Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-12-08
The Physical Welfare of the Child
Continued from page one)


various phases of living. This IS
what she says:
.sThere is a close correlation be-
tween the degree Of physical efficiency
and the degree OF vocational Ell
ficiency; the state OF health on.
| stantly affects the sati~sfactoriness OF
! the home membership; under-nourlsh-
ed or nervously unstable citizens are
unreliable in civic affairs in a demo-
cratic civilization; lack Of physical
| robustness and poise debars from
many of the most wholesome types OF
leisure enjoyment and increases m
| clination to physical or mental dis
| sipations of unwhoiesome types;
morality is ineXtricably bound up
with physical %soundness or %unsound-
ness" Incidentally, progress J
| school subjects has been proven to
be most dependent upon physical con-
| dition and well-being.
But economic and other results OF
poor health have always been with
| US, grief and suffering have ever &C
companied disease, why worry nov!
| For this reason: we are learning that
| most Of it is unnecessary n easily
p~reventable. A feel Of responsibility
for the situation is creeping IN, it IS
the prick Of conscience that dlsturbs
us. There was 4 time when he felt
no responsibility whatever for disease
or physical inefficiency. That be-
loriged to the Lord. For a long time
we have known that TO I'LL a man with
a pistol is murder, to xiii him by
avoidable accidents we have coine to
consider is criminal neglect, and now
we are beginning, but barely begin
ming, to feel guilty when we Kill him
with disease.
These then, to summarize. are the
conditions that have forced the ques-
ton OF physical welfare to the front:
the unfitness Of our boys, the large
percentage Of defective children in
the schools, the large amount of sick
ness among our people. economic
waste, loss in productive power, I'M
reliable citizenship, social unrest,
crime, suffering and u~nhappiness, and
finally the knowledge that these con-
ditions can be prevented. The next
question is, What can be done about
it, what is the remedy?
Education Of Public Sentiment
Necessary. One OF the first things
that needs to be done about it is the
education of public sentiment. To
quote Miss Gray again.
"Most effort to eradicate disease or
to provide for increased physical ef-
ficiency is hampered Dy public indif-
ference, by prejudiced a~ntagonisms
and by health superstitions. lndif-
ference, prejudice and superstition
will gradually give way if the chill
dren in the schools are supplied with
enough facts about the importance OF
the combat with disease, and with
enough facts that contradict the
popular prejudices and superstitions."
Among other defects in public SEN
timent, as it now exists, some Of u
ideals are wrong. We are no al
ways fully appreciative of physical
excellence. There are times when we
are rather proud of the opposite. Two
ideals particularly we need to get rid
Of. One is the more or less prevalent
feeling that there is virtue in
martyrdom. Overwork at college is
considered rather a compliment and
it is often with no little. pride that
a parent the broken health
Of a son or daughter due to over
study. Communities often eulogize
their dead by saying that they killed
themselves with overwork. This ideal
is false. Suicide is suicide and a man
has no right to kill or incapacitate
himself for no better reason than that
he wishes to get more work done or
to seem to himself v%irtuous. Another
false ideal is that with reference to
the health of women. We expect q
MAJ to be strong and to glory in the
strength of his manhood, but we
rather expect women to be delicate.
| am not sur e but that we prefer them
a little undersize and under de-
veloped To be "as strong as an OK"
muscularly developed, and craving
cording to our false ideal, Of mail
nishness, or coarseness. We prefer
| daintiness. 1t seems more womanly
to be weak and helpless. Some men
even have the stereotyped reply when
questioned about the haelth of their
wives or daughters, fabout as well as
usual, thank you" They do not ex-
pect them 10 be well, and the wives
and girls do not expect to be well.
This is all wrong. We need to believe
in health for our women and to de-
sire it, and to expect it. Our girls
and women need to take pride in be-
ing well and strong rather than to
boast Of their weakness and lack
of development.
! Ench ;nIiriGual whs+har man or