Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-03-17
IRISH BABIES
Appeal From Lady Aberdeen of Ire
land For Help From American Wo-
men to Save the Babies of Ireland
A Suggestion For Following Ur
National Baby Week.


the Health Committee of the Womans
Club Is IN receipt of letter from The
Marchloness of Aberdeen and Temair
of Ireland asking that members of
the women's organizations of Wau-
seon who are of Irish parentage or
sympathies consider the following up
of the American "Save The Babies"
week with an "Irish Babies Week" by
arranging for social gathering and
entertainments, the proceeds of which
might be devoted to the care of Irish
mothers and babies. even a small
sum-" writes Lady Aberdeen, "would
indeed be of practical benefit and
would be very gratefully received.
The following extracts from press
notices which accompany the letter
give some idea of the situation in
Ireland and the reason for the appeal
to the American people:
Save the Irish Babiesw is the
latest slogan in the nationwide cam
paign for better babies. The race
which has contributed so much to the
upbuilding of America is in danger of
serious depletion; for while thousands
of sturdy Irishmen are dying in battle,
there is rising rate among the in
fants in the Irish cities and at the
same time decreasing birth rate.
America is being called on to save the
situation, and the week of st. Pat
rick's Day, March IL to 18 is to be
"Irish Babies Week" throughout the
United States.
If the Irish race is to be preserved
in its pristine health and vigor, steps
must be taken to save the rising gen
GRAFTON, says The Marchioness of
Aberdeen and Temair, wife of the
former governor-general of Canada
and recently viceroy of Ireland, who
lis now in this country with Lord
Aberdeen, to call the attention of the
people here to the pressing and i'm
mediate necessity for child welfare
work in Ireland. Lady Aberdeen
founded and is president of the Wom-
ems National Health Association of
Ireland, an organization supported en-
tirely by voluntary contributions
whose funds were seriously curtailed
by the war.
In discussing the matter Lady
Aberdeen said there is "crimina
and needless waste of precious little
ives going on, to a greater or lesser
degree everywhere" Much of thi:
waste, she added, could be prevented
oy simple measures, and through pro
Der care of mothers and babies, b,
instruction to mothers, through visit
ng nurses and in other ways. the AS
sociation had been saving many lives
Then came the war, said Lady Aber
1 nd thn Il
faced the danger of humiliation fo
lack of funds.
"In Dublin there has been an in
crease since the war began, from 16
Der thousand to 181 per thousand i
no~talitv of irfants under one yea
DID," asserted Lady Aberdeen. 9Th
'ormal death rate in Dublin is Ia
oer thousand. Sir Andrew Horne,
prominent physician in charge O
the big maternity hospitals in Duh
in. says that he attributes the in
,rase in infant mortality there to tn
,nforsed closing of the Women's Ma
tional Health Association Pasteurize
Milk Depot. in consequence of tn
war. The municipality of Dublin ha
not the necessary powers for runnin
zuch depot. The babies who wer
supplied with milk from this depc
we're mostly sickly children ser
there by. their doctors and yet tn
'eath rate among these infants worl
ed out at about four and one ha
'er cent. as compared with the ave-
age fourteen and one half per cen
among Dublin babies in general.
eve want to carry on a campaig
: in Ireland which will bring out vivic
f w the needlessness >of the waste
h infant life. The first systematic edl
|. "ational health work in Ireland We
begun nine years ago when the Won
ems National Health Association We
: organized. adopting methods whic
q already had been highly succesefl
d IN America. Since it's inception tn
y Association, prior to the war, attain
r ed many beneficial results. in redu
t ing infant mortality, in preventir
s tuberculosis, in securing care for IL
e sick poor, in maintaining visitir
S nurses. in improving housing cond
e tons in crowded cities. in transform
o ing derelict spaces into playground
n and gardens.
"a children's sanitarium for tube
d culosis treatment has been built, bl
s is empty owing to lack of funds.
new preventorium, to which womt