OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 70, 15 December 1917, Page 6

OUR BABIES

[By Hygeia.t

Published under the auspices of the Society for tho Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put ud a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." BABY WEEK IN DUifEDIN. Ou Tliursilay i-ftornoon, November 1, it was moat gratifying to sco the very large gathering of mothers and babies which had assembled at tho irritation of the Dunodin Committee. Tho Hums Hall was crowded upstaire and do™, and when tea-time came those in the gallery wcro asked to take Kea-ts in the grounds surrounding the hall bo that they might uo served more speedily. Tho following account of the day's proceedings Iβ adopted from one of the newspaper reports:— The Mothers' Afternoon. J'Jie lighter i-.ctivities of the aiternoon were as important as anything tne week's effort has produced. The iorraal programme was of tho shortest, consisting oi l\vo brief addresses delivered by i>rs. Allen a,ud Williams, and a demoustiatiou of physical exercises and games by Miss lsitt's pupils. The. remainder of tho afterKoon was devoted by Iho members of the committee and tho Plunkct nurses to the entertainment of the great gathering of mothers, and infants, and children, which quite filled tho hall. There was a littlo music—of course the babiee ivero vocal throughout, but, fortunately, always m the key (or tho keys, ratuer) of happiness—aiternoon tea was dispensed to all, and after partaking cf it the gathering became as social as a party of friende. The society's exhibits, wUobo variety and interest could not bo chronicled in acolumn, were closely studied by most of tho visitors. It was an imposing procession of prams and go-carts which left tho precincts of the ]!urns Hall at 5 p.m. Race Extinction. Dr. Allen, in a. few wordt;, ciposed tho secret canker that is eating away the vitality of most civilised races. Ho eaid that tho J'rime Minister of 2\'ew Zoaland was not as important as a mother with three children. Until the Inst three years it had become increasingly evident that women did not want to iiavo families, tho reason being that they diii not reaiisa their own importance. But the war had wakened us all up to tho fact that the only asisct of any raco waa its people. Did his auditors know that in the wholo wide British Kmpiro there were not as many white people as there were in tho confines of Germany? Wint a disgracel In these days the woman who stayed at homo and bore and brought up their babiee was the true patriot. When a birth-rate fell below 34 per tliousand a race was doomed, and only two countries in the civilisied world had a birth-rate that figure. These courttrieri were Russia, and Japan. All illustralian writer, 10 years ago, in a work, "Kacial Decay," penned the following searching and terrible truths:—"-n Germany we see that os yet tho 'cloud is no bigger than a man's liana.' Over tho United Kingdom it advances with stealthy aud blighting progression, claiming every year something more for the blackness of annihilation. Over New South Wales and Victoria, over Queensland aud South Australia, it came later, but with much more rapid rush. Not Zealand presents the most remarkable phenomenon of all. Tlio ..olonists themselves are apparently fully aware of their own racinl decadence, and are supremely unoonccrned. The reduction of child life is voluntary and deliberate. Writers have pointed to the fact lliat New Zealand enjoys all the political reforms claimed by the Socialist politician as essential to progress. New Zealand suffices as the living (or dying) example which destroys such illusions. Self-govern-ment, adult suffrage, women's rights, oollectivist trading, universal comfort, ah. senco of militarism, old-age provision, workmen's insurance, equalising (if not equality) of .sacrifice, no rational defence, and iiuinteri'iiptcd peace for o generation— Ihere and other advantages did not save the British colony from its plunge towards national suicide."

In this country, Dr. Allen resumed, we should take eft our hats to the Catholic community, for it at leant had not fallen behind in this twitter. Tho rather dreadful facts he had read , were written 10 years ago Tho war had brought their importance sharply home. The destiny of the was in tho hands of thoso he saw before him—in tho hands of the women—nnd he wan mro that, since the women of New Zealand now realised tho urgent necessity for population, they would respond to its urgency. That wag (he trumpet cnll for the young women ol the Dominion. Tn the nest few years the children and the mothers would receive moro and more l protection. Political reform mint tnken that direction. "Ton wom»n are the peonl? "ho will give us nonulation." concluded Dr. Allen, "and therefore 'yon'are the people.' and tho State must treat you as such." Safeguarding Milk in the Homo. Tho address of Dr. Williams was really an informal chat, his subject tho preservation of the purity and cleanliness of milk in tho home, which, ho pointed out, is important at all times, and particularly important in tho summer months. After demonstrating the ideal way in which the cooled humanised milk was kept in boxes full of sawdust, the vessel covered by a perforated top (for the-germs bred when tho atmosphere is excluded are the more deadly), lie outlined a simple method of keeping milk cool and clean where ico was not available. The milk vessel should bo placed in another vessel containing water, aud a double or triple layer of wetted butter gauze should be plnced over the top of the milk .jug, tho end of tho gauze hanging in tho water of tho containing vessel. • Tho Evening Lecture, "National Efficiency" was tho title of Dr. Truby King's address. His method was a good deal more loose thaii in hia preceding address, the reason being that ho was expounding from pictures, and, takiug up his tale from each picture as it appeared, ho sometimes seemed to jump from one end of his subject to the other. However, tho episodic method has its merits, especially when a man has the doctor's allusiveness and wealth of illustrative anecdote, aud he never allowed interest to flag. Perhaps the section of tho address that would remain steadiest in his auditors' memory was that dealing with the stimulation of tho nervo centres and the organs by fresh air and exercise. Houses he described as "things built for the'purposo of living outside of." To convey fully the importance of fresh air, ho had to describe the action of the involuntary and the voluntary mußclcs. (As to tho former it is not necessary to follow him here; tho reader whose heart has at any time palpitated will realiso from that experience that tho action of an involuntary mu6clo is not controllable.) Tho point the doctor pursued was that niucteen-twentieths of tho work of tho voluntary muscles, too, was involuntary, being done by stimuli borne to the nervo centres by the sensory nerves. Tho importance of this was stupendous, because it meant that no person could live ft healthy life unless ho subjected himself daily to free contact with the elements, to that toning-up process which was tho driving power of the system. All tho organs received through tho sensory nerves impressions which stimulated them, and tho best means of stimulation came through alternations of heat and cold. Nothing, consequently, was more dovitalisiag than living constantly in a tepid atmosphere of Jrora 60deg. to 70deir Fahr. What Dr. Leonard Hill called a "streaky atmosphere" was tho best to live in. Hence- the benefit derived from heating a room by a fire in an open fireplace lnsteau of by hot pipes, Iu the former citso a person was kept warm while at the 3amo time thoro was a current of air at tho back, making the atmosphere "streaky." A magnificent stimulus on this same principle was an alternating hot aud cold shower. Tho most healthy form of exercise was unquestionably swimming, and no young peoplo ought to be brought up without freo access to water. The importance attached to it by the eminent educationist John Locke was conveyed in his contemptuous description of a man who "had neither 'letters' nor swimming." It was impossible to build a healthy race unless in tho case of every person there was ample stimulation of tho system daily. The best recreation (and ho used tli3 word in its literal sense—re-creation) for modern times was that which gave the maximum amount of exercise in l.ho minimum amount of time. Such exercise was swimming. In the absence of facilities, the cold bath or the cold spouge was a substitute.

"It is a patriot's duty," he urged, "to keep healthy. You cannot livo for yourself. We all belong to tho State, and wo hnvo no right to spoil tho whole show tor tboso ahead of us. Tho duty of health ought to be tho first of all duties to the State. ... All perfections of mind and spirit are laid upon tho foundations of a healthy body." A series of photographs of diverse kinds took tlio lecturer lo another pan of his subject. A big section of them was devoted to exposing the injury "fashion" had done to the bodily health of women. For ten years, he said, ho had been on tho subject of rational boots, and to-day the boots womon wore wero worso than ever. "Even tho Chinese women," ho added, "have revolted against the mangling of their feet, but you submit to it voluntarily." A few slides of fashion pin tea, from the wusp-waist type of » by. gone generation to its' modern variant, followed, and the lecturer exploded into wrath. "It is extraordinary that women should ano such a fashion, and at this time. It i 9 fooling the design of the Creator, and spoiling tho next generation. You ought to feel what guys you make of

yom-selvcs with these ridiculous clothes and iuano attitudes." The Glial pictures traversed the histcJ , of tlio l'limkct Society's work, revealing some of t lie splendid babies, nnd Rave also sonic idea, of the rapidity with which schools are adopting out-of-doors Bleeping dormitories. These were shown at Archerfield and Waitaki Boys' High School.