Evening star., 1942-03-05
Of Stars, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Laboratory, Field
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.

|
The present poor physical condition Of
American youth, resulting in a rejection
rate Of almost so per cent by selective
service boards and the Army, could have
been predicted and largely prevented
Is years ago.
This is the conclusion of United States
Public Health Service statisticians after
an intensive study Of the records.
For nearly 20 years the city Of Hagers-
town, Nd, has been q Public Health
Service laboratory. 1t is considered .
fairly representative sample Of the popu-
lation of the United States. Its children
are followed from the cradle at least
until they leave the public schools.
Every detail Of their illnesses, rates Of
growth, etc. is recorded.
The grade school boys Of IS years ago
now are all of draft age. The Govern
ment statisticians have checked the Sc
lective service findings with the reports
of school doctors. This was done for 1863
men. OF these 225 had been rejected.
Bad teeth caused the rejection Of g..
! Twenty six rejected for other causes
also had unpassable teeth.
The mean age at school examination
was slightly under 10 years. At that
| time 95 per cent Of the children who
| later were to be rejected had one or
more decayed, missing or filled per-
manent teeth. In only 73 per cent Of
those later to be accepted was this con-
dition found. The number of bad teeth
per 100 children was twice as high
among those due to be rejected as among
! those placed in class Ia. Each child
who was rejected as an adult had on an
average as permanent teeth either de-
cayed, missing or filled, while each child
who was accepted is years later had
only rs such teeth.
Twenty three were rejected because
of poor eyes. Twenty-six rejected for
other causes showed defective vision. The
school examinations showed that ~ per
cent of these rejectees had below-normal
| vision.
Every one OF the IS rejected for poor
| hearing showed some ear defect IS
years ago.
Sixty per cent OF the children who
we're below average weight for 10-year-
olds were later rejected by the Army.
Seventy per cent of those whose diet
had been described as poor by the school
doctors failed to pass the Army examina-
tions.
Fifteen years ago 1853 Of the children
we're listed as having poor posture. or
these, 81 per cent we're rejected.
When these defects were discovered
they were reported to teachers and
| parents In most cases little was done
about it.
| A child's chances Of life are much
| better today than they were IS years
ago, says DR.. Antonio Ciocco, who con-
Quoted the study. This, he stresses, has
| led to the false assumption that the
| general health is improving. Apparently
this is just as bad and perhaps a little
worse than in 1917, although direct COM
parsons are diflcult because OF improved
methods of examination.
Few will deny" says the report, that
the need for competent healthy, physi-
cally fit young men will be for some years
at an all-tine high. Satisfaction OF this
| need involves accurate information on
all significant early and remedial de-
| fects. In these ways 1t would seem pos
sible to attain not only effective pre-
| vention Of damage from disease, but
also effective upbuilding Of national
| physical status"
American production Of INT, the ex-
| plosive used In bombing attacks, will
have reached staggering proportions by
summer. says DR.. Harry N. Holmes.
president of the American Chemical
Society.
The supply of TINT in this country
would be inadequate to meet war aims il
chemists had not discovered recently a
remarkable way to make tuolene. easily
converted into the explosive, from pc
troleum, DR.. Holmes asserts.
THE petroleum industry also will fur
nish." he said, "glycerin for nitro
glycerin and dynamite. supplementing
that obtained from the soap industry.
1t Is now producing 100-octane gasoline
for aircraft in great quantities. COM
This difference gives United States fight-
ers more than 20 miles an hour greater
speed with the same plane.
THUS far" he continued, this is q
TINT war for us, rather than a smoke
less powder war But when our armies
begin fighting on large scale, huge
quantities Of smokeless powder will be
used.
$50 far our main effort has been to
drop huge TINT bombs from airplanes.
We can be thankful that by summer our
production probably will be adequate.
But it would not be were it not for the
chemists brilliant success In making
tuolene from petroleum. Until now it
was all secured from by-product coke
ovens, a source that could at best pro-
duce only q minor fraction of our ex-
pected needs"
Protests Against Arbitrary Delay
In Trial Of Pearl Harbor Officers.
1