The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-11-05

Kansas cannot maintain her high
standards and place the value of cat
tie and hogs above her own babies and
citizens. That is the position of many
of the prominent women and mothers
of the state regarding failure of the
legislature to provide funds for public
health security and in the same ses-
sions voting generously to safeguard
the barnyard herds.
In a letter from Mrs. Lila Day Mon
roe, chairman of the legislative com
mittee of the Good Government club,
The State Journal is commended for
pointing out the need of adequate
funds for protection of the public
health. Under existing conditions the
state is compelled to solicit charity
support for her state board of health
in order to meet emergency condi-
tons and buy antitoxin for the cam
paign against diphtheria.
Urges Women to Take Part.
Mrs. Monroe urges that the women
of the state exert greater interest in
public welfare and health problems
and profit thru the present expert
ence with a stronger legislative lobby
in 1923. IN letter to The State
Journal she says:
"Will you allow me as chairman
of the legislative committee of the
Good Government club a few words
on the situation regarding the apph-
cation of our state for aid in it's fight
against diphtheria. At the outset we
want to thank you most sincerely for
your interest in the matter, and your
humanitarian standpoint, and your eff
fort to educate the people of the state
to their duty regarding the lives and
health of our children.
1T seems incredible that our domes-
tic animals must always be of most
concern and receive most considera-
tiOn from our LEGISLATORS.
But let Us try to be reasonable
even to the extent of holding a brief
for moment for the legislator. whom
every one finds it safe to abuse, even
to the point of vituperation, because
he is so complex, there are SO many
of him. that we are never able to fix
the responsibility to the extent of
making the legislator answerable.
ITO me there is always a grain of
comm endation in the refusal of the
laws promiscuously till the need of
the money and the wisdom of the
law are conclusively shown. 1t is in
finitely harder to withhold sanction
against a mistaken and industrious
lobby than it is to grant it.
And the lesson of this situation is
this let public opinion come up
abreast of our needs
I'VE are paying the price of the
pioneer. When we established the
division of child hygiene after the
hardest struggle that was ever waged,
excepting solely the effort to gain suf-
frage, we received one-fifteenth of the
sum that was annually given to New
York City for the same work.
But we were told to go and bring
back to the next legislature evidence
of our work and we would be granted
more in the next budget.
Were Blazing Trail.
There was not another available
state division to draw experience
from, we were blazing a trail. The
head of our division was brought from
New York. A certain amount of pro-
paganda was disseminated. more could
have been done with more money.
Appeals were made regularly to the
club women because this was abso-
lutely a woman's division.
I'VE do not want to join the gen
eral hue and cry, The woman did it.
or even that the woman didn't do it
But we must accept along with the
legislator our share of the blame. We
had the institution for women and
children with a woman at the head.
Every club in Kansas should have had
a department of child hygiene on it's
program. Every man in Kansas
should have been educated up to the
Importance of the work being done.
Our schools should have done more.
Our churches might have aided us
from the text-'Suffer little children
to come unto me- because the Christ