Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-12-08
THE PHYSICAL WELFARE
OF THE CHILD
An Address Delivered Before Ala
bama State Teachers Associa-
ton by Mary D. Pierce, Super
visor Alexandria Public
Schools.

The mere appearance of this topic
upon the program of kindergarten
primary section of an educational as
sociation is in itself significant of the
emphasis that is coming to be placed
upon health and physical education.
1. Why Such Emphasis? Why
within the past five years have six
teen states passed special health
laws and four others have such laws
at present pending in their legisla-
lures? The reasons are many.
The large percentage of our boys
found to be unfit for military service
gave US something Of shock, more
than one-third in Alabama having
been found to be below standard. The
epidemics of influenza and other di-
seases following in the wake of war
have forced upon US the realization
of the necessity of preventive and
precautionary measures. Reports Of
medical inspections of school children
have shown US that at least oO per
cent. of the school children of the
United States are seriously physically
defective. The findings of health sur
veys of various kinds are revealing
conditions of which we were unaware.
In Alabama, for instance, it was
found that approximately an aver
age of one-fourth of the population
are sick all the time.
The economic cost of tn Is condition
of affairs is tremendous. To quote
from "An Educational Study OF
Alabama" published by the Federal
Bureau of Education:
"a recent health survey of the
state revealed the fact that an aver
age of approximately one -quarter of
all the people are sick all the time.
More than third of the young men
examined for admission to the army
were found unfit for full military
service. These facts indicate very
large and unnecessary amount of suf-
fering and an equally great loss in
productive power. Men unfit for mill
tary service are also, to an extent at
least, unfit for productive labor. II
100000 people are sick all the time,
as revealed by the health survey re-
ferred to, we have some basis for a
rough calculation of the cost. Let us
suppose only one-half of these are of
producing age, very low estimate,
and that the productive power of
these would average only $500 a year
if they were we'll again low esti-
mate. We have thus a loss of $685.
100000 year in the productive power
of this state Add to this the loss of
the time of those who care for the
sick and the loss through reduced eff
ficiency of those who have been sick,
even after they are counted as well,
and to these add the loss through the
low rate of efficiency Of the hundreds
of thousands who have not been fully
developed physically and are there
fore lacking in strength, hardihood,
and control of body, and the 5,000,-
600 may well be doubled. A loss too
large is this for state like Alabama
to continue to bear, if it can be
avoided"
Add still further to this the actual
money spent in physicians bills,
drugs, nursing expenses, and funerals,
and we realize the tremendous econ
omic cost of the lack of physical eff
ficiency. Poor health is one of the
most extravagant luxuries in which
humans can indulge and very few in
dividuals or communities can afford
to "enjoy" it.
But economic cost is not all. We
have yet to consider it's mental and
moral effects. Physical inefficiency
narrows mans mental horizon,
forces him to live smaller life,
makes him distrust himself and sus-
pect others, breeds pessimism, lack Of
confidence, unprogressive attitudes Of
mind. 1t makes a man morbid, up
sets his moral standards, often
pushes him into crime. Last and
among the greatest of the many evil
effects of sickness, invalidism, and
death are the inroads made upon hu-
man happiness. No one better than
the invalid knows the eternal inter-
nal struggle with self to get away
from self, the constant effort when
objective contacts are cut off, to pre-
vent the minds turning in upon it
self and becoming morbidly subjec-
tive. The world is not made for in
valids. The constant misfit, the con-
slant necessity of being misunder-
stood by we'll people who cannot un-
derstand, make the life of the invalid
most trying. But the suffering and
unhappiness do not stop with the sick
or the dying. 1t affects all who come
into contact with them. No man can
live unto himself alone. The world
must weep with those who weep and
grief is shared by all.
Miss Olive Gray of the state de-
partment has we'll summarized the
effects of poor health upon the
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