Evening star., 1946-02-05
More Important Than
Reaching The Noon
CHILD HEALTH

troduced in the closing days Of the Senate
session by Senator Pepper with sponsorship
by nearly dozen colleagues of both parties,
seeks a solution for one of the most profound
of Our national problems. Nothing more in.
timately concerns our future as nation than
the health of our children. The Pepper bill
would make Federal financial aid to the ex.
tent of 100 million dollars available to the
States for the purpose of providing medical
care and health services for mothers and
children and child-welfare service for emo.
tionally sick and insecure children and for
children without parental care or supervi.
sion. This program would be administered
through State health departments and would
assure patients free choice among voluntarily
participating doctors, hospitals and clinics.
Americas Most Precious Asset
The program follows the carefully
thought-out recommendations of the Ma.
tional Commission on Children in Wartime.
''The health of children, no less than their
education,' says the report of this commits.
sion, lis a public responsibility. If during
the coming decades children are to grow to
maturity physically and mentally fit, if they
are to be able to take advantage of the edu.
cational opportunities offered to them, and if
they are to assume their position as respon.
sible members of society when they are ma.
ture, they must be assured of healthy bodies
and healthy minds when they are young"
We have not done very much for child
health in the past. The Children's Bureau,
which would administer the ALLEGATION of
funds under the proposed law, has been re.
ceiving mere l " million dollars to assist all
48 States in developing child-welfare serv.
ices. On this budget, only 400 of our 5000
counties can be served in any one year. There
are not even sufficient funds to take care Of
our orthopedically crippled children or fthe
half million youngsters under l8 suffering
from rheumatic fever or of the 10000 under
16with cerebral palsy who could be educated
If skilled care were provided for them.
NationaI Health Begins with Child HeeIth
And infants in this country, with it's
vaunted standard of living, have to take their
chances-which differ very widely from State
to State. In the country as a whole, 40 out
of every 1000 babies born alive die before
their first birthday. The infant mortality rate
per thousand varies from 80 in Connecticut
to as high as 9l.6 in New Mexico. If tho
record in every State were as good as in
onnecticut-certainly not an unattainable
goal we could save $1,000 babies every
year. "Even in the relative good year of
l94O," Senator Pepper points out, "about
half our children were living in families with
incomes of less than $40 week. Good ma.
ternity care cannot be purchased with left.
over from $40 week after food, clothing
and shelter for family are paid for.''
There has been an admirable test for the
national program proposed by Senator Pep.
per in the wartime emergency maternity and
infant care program for servicemen's wives
and babies. 1t has been a boon to young
mothers and to infants And it has strength.
ened, without in any way impinging upon,
the system of private medicine. Its values
have been far too great to be abandoned with
the end of the emergency. 1t should be ex-
tended SO that good medical care can be made
available to mothers and children wherever
they live and whatever their economic cir
cumstances. AS Nation, we could make no
wiser investment. Iron, The Washington POST
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