Evening star., 1946-02-18
DistrictLeaders Attack
Wallace Statement on
Underfed Children

District leaders today took sharp
issue with reported statement by
Secretary of Commerce Wallace
that one-third of school children
here are undernourished, more
than most of the heifers and pigs
on the farm"
The remarks which inspired their
disagreement were made by Mr..
Wallace Saturday in a speech be-
fore the National Farm Institute
at Des Moines, Iowa. The Secre-
tary is native of that State.
Wilbur Finch, president of the
Federation of Citizens Associations
was particularly sharp in his dis
sent. saying frankly that Mr.. WAL
lace doesn't know what he is talk
ing about"
Admits Some Poverty.
"Of course" Mr.. Finch observed,
there Is some poverty here as well
as everywhere else, but / have seen
no evidence of malnutrition among;
school children and I have the i'm
lpression, although I have not made
detailed study of the subject, that
children here are probably better
fed than in most cities of COM
parable size"
Mr.. Finch said that Mr.. Wallace
probably got his impression by walk
ing through some very poor section
of the city.
The Secretary said in Des Moines
that he received the idea during
his morning walks from the Ward
man Park Hotel to TIE Commerce
| Department. Normally that route
would carry him through some of
the better residential sections.
Mcmillan Agrees With Finch.
Chairman Mcmillan of the House
District Committee agreed with Mr..
Finch.
Il certainly would not think from
my PERSONAL observations that
many children here are underfed,"
he said.
Mr.. Mcmillan pointed out that the
District for many years had main
tanned lunch program under which
needy children were given free food
Cites South Carolina Plan.
I'm fact" he continued, my own
State of South Carolina patterned
its free lunch program after that
of the District"
Miss Katherine F. Lenroot, chief
of the Labor Departments Chill
dren's Bureau, said that while she
would have no way of knowing the
exact percentage OF children here
who might be underfed, 1t was her
belief that because of rising incomes
during the last few years, the num-
ber certainly would be less than
before the war.
mo doubt there Is some under
nourishment." Miss Lenroot OBJ
served, adding that according to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics 1874 fig
ures for the Nation, approximately
Is per cent of people on wages or
salaries made less money than was
considered necessary to support a
family of three. She said that she
was unable to make a comparison
between the number of underfed
children here and in other cities.
Rutland Offers Criticism.
"Mr. Wallace's = statement was
lightly and loosely made" COM
mented DR.. George c.. Ruhland,
chief of the District Health De-
partment, "It just doesn't contorn
with the facts and too much weight
has been given to it. Mr.. Wallace
is not competent judge in the
field in which he spoke"
DR.. Rutland said District schools
no longer use the old system of
weighing and measuring children
to determine their health as it had
been outmoded and had been proved
to be unscientif1c. He added that
because a child was slender did not
necessarily mean that he or she
was undernourished and so Mr.
Wallace may have been misled by
appearances.
The health officer said that while
he had not gathered data on the
amount of malnutrition among chill
dren here as compared with other
cities, it was his belief that WASH
ington would compare favorably
with them.
He based this assumption on the
fact that Washington Is not an
industrial city with an unstable pay
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