FIGHTING HUMAN WASTAGE.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1746, 10 May 1913, Page 10

FIGHTING HUMAN WASTAGE.

AN INTERVIEW 7 . Of tho work dono by tho London. County . Council among tho poor, tho mentally ' and physically defective of tho greatest ' and richest city of tho world, wo in Now Zealand can only form a faint idea. All ' tho inoro interesting, on that account, Was tho outline of the work dono by tho Public Health Department of tho t.C.C. among the school children of London, given by a passing visitor who had taken a very activo part in medical inspection. Having been ,a mcml>er of the' medical ' stall' tor some timo opportunities wero •" piven of coming into contact with the immense efforts that aro being mado by the London authorities to caro for its • child-life, and to gather in tho waifs and strays who would otherwise never bo'anything but derelicts on the turbulent tiao ■, of liio in London. Tho whole system of medical inspection > of schools, said tho visitor, was tho work of Dr. Kerr. The powers conferred by the Education Act (Administrative Provisions), 1907, enabled tho council to organise, more fully than before, a system of medical inspection of children. It is '• ono of the most important features of the educational system pursued at Home.' It 1 is too soon to judgo yet of tho result it has- had upon the physique of tho l children—somotimes the medical officersthink they seo a decided gain, anu at - other times it scorns hopeless to think ; that any forward stop has been made. The most frequent of tho diseases from which they suiter aro tubercular troubles, 1 bad teeth, adenoids, and defective eye- ■ sight, oven blindness, to Eay nothing of deafness. Children and Organised Medical Attention The wholo of London is divided into four areas, largo ones as may bo imagined, and each of these, four areas is ill tlio - charge of a doctor. Each area again is divided into six with a doctor for each division, and it is these doctors who do • much of tho actual work 01 inspecting tlio schools, of which there arc, roughly speaking, about twenty-flvo or twenty-six 'to cach division. Li nil, there aro about forty doctors in tho Department, with a headquarters office, the pivot of the system. Of this numbor of medical officers, nino are women. At ono time there wero "half-tinio doc- , tors and "full-time" ones, tho former being able to hold other posts as. weir, but that has since been abolished,, and thoro aro now none but "full-tirno"i doctors, who hnvo to give their-whole effort to this work of inspection. • Thn\r field of work, is comprehensive, and includes the sanitary inspection of ,6chools- and . grounds, their judgment of games and physical exercises, tho. cxaminination of children when they first enter a school at tho age of tlireo or four, again at tho ago of eight—usually the most ailing ago of all (according ;t«; •'Jnip member of tho Department);- ■ and 1 'then at (ho age of twelve, thirteen, or fourteen. Tho timo that is taken for inspection varies, of course,. with. the size of tho school, but it, might averago. about four and a half days, At any time, if there are groups of children suffering from ailments, they ovo at onco presented to , tho doctor. Tubercular children are taken 1 and taught outsido' as much as possible, aud, on days when tlio weather permits, groups of these stricken littlo creatures may bo seen at their i exercises, games, or 'lessons—sometimes in iho park ond ill tho baud rotundas. All over London there are open air schools, conducted outsido when tho woatlier allows. It is the brightest time of their lives, ond they lovo their school and would not miss a, day for anything. ' Attached to these elementary schools are , mmiotimes spccial schools for tho mentally or physically defective, and ■ these also aro inspected by tho doctors. Specialists work with tho iHiblio Health Department, and some of them aro .men with big reputations, Wliat the Nurses Do, Exceedingly important is ; tho wor'l which is done under tho Department by tho nurses. Jliss Pearce is at tho head of this branch of tho work,--and it is organised on somewhat similar lines to the medical staff. Their work brings them into moro intimate touch with tho children, parents, and homos, for, ill addition to -visiting tho schools in their districts and keeping n keen eye upon tlio girls <md boys, (hey visit them in their homes, ond, w'iipro anything is wrong, notify the parents first, and, if necessary, the doc- • tor. To seo that they aro freo from skin diseases, and from tlio disorders that are present when they come from homes that form tho slums of London, is no light work, and their share in stemming tlio tido of wastago must Iks a largo' ono.

Gaunt Picture of Strike Times. Not only does tho London County Conn- , cil attend to tho health of tho children, but it provides tlic-in with meals. At tlio timo of tho Dockyards strike tho.numbor of people 611 tho list for free uioals increased by 108 per cent. To anyone who worked in tlio East End at that time it was an unsolvaMc pnzzlo how theso people lived. Long beforo the strike ended—in-, deed, only a few weeks after it began—, tho men were getting no money, not even, strike pay, and, all day long, they would, lino (ho streets, dogged, sullen defiance in their faces, and hatred in their eyes. To seo n convoy waggon pass by with its guard of police or soldiers was almost ■ lo reach breaking-point with them. 1 heir ■ homes were stripped bare of. all thoir eartlilv possessions, work was gone, money > was gone, and visibly they grew gaunter and gaunter, nnd yet many of them Mirt thev would rather they and their wives. and their children died of starvation than (hat (hey should give in. Had not for private efforts and tlio L.C.C., mam of tlicm would most certainly have died.. The Wellington Conimcrcial Association has arranged to give a ad'os <. veiling in tlio Club House on Wednesday next. A programme is being arranged by Mr. D. J. Kenny. The annual ladies' evening in connection with the Wellington Bowling Club i' to bo held in (he Pavilion,. Wordsworth Street, 011 Wednesday evening, May 21. Ladies will nolo that Mrs. Bolleston, Hair Specialist, has mado considerable alterations and additions to her well-ap-pointed Toilet Kooms. Iho Hair Department has Inch enlarged,, and every do-, fcription of Hairwork is supplied at English prices. Mrs. liolleston imports • special quality hair 111 evory shade, and in vps person-il attention to tlio accural®.. mntchiuK of all ordore, «s well as advise or improving the coifturo, with the aid of Switches, Timp-'M. or transformations. Combings made up (0 the best advantage, aml all Hair ; s guaranteed to keep its colour. Estimates posted, 2jb Lambtou Quay.—■Advl.