The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1915-10-07
LESSON TO OTHER CITIES
Holds That Kenosha Has Pointed the
Way for Other Cities to Make Their
People Learn Lessons Of Health and
Sanitation.

Kenosha is city accustomed to pub
Lefty and there are very few days In
the year that Kenosha does not figure
on the pages of metropolitan news pap
ers. Today Kenosha figured and fgur-
former Health Commissioners of the city
Of Chicago and Health Editor of the
Chicago Tribune takes the better part
Of column discussing just what has
been done by the Kenosha Board of
Health. Dir. Evans recently visited Ke-
nosha in order to find out just what has
been done in this city. Writing under
the caption Kenosha's Record he
says:
What Is the use of living in a sickly
town, when you don have to? What 3
The use Of paying doctor y bills for a
sick baby all summer, if you can live
where the baby will keep Well2 Is there
any such thing as good wages, if you
must have typhoid fever2
Have you ever asked yourself these
questions? If you have not, get busy,
for there are few million people who
have.
A few years ago the people of Ke-
nosha, Wis, realized that lot of people
We're asking these questions and that
the indirect effect of their answers was
hurting Kenosha and would hurt it
more. So they asked themselves GER
tain questions:
Can a city afford to be or to be
known as being an unhealthy city9
g Can a city afford typhoid fever, or
scarlet fever, or small pox, or high
baby death rates
TO these questions Kenosha answer
ed: No. The people decided to do
something about it, They studied what
DIR. Furstman and his health board had
done for La Crosse, and they decided to
got genuine health department.. They
found Or. McShane, young man, who
had a scientific training in the Univer-
sity Of Wisconsin and practical train
ing in the Chicago health department.
In 1912 they put him on the job, and
said, Go to it. We want results They
got them.
Kenosha was having about ten
deaths a year from typhoid among its
10000 inhabitants. This meant about
$50 to 200 cases of typhoid year. In
1914 Kenosha had one death, or about
fifteen cases Of typhoid, among its 49,
600 people.
"EThe number of babies dying each
year was ranging between 100 and 156.
in 1914 the number of babies dying was
sixty-eight.
"The total deaths reached their max
imum in 1912, with 333. In 1914 there
were 202 The gross death rate was
fourteen in 1912; it was seven in 1914,
when / opened the Crusader, turn
ed it's pages with some indifference un-
til struck the heading, Cut It's Death
Rate in Two The basis Of the state
ment was the gross death rates for 1912
and 1914 just quoted.
'These results have been accomplish
ed by means that any town could make
use of just as Kenosha has done. DR..
McShane secured the help of the women.
Every town is full of good women anxi-
Gus to work, if some one will point the
way.
An infant welfare movement was
started, and good nurse was found to
direct it. Babies were visited in their
homes, and the mothers were found anx-
ious to learn. Kenosha had great
many mothers new to the habits, Gus.
toms, and even the foods of this coun-
try. They were hungry for a chance
to talk with somebody about how to
feed a baby on American foods and
how to bring up baby in American
ways.
'tKenosha is not peculiar in that.
Every city has its mothers who have
Just come over and who want chance
to talk with somebody about the strange
American ways and the stranger Amer
lean foods.
"Kenosha Is water was not pure.
They sterilized it with chemicals. Any
town can do that at small expense. Ke-
nosha has not done anything that any
other small city could not do.
However, Kenosha has done these
things, and the other places have not
got beyond talking about them. There
fore, Kenosha has the honor of being
known as the city which cut its death
rate in two"