Putnam patriot., 1917-05-25
DELIGHTED AUDIENCE
Hears HOnOre WillSie, Editor of Deliuea.
tor. Had Vital Message
Tells Importance of Seventh Baby
Campaign

nam audience more spellbound and i'm
tent, or seldom has speaker had more
vital and absorbing facts to bring to
Putnam audience, than did Henore
] Willsie, novelist OF national fame, and
better known as editor of the Delinea-
tor, who spoke at High school hall
Wednesday evening. There were only
about 50 present, but from the begin
ming, RS. Willsie had the concen-
trated attention of every person in the
audience, and she held it until the
very end.
Mrs. Wilsie, herself a wonderful
woman, had wonderful story to tell,
and at the beginning dwelt for con.
siderable time on the way in which
she had reached the EDITORS desk of
the magazine which she is connected
with, and of how this magazine had
come 10 adopt the campaign which it
is now beginning in an effort TO save
the seventh baby. According TO the
speaker this Is the greatest health
survey ever undertaken. mo. hing so
big in this line has ever been launched
said Mrs. Willsie, "snd Putnam was
the first town in the United States to
see the higness of the thing and ask us
for a health survey by a public health
nurse
Mrs. Willsie told how, while on a
short vacation some time ago, she met
DR.. Terry, a famous sanitarian who
had done much to clean up some par
ticulary bad conditions in the south
and urged him to conduct a depart
ment of community health in the De-
| lineator. He consented and while the
department grew slowly at first, be-
cause 1t WIS SO new and unique, 1t did
continue to grow In popular favor
rhe speaker explained that in this
country, one baby out of seven dies be-
fore it is year old, and that accord
ing to the best authorities, so per cent
of these deaths are preventabe.
1t was at the time of the recent in
fantile paralysis plague that the
Seventh Baby Campaign was hit upon
! by the DeIinealor. The department.
| of health was flooded, according to
| Mrs. Willsie, with pitiful letters from
all over the country, beseeching that
they tell what could be done to save
the babies. DR.. Terry at that time
said TO the editor: "What you do for
infant mortality in general, you do for
! infantile paralysis in particular" And
| he then explained that he had plan
! that would cost the magazine much in
dollars and cents, and which could
| bring no return, but which he believed
would do much for prevention of in
| FAINT mortality.
The plan which he told Mrs. Willsie
| fl rst town that will receive the bene-
| It's. He told Mrs. Wilsie that he
wished the Delineator might employ a
| dozen public sheslth nurses, who are
/ trained nurses raised 10 the nth de-
gree-and send these nurses TO com.
munities TO study everything con-
| neeled with child mortality. The De-
| linealor realized the bigness of the
thing and towns and cities all over the
country will be surveyed before the
campaign is closed.
Mrs. Willste also spoke at length on
| the iwar and infant mortality. She
stated that the Germans pay more at
| tention to, and appreciate baby life
more, than any other nation. "Amer-
! icans,u she said, "don't give boot for
babies at large, although they each
| love their own. But what is danger
Gus to the BABY in the alley yonder, is
| dangerousto the baby in the alley yon-
der, is dangerous to all babies. En-
! gland before the war cared less for
babies than any other nation. Yet this
war has caused an awakening, and
| England has come to realize that the
| only thing that can scounteract the
deaths and Gripping is baby life-and
today in Eng land babies are living"
The same is true for this country
now that our soldie rs are to go to the
front, and people must realize that
baby life must be saved. According
to the speaker this fact is not sufficient
ly realized. She believes that If great
organizations of women would adopt
a campaign to save baby life, it would
be a far more effective war measure
than ssevery woman making patch
work quilt for some boy in the
| trenches as was suggested At re-
cent meeting of women representing
two and a half million women
/ throughout the land At this same
/ meeting, Mrs. WiIlsie was told she
might speak one half minute on the
question Of conservation of child life
as there was,very important business
/ to be considered; but shortly after,
another woman present spoke 40 min
utes on dress reform.
| Mrs. Willsie closed her talk by say
1 ing that Putnam will always be known
! A. the first town TO be survey d in the
/ greatest sanitarian movement ever
carried on.
Mrs. Willsie may have been dis
couraged at the audience that greeted
| her Wednesday, and she may have
| thought that i'm size it was in proper
,;on n the interest Putnam has taken