New-York tribune., 1919-12-12
Copeland's Report
OF UndernOurished
ChildrenC Challenged
DR.. Chaplin Says Schools in
Poorer Districts We're
Only Ones Investigated to
Get Malnutrition Data

Health Commissioner Copeland's re-
children we're suffering from under
nourishment was challenged yesterday
by Dr. Henry Dwight Chapin, chair
man of the committee on public health
of the State Reconstruction Commis
sion. He declared DR.. Copeland's state
ment was based on reports from only
thirty-three schools in the poorest
neighorhoods, whereas survey cover
ing all the schools showed conclusively
that malnutrition is less prevalent to-
day than it was two years ago.
DR.. Chaplin also characterized as er-
roneous the popular belief that the
high price Of milk is solely responsible
for ndernourishment. In fact, he
said, malnutrition depended on large
number of conditions, principal among
which were ignorance Of parents, poor
hygiene, improper housing and physi-
cal defects.
ut was stated recently" said DR..
Chaplin, that according to recent sur
vey 80 per cent of the school children
Of Now York were suffering from NAL
nutrition. Investigation shows that the
lected for this survey were in the
poorest neigh borhoods Of the city, and
were chosen by the Board OF Education
50 the places where school lunches
were most necessary.
Poor Districts Selected
"These selected schools are in dis
tricts where parents are of the poorer
and less educated classes. Many of
on t1f ~ ho mt frit ttxo
value of food, and it is this, as we'll as
environment and. quite frequently,
physical defects such as enlarged ton
sils and adenoids, that accounts for a
large part of the malnutrition.
"The only way to find the true con-
dition Of the city's school children
with regard to nutrition is to select
thirty three of the best schools now,
take survey of them and strike a
general average for the two classes.
"In The School Health News for
May, 1919, a publication of the De-
partment of Health, cross section,
taken from all the schools, was pre-
sented. 1t was estimated from til is
that in 1915 1916 per cent of the school
children of New York were under
nourished; in 1917 this rose to PIG per
cent, and in 1918 dropped to 19 per
cent
"These figures represent probably Il
fair average of the city as whole. It
is difficult to suppose that, with the cX-
tent of nalnutrition going down be-
tween 1917 and 1918, it should sud
denly take jump from 10 per cent te
80 per cent between 1918 and 1919, ar
increase Of more tnan half.
Mortality Rate Lower
Another consideration to be taker
into account is that the mortality this
year is considerably lower than in re
cent preceding years, even making a.
lowances for last years influenza epi
demic. In 1917, deaths of children VI
to fourteen years in New York Cit.
totaled 20940; in 1918, 25 344, and il
the first eleven months of 1919 it wa
1857. Based on the figures for clever
months, there will be a great decreas
in infant and child mortality this year
as compared with 1917, the last yea
unaffected by epidemic.
If malnutrition is so much greater
as has been reported it is strange tina
the mortality rate should not go VI
also, for the undernourished Chi d be
comes an easier prey to disease thar
the we'll fed one.
In the recent survey of thirty three
schools the percentage Of malnutritior
of the poorest schools was made tc
apply to the school children of the en-
tire city. In the same way the total OF
/ 900 undernourished was apparently
arrived at by calculating this percent
age of all the school children of the
city, in the best schools as we'll as the
worst"