Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1920-04-28
JUDGE MILLS PRIZE
WON BY ELMA BRUSS
GRAFTON "AMERICA'S De
MAND" TOOK FIRST AT
FRIDAY EVE EVENT.

Miss Elma Bruss, 10 years, daugh-
ter of Mr.. and Mrs. William Bruss
and senior in the Lancaster high
school, won the first prize in the
Judge Mills contest at the Congrega-
tional church last Friday evening.
Her Grafton was Americas Demand"
Second place was won by Vivian Ed
wards with organized Labor and the
High Cost of Living" Third place
was won by Kenneth Royal with 1.-THE
Red Terror" The prizes were SIS,
$3.50 and honorable mention. The
other contenders were Russell Batty
with 'The Need for Universal Mill
tary Training" and Frank Hunsaker
with "A Menace in Our Midst"
The audience which packed the
large auditorium paid close attention
to the various orations and evidenced
it's appreciation by generous and pro-
longed applause.
In each case the Grafton was orig
inal and in general the thought was
better than the delivery.
The contest began a number of
years ago and grew out of bequest
of Judge Mills who held the circuit
bench from 1865 to 1877 The inter
est on small sum of money affords
a cash prize of SIS for the successful
orator and this has been supplemented
by a prize of $3.50 from the school
board.
Miss Bruss spoke as follows
In the recent world war the United
States called for % million men to
fight her battles. She felt positive
that from that number sufficient able
bodied men could be drawn to form an
army large enough to crush Prussian
militarism. To her surprise, the draft
showed that one out of every four Of
these men was unfit to bear arms. De-
fective eyesight, poor teeth, bad feet,
and contagious diseases produced an
army of military reflections" and in
effectives. 1t was then that our eyes
were turned on our civil population
and we found the same conditions.
Statistics last year showed that there
were 100000 insane, 81 900 feeble
minded, 10000 epileptics, 1000 ineb-
rates and million ailing people. In
ten years the number of dependents
has increased 200 per cent and is
still increasing. What will happen to
this prosperous nation if these con-
ditions continue? VIII there be
enough people to support this coun-
LTy. we muSJ answer no, IOI
those that are well will have such a
heavy burden placed upon them that
they will never be able to carry it,
Should not these conditions teach ev-
cry American citizen that his help is
demanded? The duty now is to be-
come active, to become determined to
do all possible to prevent this disas-
trous situation. Can we overcome
these circumstances Are there agents
to assist us? We answer in the affirm
ative, there are three-health boards
teachers and county nurses.
The work of the health board is
well known to you They have long
been in existence. Their duty. as you
readily know is to quarantine homes
where contagious diseases exist and
to demand people to improve unsani-
tary conditions. Doctors have been
earnest and active, but their work has
accomplished little because people
have thwarted their efforts. In cases
of contagious diseases in order to pre-
vent the quarantine, they are not
called until absolutely necessary
During this time the we'll members
of the family are out scattering con-
tagion. Then too, some people will
go to and from sick homes regardless
of quarantine, thinking there is no
harm if they have had the sickness
Nevertheless, they are spreading the
disease This same attitude is also
taken when the board asks for sani-
tary conditions about homes. People
think that there is no harm in their
carelessness and that their surround
ings are sanitary enough, never real
iZing that the illness of a neighbor
may be due to the condition about
their homes Situations such as
these do not exist because health
boards have failed to act but because
the public wilfully disregards their
demands 1t is the community back
of the health board which brings re-
suits To do this the community
must develop a friendly attitude to-
ward the board instead of opposing
its good work. BY every one coop
Grating with these officers, needing
their demands, healthful living cent
ers may be established and physical
standard may be raised to a higher
point. This fact has been forcibly
demonstrated in an interesting exper-
iment carried out during the summer
of 1913 in New York city on the rela-
ton of flies and filth to disease. A !
block was CHOSEN IN thlckly pOpu- |
lated part of the Bronx near num-
Der of stables which were the breed
ing places of millions of flies. The
houses were screened, garbage pals
were covered, refuse was removed
and the surroundings made as SAN
itary as possible. During the sum-
mer with the assistance of moving
pictures, visiting nurse, boy scouts,
and school children who became in
terested, health education was made
a campaign At the end of the sum
mer it was found that there had been
a considerable decrease in the num-
Der of cases of fiy-carrying diseases |
and still greater decrease in total
number days of sickness Especially
among children) If results like
these can be obtained in one block |
in a large city of New York, where
CTurn to next page.)