The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1914-02-11
CHILDREN'S BUREAU.


La these DAYS of progress aud reform
not 10 say fads, foibles aud fancles, a
number of things have been and are
| being dono which meet with universal
approval. One Of the most note
worthy of these is the study Of the
conditions surrounding the birth, edu
cation and well-being Of the children
of the United States.
ia the closing days of the admins
tration Of President Taft children S
bureau was established in the depart
ment OF labor, the duties of the bureau
being to Investigate and report upon
all matters pertaining to child life
among all classes of people, and espe.
cially TO investigate the questions OF
birthrate, orphanage, juvenile courts
desertion, dangerous occupations, acci-
dents and diseases of children, employ
meut, legislation affecting children
and. indeed. all matters which could
possibly have anything to do with the
rising generation.
The first annual report Of the chief
of the children s bureau, Julia c. Lath-
rop, has Just come 10 hand. Necessar-
ily, owing to the shortness of time since
the organization Of the bureau, the
report is not exhaustive. Nevertheless
quite bit Of information may be
cleaned from ITS perusal. For instance,
attention is called TO the fact that
nearly one-third OF the population of
the United States, 1920 ,361 persons,
consists of children under sixteen years
of age The figures are of course taken
from the census report of 1910. The
fact that a vast majority of these chill
drcn arc Of average health and oppor-
tunity has been established by the
bureau.
Upon the subject Of infant mortality
the report lays the greatest stress. At
the outset attention is called to the
fact that the United States differs from
all other civilized countries 10 having
no general system OF birth registration,
rendering it impossible to state with
accuracy the proportionate loss. Re-
sus bureau, which estimates that our
actual loss last year was 300,0 900 babies
under one year of age.
The bureau OF child labor reaches the
conclusion. and we have DO doubt the
health officers Of the country will
agree, that ''at least half OF these little
ones would now be living had we, as
individuals and communities, applied
those measures of hygiene and santa.
tion which are known and availa BILE. -
The old idea that high infant death
rate indicates a greater degree Of vigor
in the survivors no longer obtains
Upon this point the report says that
''it is agreed that the conditions which
destroy SO many of the youngest lives
of the community must also result in
crippling and manning many others and
must react unfavorably upon the health
of the entire community" One would
not have TO travel far to find q physi-
clan who would voice his agreement
with the above conc lusion.
The necessity Of careful registration
of births IN the United States has been
pointed out continually for the last
fifty years, but very little effort has
been made by the lawmakers in that
direction. Children come into the
world and go out of il in some com
munities without a line in any Official
record OF even the family bible. In
the old country this duty is performed
by the parish churches Owing TO the
innumerablo crccds in the United
States the country is not subdivided on
an ecclesiastical basis, each denomi.
nation recording its own christenings
and no attention being paid the advent
into the world Of the infants Of those
who do not claim membership.
The doctors are required in most
states TO report births, but doctors are
not always called in such cases, and
consequently no blank is filled out
when the neighbor women arc called
upon to officiate. State laws are no.
toriously inefficient IN the matter of
registering the birth of infants. If
we arc 10 have a uniform marriage
and divorce law, which so many re-
formers advocate, it would not be a
bad idea for the federal government to
also provide for On accurate record of
the birth OF infants at the same time
As before stated, the bureau has not