Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-04-26
Usefulness of Examinations
Atready" Shuwn-in Attention
Called to Affections

! With from 600 to 500 people daily
attending the Baby Week activities
at its headquarters. Palama Settle
ment, the men and women who are
putting weeks of hard work into the
preliminaries and the actual duties OF
the week itself, declare that the idea
has been abundantly justified.
No better arg uInent for the perfna
nent baby welfare station demanded
by the workers behind Baby Week is
required than the fact that during the
examinations yesterday, two. slight
l,curvatures of the spine, one bad case
of adenoids and one case of hernia
were discovered in the sixty-odd ba-
bies examined. And it is sin
gular fact that all of these cases.
occurred in families IN comfortable
circumstances. The truth of the mat
ter is that there are so many things
that can happen to baby that unless
thorough examination such as is be-
ing given In this scoring contest is
given to babies, some ailments or af-
fiction may be present in baby with
possibility of escaping notice until
the defect Is aggravated and perhaps.
permanent injury results.
To Save Lives.
"A permanent child welfare station
is in fact baby life-saving station
said James A.. Rath, head worker at
Palana, yesterday, and 1t is the only
solution of this high mortality in chill
dren problem
The test for each period of a child's
age, divided into six months. intervals,
is standard. and the idea is 10 see
whether baby or child of certain
age reaches or falls behind standard
Play objects, pictures, questions and
answers, articles common in the home,
paper and pencil for children old
enough to use them and draw crude
representations, are all used in these
tests, and the advancement of the
mentality of each child is gagged by
the alertness with which he satisfies
the requirements of the standard OF
his age.
Babies Very Young
The age of the babies examined yes
terday was en- the average consider
ably less than the average age Of the
babies examined Monday. This helped
to make the examinations more diff
cult and more trying to the physi-
clans, nurse, and volunteer helpers, as
the helpless little infants couldn't I'M
derstand any of the things being done
to them, nor the instruments with
which tests and measurements are
made 1t was amusing to see some
little boy or girl of three or four years
take pity on a baby some months
younger who was crying and say to
it: Don't cry baby, nobody hurt you. :"
A. somewhat discouraging feature to
those who are promoting Baby Week
is the fact that under the limitations
only about 900 babies can be exam
ined during the week! Recognizing
this fact at the outset, rule was
made that only those babies could be
examined who were previously regis
tered. Some were turned away yes
terday, while some 20 were registered
and allowed TO go through to take the.
places of those who were registered
for examination YESTERDAY and didn't
show up for some reason or other.
Twice the number could be cared FOR,
if enough physicians could be Sc.
cured to give their services, so as t.
I'LL in the morning hours as well as
the afternoon. All the other divisions
Of the work could be proceeded. With
If only the services of physicians we're
at all times available. With some so
physicians in Honolulu, it seems as If
this could be done, and perhaps the i
results of this weeks campaign will
arouse sufficient interest to make it
possible in succeeding years to enlist
more physicians In the work Here
again is argument for the permanent
station. For among the 5000 babies
under six years IN Honolulu, only 300
viii be examined, or less than per 4
cent.
Attendance Large.
The total attendance is an encour-
aging fact for the promoters of the
movement There were $50 counted
Monday. and 6SS up to 4:30 yesterday
afternoon.
Every chair was filed at both the
feeding and the cleaning demonstra-
tons given in the gymnasium by Miss
Dewar each afternoon. Miss Dewar
comes from the Kauikeolani Chill
dren's Hospital Another lecture
which attracted much interest, and at
which the big kindergarten room
where the lecture was held was filed
to Overlooking, was that given by Miss