Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-11-18

The Child Health Conference.

The Child Health Conference.
President Hoover will open at the
White House tomorrow the conference
called by him in July, 1929, to study
the present status of the health and
well-being of the children Of the
United States, to report what is being
done, to recommend what to do and
how to do It,"
1t is the third White House Confer
ence on children sponsored by Presi-
dents of the United, States. The first
was called by President Roosevelt in
1909. It considered only the dependent
child and resulted, in 1912, in the es-
tablishment of the United States Chill
dren's Bureau in the Department of
Labor. The second conference was
called by President Wilson in 1919. In
addition to dependency, it considered
child labor and education, public pro-
lection of the health of mothers and
children and children in need of spe-
cial care. 1t was followed by eight i'm
portant regional conferences.
The third conference about to con-
vene in Washington, will consider the
full range of child life, in its physical,
mental and social aspects-the normal
child as well as the one handicapped
from birth to maturity. In accordance
with the cumulatively growing interest
in child welfare, this weeks conference
will outstrip in numerical dimensions
Sall Of its predecessors. Invited delegates
number over four thousand. Sixteen
months of preliminary work have pre-
ceded their gathering. Carefully or
ganized machinery, consisting of Plan
ming Committee, an Executive Commit
tee, eighteen committees working under
four sections and one hundred and
forty-one subcommittee, comprise a
conference personnel Of some 1900
members.
Though held under high Government
auspices, the Child Health and Protec-
ton Conference is privately financed
Friends Vof Herbert Hoover, with bound
less faith in his skill as a practical
idealist. especially in the realm Of child
humanitarianism. provided ample funds
for the conference Delegates from
every State in the Union and from
Hawaii viii be in attendance. 1t will
be an unparalleled pooling Of best minds
in q field Of research almost without
equal In Importance from the stand
point of national welfare.
The children Of today are the citizens
and rulers Of America tomorrow. If they
are to grow up with sound minds they
must have sound bodies. Reliable sta
tistics indicate that there is an almost
terrifying number of unsound children
In the United States. Approximately
100000 school children are under
nourished, 100000 are crippled, 382, 900
are tubercular. 100000 have weak or
damaged hearts. 100000 are mentally
retarded TO serious degree, ST., 900 pre-
sent behavior problems, 14,400 youths
under twenty years Of age are blind,
$4,000 partially seeing children should
be in sight-saving classes, 342. 900 hard
of-hearing children should be taught
lip reading. 1882 deaf children are en-
rolled in schools and classes for the
deaf, 100000 school children between
the ages Of five and eighteen are so de-
fectiye in speech that they require RENE
dial treatment and training.
There are $4,000 dependent children.
Two hundred thousand delinquent chill
dren come to the attention of courts
every year. OF children under fifteen
years Of age $4,000 are killed by acct
dents. A million and a half children
are subject to communicable diseases
every year. which cause fifteen per cent
Of the total deaths in the country. An
nualiy 2S0, 900 youths under twenty years
Of age pass away.
There is happy side to the picture,
Of course. We are assured that there
are approximately 100000 normally
healthy, ayeragely equipped everyday"
children in the United States and l..
100000 gifted" children In the private
and public schools.
1t is the problems conjured up by
the handicapped group with which the
White House Conference will wrestle.
To wish it well in its work is to bespeak
. success the value of which for the
Republic it is utterly impossible to ex-
aggerate.