The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1921-07-25
HOUSE HEARINGS ON THE
SHEPPARD-TOWNER BILL

Hearings on the ppard-Towner
Maternity bill began before the house
committee on interstate and foreign
commerce Tuesday, July 18th, and
are still going on. Dr. 5. Josephine
Baker. director Of the Child Hygiene
Division Of the New York City Board
Of Health. was the first witness. and
although her statement was brief. so
great was the interest Of the commit
tee members that she was still an
swering questions when the session
closed.
1T is eight times as safe 10 be
soldier in the United States army as
10 be a baby in the United States" was
one of the startling statements DR..
Baker made before the committee,
quoting official government figures
as proof. Her plea for the maternity
bill was based on the remarkable re-
suits which the division of which she
is director in New York City has at
tanned in its welfare and hygiene
work New York's child hygiene
work. which Dr. Baker described as
giving the community the informa'
tion II needs in order to keep well,
has reduced the death rate OF mothers
and children more than half. THE
actual death rate per thousand for
babies has shrunlJ from IA per thou
sand to S5." testified DR.. Baker.
DR.. Philip Van Ingen. Clinical Pro
fessor Of Diseases OF Children at the
Colleg, of Physicians and Surgeons,
Columbia University, who followed
DR.. Baker. began his statement with
a broadside OF official statistics con
cerning the mortality of mothers and
babies showing that the maternal NOR
tality in the United states exceeded
only by tubercular mortality as
cause Of death among women Of child
bearing age. The decrease in infant
mortality from 1915 on. he states, was
due to protection of infancy and in
struction in hygiene. Foreign coun'
tries are doing child welfare work
as an economic measure, accordins
to Dr.. Van lngcn. and England, which
In 1914 appropriated only ll,0OO
pounds sterling for welfare work, in
1929 appropriated i26 2l7 pounds. more
than double its appropriation for
lglS-lg
Or. Ellen G. Potter. director OF the
Division OF Child Hygiene, Pennsyl'
vanil State Board OF Health; Dr.
John a. Foote. professor OF Diseases
of children at Georgetown University
| Medical school Washington, ID. CD;
U A a ~ the
Social Action Department of the Ma
tonal Catholic Welfare Council; Mr.
Edward McGrady, representative OF
| the American Federation OF Labor
which unanimously endorsed the
measure at It's convention, all favored
| the bill
Those opposed TO the measure began
their testimony ON July 10th.
The testimony Of Mrs. albert 7
Lcathorbee. Of Boston. president OF
the Massachusetts AntI-Suffragc As
ISOLATION, IL typical Of the opposition.
She declared the bill to be pa
tcrualistic Socialstic. meddesome at
tempt to bring about bureaucratic con-
troll OF family ilfc" and "a funda'
mentally sociaiisuc effort 10 destroy
the family and make children wards
OF the state"
According to DR.. Charles r. Hu'
mission. president of the Illinois state
Medical Society. who spoke against
the bill his chief objection TO health
nurses was that women OF meant
may go to them and get instruction
and then differ with their family
physicians"
Denying widely published state
mcnt accredited TO him that the Shep
pard.Towncr bill was dead" Con
Z gresham simeon H. Foss. of Ohio
! chairman of the housec ongrcssiona
. Nommittoe. said Il am sorry tina
such statement has gone out io
have never given utterancc to II
The source of IL was an address tina