Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-10-21

the saloon must be held in check is evil
dent. Within the last few years it passed
a law reducing the number Of bars, max
ing the hours III which they may remain
open very short and taxing them accord =
ing to the amount Of business they do.
In the rural districts the bars are re-
quired to be certain distances apart and
are limited according to population.
Melbourne University is a state-oper-
ated Institution for higher education, and
others, operated by various religious de-
nominations are affiliated with it, the
buildings being on grounds set aside for
that purpose by the state.
have been impressed by the apparent
healthiness of the people Of Victoria and
it was borne home to me very strongly
by the fact that having occasion to pur-
chase toothbrush, / was compelled to
walk several blocks in the main business
section before I could find drug store
Not finding just what I wanted 7 tried
, find another drug store, but gave up
after half an hour and made my purchase
TT the first shop.
An examination Of the vital statistics
of the state reveals that the birth rate Of
the state is only % 20 per thousand Of
population, that the infant mortality is
the. greatest Of any State In the com.
MOI wealth. that the death rate Of 1917
per thousand population is the highest
At first blush this would seem to give the
lie to the boast of Victoria that 1t has
the healthiest climate in Australia Fur
Their investigation. however. sheds light
upon this apparent contradiction. The
number Of aged people in Victoria is
greater according 10 population than in
other states and the deaths among the
people Of the younger ages is remark
ably low.
1t is when you probe into the figures
ON infant mortality that you drag f.
light the skeleton in victora's family
closet. Twenty per cert Of its total
births are illeGitmata and the death
rate among illeCitimate children is very
high. 1t is significant that the excess
Of births over deaths has been decreas-
Ing in the state. that II is the lowest ir
the commonwealth and that the per
centage OF legitimate births in the state
is not only lower than that OF any other
state but Is lower than the average Of
the whole country. Street walking in
Melbournes most prominent thorough
fare Is quite prevalent. After nightfall
the city's most prominent street and
block, the parade OF those who are out
for stroll or 70 wiudowshop IS literally
thick with women Of the streets In one
block one " our party counted twenty
seven women Of this class within five
minutes
Victoria is a wealthy state It prob
ably stands much higher in the list ac-
.cording to population than its position
In the empire indicates The average
weekly clearances Of the Melbourne clear
Ing house is more than $4,000 $50 There
are sixteen banking institutions in the
state with a total OF about 100 branches.
or course, the enormous amount OF
business which is transacted Is duo
largely TO the activities OF exports and
imports Of Melbourne, through the port
Of which most OF Victorias annual ex
ports OF S112. 900 600 and imports Of $40.
0oO 0o0,00O pass
AS l said at the start Victoria is only
the second smallest state OF Australia,
but II has great possibilities and its
wealth Is enormous. When Il has recov-
cred from the effects OF the great World
War It Is bound TO progress at a rate
that win set a neat pace for her sister
states of the commonwealth.