The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 26, 1920. AWAKENING OF THE SOCIAL CONSCIENCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 July 1920, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JULY 26, 1920. AWAKENING OF THE SOCIAL CONSCIENCE.

The Minister of Public Health and Education (Hon. C. J'. Parr) had occasion on Tuesday to deal with two very important matters in connection with the health of the young. When replying to a request by the Women's National Reserve for a subsidy in aid of the children's nursery established by the reserve at Newtown, Mr. Parr said the scheme was another proof of the awakening of the social conscience. The interests of the State demanded that the work of the wife and the' mother should be made easier, and he realised that the State would not be blessed with large families unless 'be position of parents was made as easy as possible. In opening the conference of the Society foi' the Health of Women and Children, Mr. Parr said: "We must aim at giving our children strong, healthy bodies, capable of the strongest possible resistance against disease. If we can do this, we can eliminate our medical school inspection and free dental treatment." The Minister believes in '' preventive'' medicine—preventing disease by education—as opposed to curing it with a bottle of medicine. "Not one in seven children in some schools," said Mr. Parr, "have sound teeth. This evil is almost entirely due to malnutrition in infancy. These are the children who survive the infancy period. What about the children who die?" During the war period nearly 15,000 children died in New Zealand—just about as many as the men we lost on the battlefield —and of this number fifty-nine per cent', succumbed in the first year of their birth. The Minister was quite right when he said the social conscience was being awakened, and it would seem that the administrative conscience also being awakened to devise means to remedy the evils which are sera-1 ously affecting the vital forces of the country. "We spend," said Mr. Parr, "£3,000,000 a year in educating the children from six to sixteen years of age, but we hard, ly spend a penny piece on the period from one to six, '• when we ought to be looking to the health of the child. . . I am afraid that the pre-school period is treated as a period of ignorance. Many young mothers do not know .how $o bring up children. Many others

are careless and indifferent, and the. results are seen to-day in liavj ing so many young people who are only fit for aC3 camp.'' The Minister 'a remedy is to create a Department of Child Welfare with, if possible, Dr. Truby King as Director, and his mission, would be to conduct an educative campaign throughout the country, preaching the'gospel of health to mothers and expectant mothers, as well as making known the simple truths and principles of public health, also to conquer ignorance and | implant the knowledge of moi ther-craft and infant devel- [ oprnent in the breasts of our Womenfolk. The Plunket Society has been accomplishing I much good work in this direction, but manifestly its operations are restricted. Nothing but a thorough and persistent national campaign such as the Minister contemplates will meet the case. Preventive medicine can alone achieve the desired success, but it will take time to administer, and there will be a constant need for active supervision, as well as the provision of other means for securing the welfare of mothers and children. It would seem that one of the most urgent requirements is the establishment of State maternity homes in every large town, with a staff of nurses available for the country districts, their fees being such as not to prove a heavy burden on those who require the nurses' services. It is a large order, but the eost would be quite justified. Moreover, these homes could be made the centre of propagation work in a way that would appeal to the people. The outstanding problem for the Minister to tackle is that of helping mothers over the maternity period, and reducing the present heavy charges. He admits that the work of the wife and mother should be made easier, and he outlined to the Women's National Reserve deputation the provisions of a Bill which may come before Parliament this session to authorise the establishment of convalescent cottages for the temporary care of infants, and the treatment of infants suffering from malnutrition ; for the temporary care of children whose parents were presented by illness or child-birth from caring for them, and for the reception of children of compulsory school age who require convalescent treatment and care. The Minister rightly considers that mothers entering maternity homes should be freed from anxiety conterning the children left at home, ind this has been one of the problems that awaited solution. There »s so much to be done in the direction of removing the causes of the vastage of life and impairment of efficiency that any Minister might Veil be disinclined to face the task. Mr. Parr has put his hand to . the plough with a keen desire to effect improvements that should ■lave a marked effect on national life. Both from a humanitarian and eeonoinic point of view the problem urgently needs solving, and it is to be hoped that the social conscience will be thoroughly awakened, with the result that thousands of valuable lives will be saved and a new era of physical efficiency opened up that will be worthy of the country and of the many advantages it possesses for the production of virile' humanity.