Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-09-28
JUDITH AND THE NEWSPAPER GAME

to DR.. Call, who assured her that it was
smallpox. He had just left the baby home,
and was busy with vaccine points.
"Dr Call, this baby home is menace
to the community isn't it." she began,
"with little strays from everywhere taken
right in without examination or anything!
No telling what disease they may carry!
And the Lincoln School draws largely from
the G,1lch. That means that all the school
children are in danger of infection 1t will
spread to the other schools, and all over
Latoona. Why, everyone in town may
have smallpox
The doctor, nodding his head over his
task, agreed that this was SO.
Il think it is time the baby home was
made municipal affair; so that new recruits
would be sure of examination by physl-
clan and other preventive measures taken.
Our city ought to support the baby home
Other cities do.
The quiet doctor, still working over his
little points, thought likely He was not
a progressive man, and gave meager atten-
ton to the municipality management OF It's
affairs.
"We've never had any poor like that all in
bunch before" Judith went on.
The doctor nodded.
"But we're growing so fast that we're get
ting everything.
"City Councils meeting tonight on the
paving question:" the doctor contributed.
"If it goes through, we'll have more paving
to the population than any other city IN
America" The doctor was truly Western.
"Then it's high time we took care of our
babies. Where does the council meet!"
The doctor told her.
JUDITH went home and wrote up heated
y yr;tl, Dr (a11 ir, which he an
peared for once in the role of very laxative
and deeply aroused physician and citizen.
Hurrving off her story, she swallowed some
food and rushed to the council meeting. She
knew most of the men, and that made 1t
easier. She asked for permission to speak.
Then she told the story of the baby home
and its present predicament, and the danger
to the city. The entire city might be under
quarantine, she said, and right in homeseek
ers' season too, unless the council took I'M
mediate action. She proposed that the
municipality finance the baby home per-
manently, and provide for its immediate
wants without the delay of red tape.
1t was an effective speech. Smallpox
proved its power to usurp paving The
council, alarmed, agreed unanimously to
take up the baby home question at once and
dispose of it ahead Of everything else. When
Judith left things looked well for her cause.
She Scr1DDled harQ ana last JnaC nlSnC, ana
her story of the councils action was before
the editor while the regular reporter, who
had arrived late, was still listening to the
wrangle over the paving matter.
1t was all very we'll she told herself Ian
guidly the next morning as she read her
story, boldly headlined; but where did her
success in railroading the home into munich
pal protection leave her? Clear off the news
page-with summer at hand, and everyone
going out Of town, and nothing happening!
Then she had another idea Why hadn't
she thought of it long ago. Dead Indian
Gulch was a regular pesthole. 1t had no
drainage, sewers, or paving here they
were voting an extra tax to extend paving
clear into the suburbs, Dead Indian Gulch
had to be cleaned up; it was a menace.
Judith was getting positively fond Of that
word menace" She dinly realized, as did
everyone else when they thought about it,