The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-09-12
COMMENT ON WORLD
EVENTS

phaSlZed In pamphlet, Americas S
Children, written by Maxwell S. Stew
art and just published by the Public
Affairs Committee, New York Many
of the conditions described in the pam
phlet are not confined to America and
affect children in all nations.
High birthrates among poorer fami-
lies and in some sections of the
country mean that a disproportionate
share of American children face seri-
Gus social and economic handicaps.
Nearly two-thirds of our city children
are in families whose income is be-
low maintenance standard of liv-
ing" About half of our children in
families of five or more live in houses
that are definitely substandard. At
least two-thirds of our children are in
need of dental care. Nearly million
children of elementary school age are
not in school.
These are some of the facts brought
out by the pamphlet, which is based on
a series of government studies and re-
search documents assembled for the
White House Conference on Children
in a Democracy, held in Washington
earlier in the year.
X X X
The position of children is relatively
much more critical than for adults,
Mr.. Stewart points out, because the
number of children per family is much
higher among low-income groups than
among the well-to-do, and is especially
high among Negroes, the foreign born,
and in some rural areas.
"In some areas there are twice as
many children, proportionately, on the
farm as in the city. The South has
the highest ratio of children, both in
white and Negro families, while the
Far West has the lowest. Rural Ne
gro families have more children than
rural white families. -.
"Even more disturbing is the fact
that families with incomes of $4,000
and over in the cities have only about
half as many children as families with
incomes Of less than $1,000. Women
college graduates >. have about half
as many children as women who have
less llltIl d ScNcllCIl-SIduc cuuSdIlOIl.
x X X
Families with the most children
commonly have the poorest housing,
Mr.. Stewart states. Large families
require larger houses, but are forced
to use a relatively larger part of their
income for food. They are thus forced
into slum areas of cities or the poorer
country areas. The crowding of large
families in substandard housing is
shown in national figures. Families
with one child pay an average rent
of $21 a month. But families with
five or more children are able to pay
only SIS month, which is about the
average demanded for houses classified
in the Real Property Inventory as "in
need Of major repairs
Despite striking gains made in re-
cent years in improving the health
of children, health protection is shown
to be seriously deficient for large
part of Americas children. In small
towns 46 per cent Of the sick children
in families with incomes of less than
$1,000 a year received no care from
a doctor. Every year there are nearly
quarter of q million newborn babies
who do not receive medical attention
at birth or during the first few days
of life.
The recommendation of the White
House Conference for improving these
conditions are summarized in detail in
the concluding section Of the pamphlet.
Americas Children is the forty
seventh of series of popular, factual,
1O-cent pamphlets published by the
Public Affairs Committee, 80 Rookie
feller Plaza, New York.