The Phoenix index., 1940-04-06
EDITORIALS
Through An
Open Window
BY DIR. w. C. HACKETT

DURING April l1-17 we will OBJ
serve another Negro National
Health week. Since my greatest
concern is about the health of
people l always look forward to
health week as time to make a
check-up on years work on
the health field and see what
amends to make during the insuing
year. During Health Week I like to
pay tribute again and again to its
founder, Booker r. Washington.
He was truly an unselfish man.
Today America is paying him a
high honor by placing his image
upon a postage stamp. For him,
one might truthfully say, "he is
dead though he lives" He was for
ever thinking of how he could
lessen the burdens and SUFFRAGE
Of mankind Health week was no
exception. Through scientific in
vestigation in 1915 he found that
Negroes were spending annually
$1O0, 100000 for sickness and death:
that there We're 100000 Negroes
seriously i'll ali the time; that the
annual cash of this illness was
75,O0O,00O
Even though this great waste in
both lives and money has been
greatly reduced since 1915, there
is much yet to be done. Every Ne
gro community should make
careful survey Of its health condi-
tionS and try TO do something
about them. There is much We can
90 here in Phoenix to alleviate
poor health condition among Ne
groes. We may say that the main
causes for poor health conditions
here in Phoenix are due to over
crowded living conditions, to the
type of food we eaL/ poor home
conveniences, unsanitary condi-
tions, and to the lack Of educa-.
tional training necessary to estab-
lish and maintain high health
standards. Through a recent sur
vey of the living conditions of
Negroes in Phoenix it was reveal
ed that forty percent live in three
room houses, and the total num-
Der of persons living in these
families ranges from three to
eleven. In many of the families
living on income between two hun..
dred and forty and seven hundred
and sixty dollars-more than three
persons sleep in one bed. One
family Of eleven had two beds to
sleep in. Our conveniences in the
homes are poor, Sixty per cent OF
the Negro families cook on wood
stoves; sixty-six per cent had no
kind of covering on the floors;
most of the families ate on the
kitchen table and nine per cent
had no table at all on which to
eat. Thirty five per cent had no
ice box in which to keep food.
Sixty-nine per cent had no sinks,
and sixty-two per cent were with
out bath tubs. Fifty-three per cent
of the Negro families had no fami-
ly doctor. This perhaps, indicates
that they have to depend on the
county for medical care. In a
measure this may account for
their apparent careless atti-
tude toward good health standards.
Infant mortality in these families
is high. Among the families earn
ing from $24c to $7e8 one child
out of every three dies. One cause
of this high mortality is the need
for money to insure proper care
of mothers during pregnancy. An
other cause may be attributed to
the mothers need of training in
child development. Most Of the
families living on incomes between
S24G and $768 yearly are underfed.
Only twenty-five per cent Of these
families provide mink for tnelr
children. These families eat most
w vegetables. This is due to the
cheapness of vegetables in COM
parison to meat and milk. Our
family life is SO closely woven with
our very being that it is difficult
to see our own patterns OF living.
The above presents a picture OF
what we live in daily. Let us care
fully check our surroundings by
the above, and if we are affected
let us be determined not to let an
other Negro National Health Week
pass around without making some
improvements.
g..