The Washington herald., 1916-12-14
Seen and Heard
By GEORGES MINER.

New York, Dec. I3.--While events
in Northern Mexico are anything but
pleasing to people who have the well
fare of Mexico at heart and who do
not countenance the outrages COM
mitted by bandits, it is good news to
hear that in the southeastern section
of the country very different state
of affairs exists.
This is the section comprising the
Yucatan Peninsula and governed by
Gen. Alvarado. Education is his great
hobby. He realized that the lack of
it has been the main handicap to his
country's progress and its most nota-
Bile weakness. So he instituted uni
versal and compulsory education and
insisted that every child should be
taught. That was more than year
ago. .E ..a ...,
He has now supplemented that by
putting into force decree whereby
the health of every child is looked
after in more systematic and scien-
tihc way than in any other country in
the world
New York and many other big
American cities were shocked and al
most panic-stricken last summer at
the spread of infantile paralysis
through the schools. The schools
were closed and the whole life of
the community upset. No such con-
dition could occur in Yucatan. There
are too many precautions taken and
too much watchfulness for the disease
to get start. And still in our ig-
norance we look on Yucatan in al
most contemptuous way as being
behind in the march of progress and
civilization. It's nothing of the sort
at least not since Alvarado began
to push it ahead.
There is no explanation" he says
in his proclamation, why school
hygiene up to the present time
has been neglected with such ten
acious carelessness and criminal re-
sistance, to point where the medical
profession considers itself fraternity
for companionship and friendship
with no other purpose, outside of COL
lecting fees, than stically to watch
the time pass"
With this slap at the doctors, which
set them going at once, the governor
laid down plan for school hygiene
and the maintenance of infantile vi
tality. Frequent and regular medical
inspection is made of the school build
ings and each individual scholar.
For each child there is provided a
book in which is recorded the result
of the medical and mental examina-
tons. These books tell the story of
the development of the child's body
and brain, and will be invaluable
guides for the future. The children
are divided into three classes physi-
cally. Healthy" Liable to sick
ness" and "Sick." Mentally they are
separated into FIVE classes and these
divisions so co-ordinated that the
child's body and brain are developed
together.
When a child has delicate health"
written in its book the doctor must
examine it once week. When
sick" is written in il, no matter what
kind of sickness, the child cannot re-
turn to school without health per-
NIT
Notes in the books tell the teacher
what the weak points in each child's
makeup are that need watching. Spe-
cial care is also taken to show the
physical exercises advisable for each
child, also the time to be devoted to
them and under what conditions they
are to be taken.
Chillren with defective teeth or eye
sight must have them attended to at
once. If the parents neglect this af-
ter being warned they are fined or
put in Jail except when they are too
poor to afford to pay for the work
In that case, the state attends to it.
Children classified as abnormal are,
according to the nature of the case,
educated in special schools for the
purpose or placed in asyiums. Plac-
ing child in an asylum is only done
at the request of the parents.