Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-04
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL v. COLLINS.

institutions of America. The letter
was to that father more precious than
beaten gold, for its tenor was congratli-
latlonS upon the great success in life"
achieved by the father-he had pro-
vided home Tor his children, COM
Portable and filled with the atmosphere
OF mutual love, and he had been an
inspiration through all the youth years
OF son and daughter toward ideals of
honesty, kindness and purity.
For weeks the father carried that
letter with him and showed it proudly
10 his ONCE associates. Little did father
or SON imagine that few weeks later
mat fathers great success" would end
IN death. Could there have ever been a
inner tribute to successful" life than
mat voluntary testimonial of a CRATE
ful son2 And, indeed, where is the
genuinely greater success than exactly
wnat mat son sincerely pointed out had
Yet 1t does appear a bit outre in these
modern days to estimate success. not
oy social prestige. or bank account, or
omclaI power. but by the sanctity of
pure nome life and family esteem.
1t Is with no lofty hopes of Changing
family ideals that the President calls in
conference the representatives of all
organizations devoted to the welfare
OF chlldren, for these organizations are
not dealing with homes of the well-to-
90 put mainly with the submerged. the
cnndren who are not born equal" and
have no equal" chance to become
nealthy, prosperous or wise. They
haven't fair chance, when. they are
In the fields CT their agricultural EN-
ployers, or upon the streets of the
cities among evil influences and in toll
and Squalor.
Says President Hoover:
Inc subjects to be covered embrace
problems of dependent children; reeu-
lar medical examination; school or
public clinics for children; hospitaliza-
ton; adequate milk supplies: COM
munity nurses; maternity instruction
and nurses; teaching of health in the
schools; facilities for Fairgrounds and
recreation; voluntary organization of
children. child labor and scores Of
allied subjects"
The date Of the proposed conference
has not been set. but it will not be less
IMAM nine months or a year ahead so
That the committees and specialists may
formulate the problems to be studied.
X y i
The most outstanding advance of
science in recent years has been mani
tested in the increased longevity of the
human race. and we hear much self
congratulation of mankind over the
idea that We average nine years longer
life now than we did in 1911. It is
not always recognized that the increas-
ed longevity is largely among infants,
comes to people over As years of age.
In 1909 or 1911, about when the first
conference on child welfare began to
study its problems, the mortality Of
children between / and years was
about 600 per 100, 900 Annually; in 1927.
1t was only 800. In that last year.
1927, there were 23,253 children who
did not die, who would have died If
conditions had been the Same as In
1911.
In 1911 the death rate for adults was
10 per 1000; in 1927 it was less than 4.
There were 72,570 fewer deaths In 1927
than would have come under conditions
up to 1911. These statistics are given
on the authority of the Metropolitan
Life insurance Co., which devoteS mil
lions OF dollars annually to health re-
search. In pamphlet. 1t cites one ex-
ample Of the possibilities Of improve
ment. as follows:
I'm the realization that the infant
death rate in the Province of Quebec
was high, q demonstration was under
taken in Thetford Mines, to see II the
rate could be reduced. A maternity
center and baby clinic, In charge of q
French physician and French speaking
nurses, was opened to give instruction
to mothers In paternal and postnatal
care. At the end of three years, the in
FAINT rate had dropped from 800 per
1000 born to 90 per 1000. The results
induced the provincial government to
appropriate $500,000 for similar work in
other communities. It is experimental
research and control of conditions
] which the Hoover conference will
undertake In the United States; such