The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-06-10
Red Cross Secretary
Explains Need of High
Schools in Southwest

Some Of the needs Of the south.
west from a Red Cross point Of
view were set forth In an address
by Miss Susan Ramsey. director Of
the Bureau Of Education OF the
Southwestern Division Of the Red
Cross at st. Louis, in an address
few days ago before one Of the adult
classes one Of the city's leading Con
gregational churches. Miss Ramsey,
in the course Of the past year has
made extensive trips throughout Mis-.
souri,, Kansas, Texas. Arkansas and
Oklahoma
The Red Cross worker mentioned
high schools as a great need in rural
districts. Many farmers opposed the
rural high school because II increased
their taxes, 1T is a harder matter"
she said, Ito interest some of them In
their boys and girls than in their
hogs and cattle. A story is told In
one district that I viated Of farmer
who had a baby in the family, and
when the baby cried at night he grew
weary of it and gave the child to his
wife, saying he had to have his
sleep A few hours afterward the
wife was awakened by light in the
room and was surprised to see her
husband preparing to go out. I hear
pig sduealing out in the barn he
| said and ! want to find out what
Is the matter with it. The question
arose, Why was he more interested in
the pig than in the child? and the
answer was that the pig had a thor
oughbred father
There is a large. beautiful building
| in Missouri. built especially to house
the pedigrees Of Poland-China hogs.
| It contains vaults, in which these
pedigrees are preserved. In the state
of Missouri there is no such pains
10 keep the birth registration of babies,
as there is for PolandChina hogs.
There are parts of Missouri in which
baby can be born without any rec
ord being made Of it. This is not
the case in st. Louis nor In any OF
| the large cities, but there is no legal
machinery in outlying districts capa-
| BILE Of compelling a registration OF
the birth Of a child. This caused US
great difficulty In our work among
! the soldiers in and after the war.
Their claim had TO be based on a
birth certificate and in many cases
there we're no birth certificates. be-
cause no record had ever been made.
ALSO. a drop Of silver nitrate
should be dropped into a young in
| fant's eye to prevent blindness There
ought to be provision, right In the
birth certificate, for having that done.
In none Of the state / have visited
is there any such provision.
i heard a story. while | was on
tour Of young woman who should
have inherited certain bit Of prop
erty, but her Inheritance hinged on
the fact OF whether she was born on
q certain day This could not be
proved, until finally someone hap
pened to remember that a certain
registered Jersey calf was born on
the same day as this girl had been.
! They went and found the birth date
Of the Jersey calf and thus proved
The girls birthday"
]
on the need Of closer regulations as
to the quarantining Of contagious dis
eases. mentioning several cases Of
smallpox which had been carelessly
handled in rural districts.
| A Red Cross service institute
which will train young men and wo-
men to fill the positions of executive
secretaries to Red Cross chapters will
open eight weeks, closing August Z.
The university is cooperating with
! the Red Cross in the project and
members of the faculty vii be among
the principal lecturers. Experts in
special phases of Red Cross work
will be sent from Southwestern di-
visional headquarters in st. Louis
to give supplementary talks.
The field work, which is akin to
actual experience, will be conducted
by Miss Florence Nesbitt, author Of
Household Management" and one Of
the best known welfare workers in
the west. The course is designed to
prepare executive secretaries to lead
their communities in all forms OF
Red Cross service.
1t includes study Of such subjects
as health, child welfare recreation,
community needs, and social case
work.
The candidates will learn the FUN
damentals of carrying on the commu-
nifty affairs Of Red Cross chapter.
They will be taught what each com
munity should do, If possible, toward
maintaining its health, safeguarding
its children and caring for its un-
fortunate. Persons who cannot afford
che expense of attending may be sent
under Red Cross scholarships details