The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-12-12
/. p -
PUBLIC HEALTH I0PSI
They Should BeStudied Up
During the Winter
SEAL SALE THEBiC THING
Money That Can Be- Secured
Will Be Devoted to Very
Good Cause


higher in health than city people.
despiterthe popular belief to the con
trary, according to d.. II. w Hill,
executive secretary of the Minnesota
Public Health association, in com
menting UPON the vital necessity for
providing The most adequate facili-
ties for Il strenuous war against dis
ease in every. rural community.
The 1920 program Of the voluntary
health organization, and its affiliated
county and local health associations,
includes a special movement to pro-
vide for health educational work. es-
tabliShEcnt OF dental, maternal, chill
dren's and nutriticnal clinics and
ether facilities for promoting public
health in the rural districts every
where In Minnesota, even in the isol
ated sections of the North Woods and
similar remote localities.
This work is financed through
funds raised by the sale of Red Cross
Christmas Seals and Health Bonds.
Minnesotas minimum allotment of
the national health fund. is s25e.00o.
This has been determined as the
least amount required to meet the
Funds From The Sale:
Funds raised during the sales-drive
now underway in every county in
the state, will remain under the con-
troll Of the county wherein raised for
the fight for health right at home,
excepting for small amount needed
10 sustain the administrative work Of
The state and national associations.
Actual comparisons on a large
scale show that country health is "a
lower ebb than city health" said
DIR. Hill.
why? Surely country air, country
food, country exercise, country hours
of rising and going to bed, country
amusements. country work are better.
more natural, and ought to give long
er life. better health and a much bet
ter Physique.
N"True they ought to-but it seems
they do not and the reasons are very
interesting.
How do we know that city people
average better in health and physique
than country people? From three
widely different sources-compara
tive records of defects among school
children, comparative records OF re-
jections from the army and compar-
alive official figures of morbidity
(disease) and mortality tdeath-b
These all show more defects in coun-
try children. more reflections in the
country drafts, more disease among
the rural population generally
Efficient Health Departments.
"Now. why? Because. all over the
United States, the cities with all their
drawbacks have more or less efficient
health departments, more or less eff
ficient medical inspection of schools,
more or less continuous opportunities
for the detection of disease and de-
fects and more or less well devei-
oped machinery for preventing DIS
ease and curing defects.
But the country districts until
very recently in some few places.
with all their natural advantages
have had. practically speaking, none
of these artificial advantages, no real
official health service, no medical
inspection. no machinery for detect.
ing defects. no real efforts at pre-
vention Of disease. no real efforts to-
ward promotion of health.
VERY recently it is true, spasmodie
efforts have been made. especially in
Minnesota. Public Health nurses
have examined school children, found
large percentages affected and at
tempted to have these defects rene
died. But as yet no medical inspec-
ton and no efficient health depart
ment service have been generally De
veloped. Legislation offered in Min
nesota to secure these vital ends mas
thus far failed of passage.
County Association Forneds
Recently in Minnesota. the rural
districts have taken matters into
their own hands Eighty-four coun-
tn public health associations have
been formed and county health pro-
grams have been initiated. Nothing
can be done to secure better legls-
lation or Improvement in the Official
health departments until the next
legislature meets but every form of
voluntary effort is being pushed.
Dental. maternal welfare, chill
iren,s nutritional. tuberculosis and
psychiatric clinics are being estaD1
lished as extensively as limited FUNDS
will permit Public health nurses are
beii.g provided. health surveys are
being made. health instruction in
schools is being introduced, health
exhibits are conducted at country
fairs and other.preventiye and RENEE
dial measures are being taken on as
broad a scale as small financial re-
sources will allow.
Having awakened TO the necessity
of improving health. people OF the
rural districts as well as those oil
The cities are determined to obtain
the benefits of public health work on
as broad a scale as possible. The
raising of funds for such purposes
through the annual sale Of Red Cross
Christmas Seals is widely understood
and approved, especially by those
who realize that the. educational
features of the seal campaign bring
beneficial results as well as does the
use of the funds thus provided
Fred w. KrHse returned last even
N..sw@ L-..-< Il