Evening star., 1938-01-18
BABY DEATH RATE
AMONCPOORC|TED
Maternal Care Conference
Told of Need of Human
Conservation.

Conservation.
Declaring that babies in the lowest
income families die at approximately
five times the rate Of babies in homes
Of moderate comfort. Miss Josephine
Roche, former Assistant Secretary Of
the Treasury. today told the Confer
ence on Better Care for Mothers and
Babies. meeting in the East Room of
the White House. that the Social Sc
eurity Act had opened the way toward
progress in human welfare, human
conservation"
Obviously. she declared, the death
rate Of mothers and babies in this
country, as an index OF civilizations s
progress has . long way to travel
upward" before it points to the goal
OF democracy: Equal opportunity to
all. and special privilege to none"
Discussions before the conference,
however, she predicted bring us
every reason to believe that this index
OF progress Is going to mount more
rapidly from now on.
Notes Co-Operative Trend.
throughout our country today"
she said. local communities, counties
and States are in increasing numbers
and with deepening concern uniting
In their cooperative work with each
other and the Federal Government to
eliminate human denials and waste,
to bring more nearly into balance our
present tragically unbalanced human
budget. which reveals more than a
thlrd OF our population still in the
red'-ill-fed, nl-housed, ill-clothed,
uncared for in illness"
Praising the Social Security Act.
she declared that underlying it was
the philosophy that human welfare,
or human conservation" is definitely
charge on decentralization
State and local." With the passage
OF that act" she said" we entered an
era Of vital economies, pledged our
selves as an organized people to write
OF our human deficit"
The session this morning was held
at the White House, under the original
plans, for Mrs. Franklin d. Roosevelt
to speak. She was called to the fu-
neral Of Mrs. Bernard M. Baruch in
New York, and could not attend. The
presiding officer was Miss Katharine
F. Lenroot, chief of the Childrens Bu-
reau, Department of Labor, which
sponsored the conference.
James Roosevelt, who spoke briefly
to the conference, said, when papers
are full Of national defense, such as
ornaments, the most important part
OF it is often overlooked. The best
national defense is healthy children
growing up under proper care.
THE country will be respected when
We can say of our mothers and chill
dren that they exemplify the true
height that civilization can reach"
Sc Groups Represented
About 500 delegates have been in
attendance for two days from 43
States, Alaska, Hawaii and the District
OF Columbia, representing 86 different
organizations. There has been a COM
prehensive discussion of the problem
so far. with three sessions yesterday.
The conference closes this afternoon
at the National Museum.
Out of lengthy discussion of the
problem of how the "challenge" of the
problem Of maternal and child death
rate could be met came a multitude of
suggestions last night at the National
Museum. Two speakers indicated that
the cooperation of fathers was to be
enlisted. DR.. I. A. Siegel of Balti-
more said fathers were being given
instruction through public meetings,
especially through special sessions
called by American Legion posts
Father will receive attention also at
the forthcoming Worlds Fair in New
York City, according to Dr. Harvey
B. Matthews of Brooklyn, who said
comprehensive advice will be made
available on the whole problem for the
benefit Of the crowds hocking to the
fair.
legislative Aid Urged.
Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia Of
New York City told the conference
they should have in attendance the
Governors Of States, legislators and
members Of Congress to realize the
necessity of further funds. He placed
maternal and child health on a patri-
otic basis.
Birth control advocates bobbed up
twice at the conference yesterday and
succeeded in having a recommendation
in their behalf laid before the Find
ings Committee for consideration. But
conservative opinion in the conference
believed the recommendation probably
would be pigeonholed by the commit
tee. Of which the chairman Is DR.. Fred
L. Adair Of Chicago.
Late yesterday afternoon DR.. Han
nah e. Stone of New York attempted
to get the floor for a discussion of
birth control, but was ruled "out of
order" by the presiding officer, Mrs.
j. X. Pettengill of Detroit, president
Of the National Congress of Parents
and Teachers, who is chairman of the
Conference Planning Committee. Mrs.
Pettengill said some groups in the
conference were opposed to considera-
ton Of the question of birth control,