The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-12-06


has been called to the report OF
Mr.. Graham's speech before the
house of representatives, which ap-
peared in The Argus of Friday, Nov
| 25. MIR. Graham's attempts to ex-
plain that speech to his constftu-
ents during the present interval
between congressional sessions give
assurance that it is still before the
public mind.
The Illinois Medical Society In
terested itself in the maternity bill
as a matter of good citizenship, and
recognizing that the welfare OF its
s. 900 members is directly proper
tomato to the welfare of the people
whom it serves. Its members pos
sess expert knowledge of the liml-
tations of maternity aid and OF the
detailed workings of this new law.
They are consequently in position
to Judge of the results likely TO De
accomplished.
The painstaking thoroughness of
! the program for it's advertising and
its methodical travel to final enact
! ment have displayed points of ar
tistic workmanship which have
| aroused admiration in those inter
| ested enough to follow its passage.
| So thorough has been that program
| that the law is already operative in
six states and already the rest of
US are paying money for the actiVi-
| ties in those states. We are inter
| ested.
The federal government has post
road and military problems which
entitle it to a fatherly interest in
roads perhaps, even to the extent
| of aiding individual states on a
! $3.50 basis. On all other instances
of federal aid cited in the speech
before the house, there is open
| question that We have had too
| much. To cite a bad precedent as
reason for an activity is distinctly
worse than the cite no precedent at
all. Federal aid in general is a so
| cialistic innovation born of the I'M
reasoning hope that maybe some
good might be accomplished by re
arranging whatever has become es-
tablished. The possibility was con-
sidered by the founders of our ma
ton and they made our constitution
to contain a clause forbidding fed
eral interference with intrastate
activities. The establishment of the
precedent of artfully lodging that
clause seems to have been the first
mistake.
Points to Bin.
The new law will do four things:
l. 1t will experiment in social
ism by taking taxpayers money
from rich and thickly populated
: states like Illinois and dividing il
: with sparsely settled states like
Arizona-an exact analogy with
compelling John d. Rockefeller, By
law, to divide millions with Eugene
V. Debs. The federal government
has no money but that which comes
either directly or indirectly from
the taxpayers of the states.
2. 1t will expend its appropria-
tons in administering itself; nc
other expenditure is authorized by
the amended bill. 1t cannot, as
| worded, buy any material supplies
or any material aid for mothers OF
babies. The children's bureau OF
the department of labor will, in the
language of the amended bill
study, investigate, and report
such things as may promote the
administration of the act" Any
further expenditure must be as di-
rected by a board of three, two lay
members and a surgeon general
director of a children's bureau and
a commissioner OF education out
voting a surgeon general and sup
cruising all literature sent out as
instruction to the public and to
mothers. The members of this chill
dren's bureau are, with one excep-
ton, spinsters who have never
raised children. The one exception
is a married woman whose husband
also holds a job with the bureau.
The members of the bureau have
already advocated in public, the
practice of medicine by the govern
ment with physicians on salary and
patients using whatever doctor
might be sent them; thus to replace
our present competitive system
whereby the doctor is stimulated
by the knowledge that his patient
is a friend who trusts him from
choice. They have advocated birth
control with abortions, compulsory
registration of pregnancy (earIy)
with a public health officer and on
public record, compulsory examina-
ton of a Woman's person by that
public health officer or his deputy,
| together with various other uDfnua
features also of soviet origin, all as
outlined in Madame Kollontai's
Russian Maternity System, which
has been characterized as "the
greatest crime of modern times and
the ruin Of an entire Russian gen
| Grafton" These measures are not
contained in the bill; certainly not /;
but they have been openly advo-
! Gated by the people who will admin
lister the bill and they have clearly
indicated why they wish to be the
teachers of the public, Their power
is absolute. While the law is an
act, neither the president nor con-
| gress may interfere.
The amended bill, recognizing
! this great power, specifically SAYS
| that an agent may not enter a home
! if kept out. Yet l wonder: how
many househoIders of the Four
teenth district would have the
readiness and the assurance to
knock down and step on a federal
agent who appeared, and insisted,
and showed a badge of authority?
Deplorably few, probably, for We
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