Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1914-10-30
Copyright. 1914. by A. S. Cray
FOOD AND pEllNQOENT9.

Under a recent date an Associated
Press dispatch credits Charles G. D
Htlles. formerly private secretary t.
President Taft. now president OF the
New York Juvenile asylum in Dobba
Ferry, with the discovery that bad
teeth make bad boys.
What is the cause of bad teeth In
children under fifteen years OF age
It is universally admitted that the
fundamental cause Of the early decay
OF children's teeth is anemia, lacl
Of sufficient. building material during
the growing period. Obviously a lack
Of brick and mortar will result In an
imperfect building. and the same lack
Of material must result in an imper'
feet body.
Mr.. Hilles is not the discoverer OF
this truth, but none the less he is en-
titled to great credit for recognizing
and taking practical steps to combat
dangerous condition that many for.
eign governments are making strenu'
Gus efforts to overcome.
In the parliamentary debate on free
meals, March 81, 1905, Sir William
Arson, then British parliamentary Sec
rotary to the board of education, re-
plying to Messrs. Kier Hardie and Will
liam Crooks, admitted that in the day
industrial schools, where the children
had three meals day, he found them
bright and intelligent and being de.
veloped physically and mentally in a
satisfactory way" Although the chill
dren lived at home the regular and
wholesome supply Of food was so po.
tent factor that their condition was
thoroughly satisfactory"
Wilson Bruce, following other wit
nesses before the Scottish commission
In pointing out the startling superior
ity of industrial school children, added
that If we fed and clothed the elemen.
tary school children as suitably we
should make new race of them"
The commissioners noted this con.
trast between the ill-nourished ele-
mentary school children Of respectable
parents and well-developed industrial
school children Of those who have al
together failed In their duty"
The countess of Warwick, writing
In "A Nations YOUTH" says: What q
fine moral have we here. Be a bad
parent, or confess yourself unable to
control your own children. and they
will be attached to an industrial
school, given three meals a day, large.
ly at the expense Of the ratepayers,
and they will become bright and in.
telligent boys, developed physically
and mentally in satisfactory way"
This touches upon and brings sharp
ly to the front the whole subject OF
sophisticated foods around which q
commercial battle royal is at present
raging in this country. In no field of
knowledge is there SO general q lack
of personal information founded on
experience as in the fundamental one
Of food.
Eating has become an art which has
to be learned by man, and unfortu.
nately the subject is considered so un.
important that quite generally our
foods are selected on the statement of
persons whose only interest is in the
profit to be derived from the manu-
facture and sale Of the commodity,
and then after the purchase In this
slipshod manner it is too frequently
turned over to some incompetent
kitchen drudge to be prepared for eat
ing.
In order that an Intelligent choice
Of proper diet may be made 1t is alb
solutely necessary that we should pos
sess a certain smattering of scientific
knowledge. This does not consist in
the memorizing of few terms suffi-
cient to enable us to babble about car
bohydrates, proteins and fats, of calo-
ries and Of balanced rations, but to
have thorough understanding of the
real meaning of the closing paragraph
of the fourth article of this series,
which we here again repeat for EN-.
phasis: 1.-THE now prevailing standard
of food values which measures the
heat units produced from foods and
completely ignores all other elements
and factors Is not only woefully made
quate in the light of modern science,
but constitutes a grave menace to the
health, to the morals, to the sanity
and to the life Of any people,"
The chief reason for the improve
ment in inmates of well-governed
asylums and industrial schools over
the rate of development shown by
children under home conditions un-
doubtedly lies in tue fact that food
matter is bought IT. bulk and largely