The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, June 2, 1943. HEALTH IN WAR TIME.

Grey River Argus, 2 June 1943, Page 4

The Grey River Argus WEDNESDAY, June 2, 1943. HEALTH IN WAR TIME.

War may be a great destroyer, of human life. but it is question-, able whether it is not more so in its indirect than in its direct effects. It leads invariably to a : disastrous weakening of normal moral and even physical restraints, a fact that at first lends largely to be overlooked, and is only faced when the consequences threaten some degree of demoralisation. More obvious are the fatal consequences ot food shortages and deterioration of living conditions, as exemplified in the | Food Conference to which the United Nations have sent dde-fi gates at Hot Springs, Virginia. That Conference, foreseeing a yet greater food problem as the war "drags on, has recommended . ? .........fTnz.l-

measures ol: conservation, alieciing alike the modes and. extent of production and distribution, but has now added recommendations for the improvement of diet, especially for mothers, children and lower-paid, workers. It can. honestly be said that our Government has anticipated the Conference in various directions, such as ,school milk and fruit rations, Health Department publicity, in the press, medical and hospital services, and regulation in the distribution of foodstuffs. Tn perhaps a lesser degree, other British countries have done likewise, whilst the claim is made in Britain that harder ways of living have, raised the health standard, possibly in association with a better regulated distribution of lessened supplies of food. What doubtless gives'Americans a new interest in the subject is that their own food supply is becoming ap- • tl :4.t.

preciably shorter, with meatless days (which may do no harm whatever), and butter, sugar, collie, canned foods, and ma.ny other lines are rationed, with potatoes a luxury and not a few vegetables as well. Soldiers are everywhere eating up what used to be food surpluses, and high wage earm , ers are. eating better than formerly. ‘With Australia, we are finding, under the ‘Gend-lease” a whole lot of food for Americans, and to these, two Dominions, moreover, other countries now are looking for a greater proportion of their food supplies. With all of this concern about what shall be eaten it Is noteworthy that governments have hitherto been lax in their regard for other things affecting the health of the. people, and especially the young people. Australia has now brought into greater prominence the great menace of promiscuous sexual re-

lations, and its Tegular incubus ot venereal disease. All sorts <d' restrictions are projected, anc. large sums voted for a campaign against this dire threat to pos. terity. That the evil is also rampant in New Zealand is undeniable, but possibly the authorities feel that panicky remedies arc no remedies at all. Australian proposals include, in addition, consideration by the authorities of biological instruction in secondary schools and education to I secure voluntary pre-martial examinations, while it is the conviction of the authorities that smoL- | im>' by young women is lowering the national health standards. There is better scope in the schools for warning girls in good time of the ill-effects of using tobacco than of those arising from sexua. depravity, as to which latlci. danger it ought primarily to be the duty of mothers to warn their daughters. After all, the lainilj

is the true cell of the nation, anti more can be done in the home than anywhere else to conserve the morals and health of the rising generation, and to ensure an improvement in the health, physicpie and character of the nation for' the future. Undoubtedly, too, Ihe school is the place for enlightening those who must carry the burdens of posterity regarding diet and healthy habits of life. Lessons there instilled will prove lasting, and will realise the idea that prevention is better than cure. If, however, the war, as a by-product, makes for a better post-war health standard generally, it will help to give the cloud a silver lining.