The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-04-26
IN BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN

IN BEHALF OF THE CHILDREN
more constructive service for the nation than
to inaugurate persistent and consistent sys-
tens for safeguarding the health and well
fare of their millions of children. Through
the American Child Health Association, of
which Secretary Hoover, of the department
of commerce, is president, and which has
the cooperative support of many of the
wisest and best men and women Of this
country, May / has been designated as Ma
tional Chiidrcn's Day. On this day civic,
religious and social service organizations and
all parents are urged to concentrate their at
tention upon better health for children.
This splendid enthusiasm should not ter
inmate with the activities of the day. The
movement should be continuous over the en-
tire nation throughout the year, because 1t is
bound to be of far-reachirs results. Upon
the health and welfare of the children de-
pend largely the development, prosperity and
happiness of the nation. The public health
is the greatest public asset. Every person
is the child of yesterday, today or tomorrow.
In spite of its wealth and progress, the
United States, is only fifth among the coun-
tries of the world in the matter of saving
child health, and sixteenth in preserving the
lives of mothers in childbirth Two hun
bred thousand children in the United States
die before they are a year old. Physical
examination of twenty-five million school
children revealed that there was something
wrong with over half of them, in the ma
jority of cases something that could have
been prevented. Five million had defective
eyes; millione defective hearing; million,
active tuberculosis a quarter of a million,
organic heart trouble. 1t is especially dis
heartening to- learn that in this broad land
of plenty, from three million to five million
children are underfed. Included in these
are hundreds ~ thousands who are under
enough to eat, but because they are not
given the proper diet. If farmers calves
or pigs do not thrive, he finds out the
trouble and does something about it. But
when children do not thrive, it is easier
to say that they are NATURALLY puny," and
let it go at that AS a matter of fact,
nothing is more unnatural than for a child
to be puny. & -
President Coolidge, in his Endorsement. of
National Child Health Day, said 'The
stupendous growth of the urban population
constantly presents new problems of child
life and health which should be met by action
in each commupity.' Senator Oscar w. I'm
dervood, heartily indorsing the movement
said MOST children come into this, world
with strohg- bd.lles and the opportunity fsf
good health, bue it is often lost to than III III
the inattentior and lack of care or judg
ment of the grewn-ups. The little ones are
entitled to our first, and our generous, con-
sideration.
Ii every community, through its civic or
CARNATIONS, patriotic societies, social service
bodies and individuals properly enters into
the spirit and purpose of this May Day cele-
bration in the interests of child welfare. the
result will be permanent plans to safeguard
the health of the children. America will
then be much stronger, a much richer and
a. much happier nation, with every person
IN 1t beneficiary. We are learning much
nowadays about the science of charity. Once
charity was attributable to an impulse of
the heart, and was rarely directed by intelli-
gence Nowadaye, although we continue to
be moved by. appeals to our sympathy. we
are finding thatlt is far more charitable to
prevent suffering and wretchedness than to
be giving it temporary, periodic, spasmodic
or continuous aims.
AT least sixty per cent. of the wretchedness
among children is preventable Our con-
tlnued failure to establish effective methods
of prevention after our attention has been
directed to how it may be done, would be
to commit one of the greatest crimes of
which we could be guilty. Therefore, let us
prepare to make this May Day the beginning
of an era marked by the application of those
known measures that will keep our children
from lapsing into weaklings, cripples, mental
deficients moral delinquents and other states
from which intelligent methods would rescue
them. OF what use is our civilization if it
does not lead us to do this?