St. Johnsbury Caledonian. (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-1920, 1920-08-05
URGES WOMEN TO
VOTE FOR SCHOOL
INSPECTION
Benefits of Medical Super
vision Told by DIR. Alice
E. Wakefield


August IA, at 2 p. m. to vote in favor
of medical inspection in the schools,
was made by DR.. Alice E. Wakefield
in an address before the Woman's
club at Athenacum Hall, Monday
afternoon.
"Your committee on Public health
and child welfare should have the
wholehearted and vigorous assistance
of every woman in st. Johnsbury to
establish this department of health
in the schools" declared DR.. Wake
field in a very instructive address.
eff you can vote at the special town
meeting, you certainly should. If
you cannot vote, you can talk-wo-
are allowed even in Vermont, to talk. :"
Mrs. George F. Chenev ,resided at
the meeting. -
Mrs. Helen C. Thompson, chairman
of the Forestry committee, gave some
very interestin"' facts about the pres
ent shortage of wood and urged re-
forestation.
A poem entitled "The old Tree"
was read by Mrs. Oscar Cummings.
Miss Inez Howe gave an illustrated
talk on Common Trees of st. Johns
bury in way that helped many to
distinguish the many different kinds
that grow in and about the town:
Mrs. Alvin Flint reported the meet
ing of the State Federation meeting
recently held in Windsor, giving a,
brief outline of both the business and
social ~rogram that was carried out.
A new member Mrs. Frank Taplin
was welcomed into the club.
The resolutions upon the death of
two members, Mrs. Eva C. Blossom
and Miss Lizzie Harris, were read and
adopted. /
DR.. Wakefield in her address said +:
"Public interest in public health,
particularly of children, has been
tremendously stimulated by the war.
The allied nations soon learned that
next to the care given the soldiers
on the fighting line, thev must give
their best efforts toward saving the
lives Of little children.
Newborn babies are the most SEN
sitive of all young animals. So sus-
ceptible are they to disease that the
United States loses twelve out of
every hundred before they reach the
age of one year. Our country loses
annually three hundred thousand chill
dren under five years of age, and
fifty per cent of these die from dis
turbances Of nutrition.
During school age, the death of
children is greatly decreased, but
they are still so sensitive that about
rs per cent are in need of medical
attention. They are susceptible not
only to acute illness but unless they
are carefully supervised they also ac-
quirc chronic conditions that may not
even be suspected until special ex-
aminations are made for their detec-
ton. Although some of the physical
defects acquired during school age are
either remedied or outgrown, many
others persist until adult life. One
of the sternest lessons of the war
was the astonishing number of young
men between 81 and 81 years of age
who were found physically unfit to
take military training. At period
when physical vigor should be at its
best, fort out of everyhundred were
rejected principally because of physi-
cal defects that might have been pre-
vented or remedied durin~ childhood.
"There has been no general exam
ination of young women, but there
can be little doubt that the percent
age of physical defects is as great
among girls as amoug boys. What
a fearful handicap these young peo-
pie may carry all through their lives,
for when they have reached adult
life it is usually too late to remedy
their early phvsical defects.
"What would we say of any busi-
ness or industry so badly conducted
that nearly one-half of all its pro-
ducts were so poor that they could
not be used? How long would oul
scale factory exist if one-half of its
finished scales had to be discarded as
imperfect?
"The government at Washington
has become so thoroughly aroused
that it is conducting a campaign for
weighing and measuring all children
under five years of are to determine
their physical condition. Malnutri-
tion of children from imnroper feeds
ing is the greatest menace to the fu-
ture of this country. Our Federal
government has thus far left the care
of the health of school children to
the individual states. Some states
have established most excellent sys-
TENS of school hygiene others have
done little: still others-nothing. Our
own state leaves the question to each
town to decide for ITSELF
"Do we need school hygiene in the
schools Of our town? DR.. Hillegas
Commissioner of Education for Ver-
mont, says: 81 think that none of us
who has not been a teacher can have
any conception of the amount of time
lost by children in the public schools
owing to illness that under proper
conditions could have prevented"
"Generally speaking. if a child is
born well and kept well, there is lit
tie doubt that it will do we'll.
"Why should the school undertake
the care of the health of children
Because most of the child's life is
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