpose of the bureau to issue a
similar bulletin annually and in time
to make it a complete manual for
municipal and philanthropic activi-
Ties in the direction of child welfare.
Summer campaigns for babies lives
nave been waged with such marvel
lousy good effect in some cities, that
it seems to the bureau important to
enlist the energies of as many cities
in this work as possible. To this end
sent for the information of all. the
little or much that is being done by
the various cities.
The efforts of city health officials
have resulted in the last ten years in
reducing the general death rate in
cities. below that of the rural dis
triets and villages. This reduction
in the general death rate is an en-
eouraging indication of what is pos
oihIa of roompIicbmap in effort n
reduce the infant death rate. Babies
die of diseases which to a large ex-
tent are preventable, and thus when
welfare work is directed toward saw
ing their lives the response is i'm
mediate and decided. In certain
large cities such as New York and
Philadelphia the result of systematic
summer baby-saying campaigns has
been shown in a reduction of between
30 and 40 per cen in the deaths of
children under two years of age, in
the wards where the work was ON
centrated.
Practically the only limit of the
good results to be obtained by en-
thusiastic campaigns lies in the
financial side of the question. The
Investigations of the Children's Blu
reau indicate that the principal i'm
pediment to effective work in the
health departments of most cities is
the lack of adeqate funds for carry
ing on preventive measures intelli-
gently, and experience yerifies the
truth of the motto of the New York
Health department, Public health is
purehasable, within natural limita-
tions a community can determine its
own death rate"
1t is estimated that a baby nursed
by its mother has approximately ten
times the chances to live that a bot
tle-fed baby has. All welfare work
ers, therefore. are advised to en-
courage mothers to make every effort
to carry out this most important ma
ternal duty.
A clean milk supply is a funda-
mental need. The ideal is: Nothing
short of clean milk for everybody.
But the need for the prompt remedy
of had milk conditions is more urgent
in its relation to the welfare of ba-
bies than to that of adults, since
dirty milk is largely responsible for
the occurrence of diarrhea and en-
%teritis. the most frequent OF
death among infants. The remedy
lies in the intelligent and effective in
spection of farms, the means of trans
portation, and the shops where milk
is sold, and In ordinances governing
the sale of dipped" or loose" milk.
A constantly increasing number of
cities of all sizes are establishing
milk stations and dispensing milk.
whether pure whole mix. certified.
modified. pasteurized, or sterilized
milk to mothers of babies that must
be bottle fed.
The milk station is simply a room
Sullititniiy idist ~ ACCOMMODATE tue
patrons and equipped with a large ice
box. a desk. some chairs, and a table.
An ordinary store is suitable for a
station and sometimes. as in the case
OF the station at Utica, N Y, a school
room may be used for the purpose.
The station is usually under the
charge of a nurse. and a physician is
in attendance at stated hours.
Baby clinics are an almost ineyi-
table outgrowth of the milk stations.
II becomes apparent at one that
many mothers need advice as TO the
care of their babies, especially those
who are sick. Sometimes the clinic
is established by the wholly volunteer
services of doctors, who examine