Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 155, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 July 1918 — CHILD WELFARE MEETING. [ARTICLE]

CHILD WELFARE MEETING.

The speakers at the child welfare and anti-tuberculosis meeting Wednesday afternoon presented a number of facts deserving public attention and consideration. “ rs * fr Hopkins portrayed the hard conditions surrounding the children in England and France and explanied the overwhelming necessity felt by our government of preventing such evils in this country. Also the nation has been made to realize the importance of more intelligent mothers and fathers when it sees how many of our young men are i unfit for service because of neglected eyes and teeth or weakness due to preventable childhood diseases. Mrs. John Gwin, child welfare chairman, read a letter from headquarters urging the need of healthful amusements for the children. It is hoped that some of the extremely attractive suggestions made will be worked out as soon as possible. . A „ Miss Biebesheimer’s talk was crowded with thought-compelling facts of which we can give only the following: There are just now in Indiana 30,000 cases of tuberculosis. Last year there were 4,000 deaths from this dreaded disease and for i each death it has been estimated -’there are ten new infections. Five hundred Indiana boys wefte turned back from the army because they showed the symptoms of tuberculosis. This is bad enough for the state, but what about Jasper county?. We pride ourselves on being an enlightened and progressive community, but we have people coming ana going on our streets and in our stores and homes who are in the advanced stages of this awful malady. Some appalling discoveries have 'been made and we are facing the necessity of prompt i action in this direction. What can we do? We can, first of all, join the newly organized anti-tuiberculosis society in this county and pay the one dollar per year membership fee. Every cent of that dollar stays in Jasper county to help rid us of this and other preventable and curable diseases and if one thousand of .us join we shall have a community nurse who will give her entire time to seeing that we and our children have better health. Can one dollar do more than that?