The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-01-17
TEACHING HEALTH
BY MOVING PICTURES
State Board of Health Entertained and
Instructed Audience of 800 Barre
People Last Evening With
5000 Feet of Film.

An audience of 800 people in the opera
house last night saw tine state board Of
health properly demonstrating the theory
| that people do forget all they hear but
remember a half, at least, of what they
see. That the constant din of youthful
chatter proceeding from balconies that
were crowded with children prevented
Dir. H. A. Ladd of Burlington from ex-
planning the pictures and supplement
| ing each film with word picture did
not defeat the purpose of the exhibition.
The pictures spoke fer themselves. 9th
erwise it was serious audience that
watched the moving dramas of health
and disease prevention. The exhibition
was one of series which the state
board is holding around the state on the
strength of legislative appropriation
made in 1912. In the summer, the films
are taken into the rural districts and
unwound in country schoolhouses, village
halls and sometimes at camp meetings.
The doctors and their assistants carry
with them an electric generator of their
own, which incidentally. is the only one
of its kind in use; although the gov
ernment seriously eontemplates the pur
chase of a large number of the genera
tors for educational purposes, Last year
the board showed the pictures in 30
towns The record will be bettered this
year, it is believed. BY way of show
ing that Barre appreciated the exhibi-
tion it may be said that more people saw
the pictures in this city than in any
other town or city.
The first picture depicted the evils of
water pollution, the remedy, and the
penalty which adequate state laws mete
out to violators of the statutes relating
TO pollution to rivers, lakes, ponds and
springs Film No. 2 was entitled "The
Awakening OF John Bond" Like many
another inhabitant of the crowded dis
tricts, John Bond was content to rest
easy in the midst OF squalid eondi-
tions. Along comes the white plague
and carries of a member Of the family.
Then there is a genera infection of the
survivors. A sister of John Bond
complains TO the tenement owner He
becomes frightened at her threat TO ex-
pose him and he attempts to bribe the
sanitary commissioner. The latter
shows him a Christmas seal issued BY
the American Red Cros. John awakens
one day to find that district nurse,
by applying modern methods OF santa
tion, has transformed his humble home
into an habitable place.
"The Man Who Learned" was none
other than our old friend, the farmer.
He has followed antiquated, unhealthy
methods of dairying for 80 years and
does not heed the protest OF his eldest
son. Angered. however, at the latter's
constant cry for a cleaner dairy, the
old gent sends the son, the sons wife
and their little child away from the
farm In the crowded city Son ir
contracts a dangerous malady through
the use of impure milk. The milk BY
a strange turn of fate's balance wheel
came from the home farm back on the
r. f. ID. An anxious grandfather, sum
moned to the city by gravity OF the
Youngsters condition, learns a lesson
and returns TO the country with the
strong resolve to improve his dairy,
dispose OF the boarders, aad settle down
to producing clean milk. For those who
are after the drama and not the edu-
cation, il may be noted that the little
lad recoyers. Even the man who writes
the educational drama has soft spot in
his heart.
And SO on. Film No. presented a
pictorial argument against the old idea
that consumption is an incurable dis
ease. Still another flashed the lesson
Of prevention better and surer than
cure" on the screen Perhaps 500 of the
5000 feet of film were devoted to swat
ting the flies on canvas. Loathsome
habits OF the house fly were vividly
brought before the audience. The pro- !
gram closed with patriotic picture of |
lol Ethan Allen and the Green Noun |
tain boys at Ticonderoga. It was not
he least interesting part of the affair
either. Or. Ladd. his helpers and the
films will be in Montpelier this even
ng.