The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1914-11-05

Parents are required to attend this
court and, II 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 public house used a. q
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 ofnces 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 IL trying an experiment toward
checking the decline Of the birth rate
and promoting child welfare by grants
Of bonuses to large families. Under .
law passed by the French Senate and
the Chamber Of Deputies just ad-
journed, needy French parents with
more than three children below the
age Of thirteen years will receive an
annual grant Of $12 to SIC for each
child beyond that number. Il IL esti-
mated that about 100000 will be
expended annually. The cost will be
shared by the nation, the departments
and the municipalities.
Neglect Of Babies Breeds Crime.
II the child IL saved to become an
adult, does the lack Of care in in
fancy affect his moral character? A
corollary to the Amsterdam charts is
a report OF statistical study Of the
English convict by DR.. Goring. Of
Parkhurst Prison. The conclusions of
DR.. Goring are that convicts, as =
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 petty
crime, the most fruitful source of
nearly all that is meant by crime,
is mental effectiveness. This defec-
tiveness is a result, in an overwhelm-
ing number Of cases, of the lack of
care of the child at some period of its
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 Oflicer of
the London Board of Education, lis a
step towards diminishing the preva-
lence and Tightening the burden of
disease for the adult and relatively
small rise in the standard of child
health may represent a proportionate-
ly large gain in the physical health.
capacity and energy of the people as a
whole. As general proposition it
may be said that a 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
moro 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 stun out Of which
adults are made.
Yet. upon returning from the beau
tiful 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, thread-like KalveI
STRAIT two wan-faced and ragged girls
scarce older, begged aims.
Copyright. 1914. by Joseph B. Bowles.)