Pueblo chieftain., 1921-04-27
FEED AMERICA FIRST

washstand. also. are the rows of
charts with their sanguine records
In this same office, too, tho
mothers of the neighborhood arc frc-
quently assembled to listen to words
of wisdom upon the proper up-bring-
ing of the child. The value of every
thing that is done for the schools
pupils Is cxplaincd: the Importance
of clean bodies and well-cayed for
teoth Is emphasized. and the visitors
are shown how to extract the utmost
nonrishment from "A soup bone or a
piece of cheese. They themselves
are urged to bring their children to
tho school for weighing and measur-
ing. and arc directed to clinics IL in
need of medical treatment.
In short. this Brooklyn school of
eating does on small scale what,
child welfare authorities declare, tho
| ideal public school of the future must
do for the community. For the tend
cncy OF society to make tho public
school responsible for tho health of
children as well as for their educa-
ton. is growing moro and more
marked every year. Long ago. the
state. realizing the general incompet-
cncc of parents. claimed the mental
training of tho child from the ages of
to IA years. Now It is also begin
ming to claim tho right to supervise
school Doctors
Already medical inspection has been
introduced into large number OF
schools. and has resulted in a number
of much needed reforms. Tubercular
children have been aggregated and
placed in special fresh air classes.
while children discovered to havs
weak hearts arc also receiving special
treatment in many cases. This same
medical inspection. moreover. has re-
Nealed the appalling amount of NAL
nutrition which exists among young
school children, and the widespread
establishment of school lunches has
been the result
Europe was tho first to realize that
the provision OF hot nutritious
lunch to school children was as great
n need ~ the provisions of textbooks.
and school lunches were introduced
over there as far back as thirty years
ago. In 1898. the first school lunch
cs worc started in this country. in
Philadelphia. provoking widespread
interest and discussion. 1t was not
until 1908 that New York opened
lunch counters In two public schools,
and then not on its own initiative.
but thru the efforts of a private or
ganization. These Immediately prov
cd so successful that since then a
fund OF $4,000 has been appropriat-
cd 10 start far-rcachinE school
lunch system by which good food,
well selected and scientifically pre-
pared. will be served Mt cost
Other cities have been equally pro-
Eresivc in the matter OF school lunch
cs. OF Sc cities of $4,000 or moro
population. 1s arc now offering
lunches in their schools
An idea OF the Importance of this
provision may bc gathered from tho
records of visiting nurses working
in tho tenement neighborhoods of
New York. who find that so per cent
of Tho children in these districts
drink tea and coffee in place OF milk.
and that n very large number. in tho
nbsencc OF wage-earning mother.
prepare their own scanty meals.
These are the children whose UNDER
nourishcd brains and bodies provide
the r-increasinE materials for our
prisons. hospitals, and various
asylums.
Good food would go far toward
reducing this eSpcnsively- maintained
scrap heap. But tho provision OF
bodybuilding food for children is not
poor: It is n task requiring modern
scientific knowledgc-a knowledge
which even the conscientious middle
class mother seldom possesses Tho
schools can furnish 1t at very small
cost Large sums are already being
spent on special classes for dull and
backward children. Would II not bc
better economy to feed these chill
dren three well-balanccd meals a
day. as does the Brooklyn school,
and see what happens?
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REFORMED RULES