The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-11-12
Red Cross Chapters Aid in Variety Of
8g Work Through the County and
stF State and keokuk Dollars
Aid ia It.
HEALTH PROGRAM BIG
Nurses in the Schools Have Done
Considerable Work in Promoting
the Health Of the Chill
dren.

i 'IuS UCdUIAul SldIc VI 1OWd, WueIS
farmers send their sons to the state
+! colleges and schools to learn, among
other things, just how to feed their
cattle. it would be expected that the
/ children would flourish at least as well
Jas the scientifically fed cattle. But,
Eaccording to recent health survey
in several of the counties in it's rural
districts, made by the Social Service
| bureau of the American Red Cross,
| this does not seem to be true.
For instance, in Wapello county the
nurse reported that out of 435 children
examined in twenty-four rural schools,
less than one-fourth were found to be
within one pound of their normal
weight. Some few were found to be
overweight, but most of the children
weighed much less than they should.
Yellow tags were given by the
health nurses to fifty-two children,
who tipped the scales within one
pound of their normal weight While
nearly twenty-five per cent of these
children evidently were fed properly,
not all of this number measured up
to standard in regard to tonsils, teeth.
eyes and noses. -
| So it would seem that the work
being done by the Wapello county
Red Cross chapter in sending the
nurse to make this health survey and
to teach the gospel of health in the
rural schools is as much needed as
the services Of the school teachers in
the county. s84
The public health nurse, in addition
to the survey she is making, talks to
the school children on health subjects,
and also follows up her lead IN health
work
Boost Hot Lunch.
The school hot lunch Is being advo-
Gated by some as solution Of under
weight among school children. In
many of the rural schools of Iowa the
plan has been carried out with some
lsuccess.
Many reasons have been given for
the small percentage of schools that
yescarried out the hot lunch plan
lack of time for the teacher to pre-
pare the lunch, lack of funds from
which to provide it and lack of CO.
operation on the part Of the parents,
many Of whom feel it is a new-fangled
idea and most Unnecessary
tAll of these problems are being solv-
ed in the communities by the Red
Cross through demonstrations of sim
pie methods of preparing the lunches.
With the coming Of the school hot
lunch as a fairly established institu
ton better nourished children and
better students should result.
"Pickaninny" Car Red Cross Feature.
The Red Cross "pickaninny" car,
with it's tiny bundle of colored human
ity, is proving a lure to mothers in
its journey through the towns of Iowa
as an institution of instruction in the
care of babies.
Inside the Enclosed car Is an
immaculate white Red Cross nurse in
her hospital uniform, a table of snowy
wilderness and a white enamel tub
filled with water. Dabbling in the
water is the dark spot" of the plot.
1t is tiny "pickaninny." This "col-
or contrast" is novel invention Of the
Red Cross to stimulate interest in the
health of babies as taught by the
nursing service. 49,.
The car, the nurse and the pick
aninny' has started tour to impart
to the mothers the proper method of
bathing and caring for baby. It will
make stops in all the counties. In
Mahaska county, where the travelling
baby clinic stopped recently. the
demonstration was huge success,
being attended by unusually large
crowds. In other towns the attend
ance has been equally as large.
Red Cross Helps Former Soldiers.
When the millions of youths who
composed Americas wartime army
checked in their packs, fingered their
discharge fondly and hustled away
from camp to the joys of civilian .pur-