New-York tribune., 1919-09-30
Health Chief
Hints Seizure
OF Milk Supply
Situation Now the Problem
of His Department, DIR.
Royal S. Copeland Says;
Report of Nurses Is Read
Children Undernourished
Decrease in Birth Rate Is
Revealed at the Hearing;
Farmers Are Dissatisfied

DR.. Royal S. Copeland declared at
yesterdays session Of the Fair PRICE
Milk Committee that the milk situa-
tion has become q public health prob
lem. He intimated he would comman-
deer the city's milk supply, if neces-
sary. DR.. Copeland's statement was
inspired br the report Of a survey by
nurses OF his department. The report
said the milk consumed by the average
child examined was "wofully made
Quate.'
"There were 4O,573 cups Of milk used
daily by 19,037 children" the report
stated, cor two cups and one ounce
of milk for each child daily, an amount
totally inadequate at each of the in
divldual ages, but markedly so at the
ages OF one. and two years. Milk is
the blood of children. and whosoever
dcprives them OF this sustenancc, for
financial or other reasons, should feel
the full hand CT the law, if such can
be placed upon him. and if not, the
cxcoriation of his fellow men.
I'VE find that children Of American
mothers received daily two cups and
three ounces of milk; of Italian moth
ers one cup and SIX ounces, of Russian
$,
Austro- hungarian mothers two cups
and three ounces, of German and Irish
mothers two cups and six ounces"
Intimates Radical Action
The report said also that "when it
IS determined that deprivation Of milk
! is public menace and actually results
IN the presence OF great and imminent
peril to the public health, the Board of
Health may do and order whatever it
may declare the public safety and
health demand"
In ,di.cus;sng the relation of the
facts brought out in the report and the
powers of the Board of Health Dr..
Copeland declared last night that no
definite action on the communicating
of milk had been contemplated
81 feel, however," he said, chat the
ntimaton | have drawn is quite sig
nilicant."
The procedure of the survey in
cluded visits to families by Health
parents. interviewed each mother and
noted the physical condition of chill
dren. Eleven thousand and seven fami-
lies were visited as follows: Manhat-
tan. 1900; The Bronx, 2.056; Rrooklyn
$3.50; Queens, 167, and Richn nd AS9
All children between the ages of one
and seven years were examined.
Physical Conditions Recorded
Their physical condition and the ma
tivity of the mother were entered on
blank forms in addition to the follow
ing data: Number Of children suffer
inr data: Number Ct cuo7 If milk used.
cocoa; number OF children suffer
ierng mainutrition, acnmia, under
weight and other physical defects;
quantity and nature of substitutes used
and increased price Of milk arranged
by grades in September, 1919, COM
pared with September. 1916.
The number of children in the 1 ,007
families visited was lG037, arranged
according to age groups as follows:
to years, 3,o52; , to 3 years, 3,647;
; to years, 500; 4 to years, 3,556;
TO years, 5,203; total. 19,O37.
"Ihe fewer number of children at
one year of age as compared with the
succeeding individual ages is entirely at
variance,' the report says, with the
normal experience as shown in census
cnumcTauons, previous taoulations and
contrary to calculations, estimates. etc,
made IN previous years.
Birth Rate Decreased
"This lessened number Of children
at one year of age is explainable by
the decreased birth rate of the wears
1917 and 1913 as result Of the en-
trance OF this country into the war
the decreased marriage rate of 1917
affecting the birth rate of 1918. This
decreased number Of children under
one year of age as compared with that
OF two years Of age was found to have
occurred in all the boroughs of the
city with the exception of the Borough
Of The Bronx"
The report revealed that at least one
cup OF tea or coffee WIS given daily to
each child. The survey branded these
beverages as stimulating merely and
worthless IN the muscular and mental
structure in the human body. 1t was
brought out that in 10,793 of the II ,OO7
cases investigated substitutes for milk
in the form Of tea, coffee and cocoa
were being used. In 7.217 instances
less milk was being purchased now
than formerly, 1T was shown, while
more condensed milk was being used
in LOTT families. The number of
mothers who claimed that high prices
are dcpriving their children of milk
totallcd 5,775, while the investigation
showed that 4,o53 children We're act
ually suffering by reason of this forced
curtailment of the family's milk sup
ply.
Consumption Cut One-Half
There were 1894 children found to
be suffering from manlnutrition. 933
from anemia, 7S5 below normal weight.
COS suffering from other disorders,
3,64S undernourishcd
In 1916 | OPS quarts of grade A mill.
were purchased daily by these families
at is cents a quart. Only 5l5 were be
ing purchased at 1876 cents quart
this year. showing a decrease of 30 per
cent in consumption and an increase Of
AZ per cent in price The daily pur-
chase by these families Of grade 3
milk in bottles in 1916 was 100 quarts
at loS cents quart compared with
sol quarts at 16.5 in 1919. In 1916
2.045 quarts of grade loose milk wer.
purchased daily at SO quart and
2,543 quarts were bought at 1873 cents
this year
Dr. Copeland read into the record Of
the hearing a letter from Lotion Hor-
ton, president of the Sheffield Farms
company, in which MIR. Horton sought
TO answer several questions put to
him at the previous session by Francis
Martin, district attorney Of The Bronx
and member of the milk committee
Horton Blamcs Labor
Mr.. Horton blamed the demands Of
organized labor, especially the team
sters, for much of the milk cost. The
official in answering a question regard
ing the concerted advance of the milk
price, reminded his inQuisitors that
the price of newspapers had climbed