The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1918-04-25
WEIGHING AND MEASURING OF OUR
LITTLE TOTS TO BEGIN NEXT WEEK
Every Youngster Under the Age of Five in Bur
leigh County to Have Expert Survey
of Condition :a..

Mrs. G. N. Kirk, chairman for Bur
leigh and Bismarck OF the child's
welfare division of the women's coun-
Gil OF defense for North Dakota, is
completing her list of ward and dis.
trict chairmen who next Monday will
begin g thorough canvass whose pur-
pose is the listing Of every child in
Burlefgh county under the age of five
years. Every home in the county
will be visited, and where children
under the age Of five are found, the
mothers will be asked to bring the
babies into the county headquarters
in Bismarck for weighing, testing
and registration in keeping with the
national program of child cOnserva-
ton to be carried out during chill.
dren's year. Different dates will be
assigned mothers of various commu-
mites, suiting their convenience and
with view to avoiding congestion at
headquarters. The child conservation
headquarters here probably will be in
the Haggart building, where the Red
Cross is planning to establish its Of
fees, at least temporarily, while the
United States district court room in
the federal building is occupied with
the spring term of court for the
southwestern district. At these head
quarters doctors and nurses will be
prepared to give the Riddles careful
attention, ascertaining their. physical
defects. If any exist, and giving the
mothers free advice as to how these
defects may be corrected. This work
will be followed up throughout the
year by special campaign Of educa'
ton from the national child's conser-
walton headquarters, which will send
to each mother circulars and bulle-
tins designed to meet the particular
needs of her baby. id ,n4y,s} .s,-
Governor. Frazier within the next
day or two will issue an official proc
lamation recognizing the child's con-
servation year and endorsing the sur
vey and canvass which are to begin
next week, and Mrs. Kirk, not later
than Saturday, will announce the
personnel of all her committees. "
Explaining the great work which
has been undertaken on nationwide
scope, Mrs. Kirk this morning said:
"The instructions for carrying out
the weighing and measuring test OF
American children under five years of
age were sent out today by the child
welfare department of the woman's
committee of the council of national
defense to its state and local chile>
welfare chairmen who will be respon-
sible for the test in each community
The record cards will follow after
word is received of the exact number
required by each committee. !. :
This test is the first feature of
children's year which began on April
6. The plans for children's year pre-
pared by the children's bureau of the
U. S. department of labor include ac-
tivities designed to protect all chill.
dren$ from the special dangers of war
time, and to save the lives of 1907
900 little children before April 6, 1919.
Many of the physical defects which
caused the rejection of one-third of
the men coming up for examination
date from some slight trouble neglect.
ed in early childhood. And the chill
dren's bureau emphasizes the fact
that a higher standard of physical
fitness in the rising generation can be
asured only by greater attention to
the physical condition of children.
According to the bureau, heighth
and weight and their relation to each
other are a rough index of a young
child's health and development. For
instance, whan a child is strikingly
below the average weight for his
heighth or is strikingly small for his
age, it indicates that expert advice
about diet and daily care is needed
In SO far as, the ttest makes it plain
to parents that the physical condition
CT their children needs special atten-
ton, and in SO far as It leads to COM
munity provision for public-health