Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1927-01-06
HOW THE ELLIS HEALTH LAW HAS INCREASED
THE ATTENDANCE AT SCHOOL in GEORGIA
By DR.. T. F. Abercrombie, Commits
sioner of Health and Secretary,
Georgia State Board of Health

Georgia school children to the mum
" Der of 181, 817 repeated grades
in 1924. The average cost per pupi
is 1882, making $2,839,9S1.54 the
enormous less in money spent on re
peaters.
Assuming that lack of opportunity
to go to school, short terms and poor
equipment in schools is responsible
for one-half of this repeating, there
would still be $1,419,990.77 to be
accounted for, sum which could
have been greately reduced, it is b e.
lieved, if existing knowledge of ny
giene had been properly applied.
Let us see what has been accom-
plished through the Ellis Health Law
in the past few years towards reduc-
ing this tremendous waste of human
life and energy.
health in every county in the state,
This law creates county board OF
composed of the chairmen Of the
boards of roads and revenue, the
county school superintendent and one
physician elected by the grand jury.
Upon two successive recommends
tions by the grand jury in any coun-
ty, it becomes the duty of the County
Board of Health to establish a health
department under this law. Geor-
gia's economic progress depends
equally as much on the establishment
of this law in every county as it does
upon good roads and good schools.
Some idea of the widespread eff
fects of the proper application Of this
law is given by the following sta
tistics:
In 1900 the death rate in the Unit
ed States was II Clio persons per
one thousand. In 1922 it was IL
$40 persons per thousand. If the
same death rate had prevailed in
Georgia in 1924 as in 1900, there
would have been at least $1,000 more
deaths.
The Surgeon General of the United
States Public Health Service in his
report for 1924 makes the following
statement: 1.-THE decline of tubercu-
losis and typhoid fever in the regis
tration area in the United States from
1900 to 1924 was as follows: Tuber-
culosis dropped from 1852 deaths
per hundred thousand population in
1900 to 92.3 in 1922. Typhoid fever
dropped from 31.3 in 10000 to S.9 in
1922 per hundred thousand popula-
ton"
Loss of Human Life Greatly
Reduced
In Athens where they have well
organized health department, the in
FAINT mortality rate was cut in hall
last year.
In Bibb County last year colored
nurse working among colored people
reduced the infant mortality of that
race fifty-two percent.
In the state of Georgia in counties
having full time health service ty-
phoid fever was reduced Is percent,
while in other counties without health
service the rate dropped only 8 per
cent. Mitchell county dropped from
ID deaths to none in two years.
Clarke County dropped from 1T
cases and 10 deaths in 1922 to 20
cases and 2 deaths in 1924.
The reduction in diphtheria NOR
tally has been even more marked
There were AIS deaths in 1921, and
only 1872 in 1925. Clarke county IN
1922 had 90 cases and ID deaths, and
up to the last of October this year
there were no cases and no deaths.
Malaria has been on a steady de-
cline throughout the whole state
There were $50 deaths in 1920, ano
2s5 in 1925.
Referring again to the economic
loss in schools in 1924 due to re-
peaters, Supt. Willis A. Sutton Of
the Atlanta schools has reduced re-
peating by one-half in two years
and his statement is that the physical
condition of the child is the prime
factor in the child's retardation.
He has reduced this by an inten'
sive health education program in the
school together with a dental ny.
giene, school lunch and physical de-
feet correction program. According
to this program he is saving the city
schools $250,000 on repeaters alone
If this can be done for the city OF
Atlanta, it can be done for the State
of Georgia.
School Attendance Much Increased
Some months ago ! addressed a
communication to the superintendent
of schools in counties and cities
where they have health departments
that have made a special effort to
have defects corrected, and asked
them if such work had increased the
daily attendance in their schools, and
if so, how much. To my surprise the
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