The Caldwell watchman. (Columbia, La.) 1885-1946, 1914-01-30

merely on paper medical inspection
of children and for the care (lncludlng
the supply of food and clothing} OF
neglected children and children in iso-
lated districts, Another recent Parlia.
mentary Act, applicable TO all the
United Kingdom, provides inspection
of all charitable institutions and
homes" One thousand little children
are burned to death in Great Britain
annually. The new act compels par
ents or hOuse-oWners to have guards
on their CRATES and take other precau.
lions against fires. Juvenile courts,
with plenary powers, are established
Parents are required to attend this
court and, if they have not properly
looked after their children, must take
the punishment or pay the fine which
would otherwise be assessed against
the child. Jail imprisonment for chill
dren and the death sentence for them
are abolished. Children under four
teen years Of age are not allowed in
any part Of a public house used as g.
drinking bar. Alcohol may not be
given to children anywhere under the
age Of five years, except in the case
of illness. Cigarettes or cigarette pa.
pers may not be sold to children under
sixteen years old nor other tobacco
believed to be for the children's own
use Policemen and parkmen may
take away the tobacco from boys
whom they find smoking. Local au.
thorities are empowered to establish
Choice of Employment Offices to assist
the young in determining upon EN-.
ployment
Bonuses to Large Families.
Great Britain has changed the mater
nifty benefit of its national insurance
law granted by the state to become
the absolute property of the mother.
France is trying an experiment toward
checking the decline Of the birth rate
and promoting child welfare by grants
of bonuses to large families. Under a
law passed by the French Senate and
the Chamber Of Deputies just ad-
iourned, needy French parents with
more than three children below the
age of thirteen years will receive an
annual grant of $12 to SIG for each
child beyond that number. 1t is esti-
mated that about $1O,OO0,0O0 will be
expended annually. The cost will be
shared by the nation, the departments
and the municipalities.
Neglect of Babies Breeds Crime.
If the child is saved to become an
adult, does the lack of care in in
fancy affect his moral character? A
corollary to the Amsterdam charts is
report of a statistical study Of the
English convict by DR.. Goring, of
Parkhurst Prison. The conclusions Of
DR.. Goring are that convicts, as a
class, are markedly inferior to the
general population in physique and
general capacity, though there Is no
criminal type The forehead, ears,
jaw, of which we have heard SO much,
are the merest moonshine. The. con-
dition most closely related to Heity
crime, the most fruitful source of
nearly all that is meant by crime,
is mental effectiveness. This defec-
tiveness is result, in an overwhelm-
ing number of cases, of the lack Of
care of the child at some period Of it's
infant life.
Every step in the direction of max
ing and keeping the children healthy"
runs the prominently-displayed quota
ton from the Chief Medical Officer Of
the London Board of Education, lis a
step towards diminishing the preva-
lence and tightening the burden Of
disease for the adult and a relatively
small rise in the standard of child
health may represent proportionate-
ly large gain in the physical health,
capacity and energy of the people as a
whole. AS a general proposition it
may be said that state can not ef-
fectively insure itself against disease
unless it begins with its children"
State Now Hears Infants Cry.
The baby in Europe has been found
out Always heard at home, he is
now taken into account in the MAX
ing Of laws, the cleansing of slums,
the planning Of towns. This new
knowledge may mean more rapid
change, for the infants cry is ever
more potent against cruel social con-
ditions than even "the curses Of the
strong man in his wealth" The baby,
the chief asset Of the civilized state,
is having more intelligently and con-
tinuously that states chief care. And
babies are the stuff out OF which
adults are made.
Yet, upon returning from the beau.
tifuI and inspiring exhibition OF the
Dutch women, we found two nine-year-
old boys, tipped towards pauperism by
American visitors, running night and
day the elevator in the Amsterdam
hotel, while outside the hotel door, in
the gathering darkness, in the
crowded, narrow, threadlike Kalver
STRAIT two wan-faced and ragged girls,
scarce older, begged aims.
Copyright, 1914, by Joseph B. Bowles)