THIRTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII 449 



The president then introduced Mrs. Mary T. Watts, Audubon, 

 Iowa, who spoke on the Babies' Health Contest. 



BABIES' HEALTH CONTEST. 



Report and ])enefits of Babies' Ilealtli Contest, Iowa State Fair, 

 by Mary T. Watts, Audubon, Iowa, Superintendent of contest. 



One day, several years ago, I attended our county fair. I stood at the 

 booth of which I was superintendent listening to the talk that drifted in 

 snatches of prizes won on pigs, sheep and cattle — the same talk I had 

 heard at every fair for ten years. Suddenly I became conscious of how 

 often I had heard this talk of the wonderful improvement that had really 

 been made in the condition of live stock in that length of time. Just at 

 that moment a woman with a fretful baby in her arms stopped near to 

 me to rest. A child of about three years clung to her skirts with one 

 hand and with the other fed herself with a large under ripe banana. 

 Three other children, brother and sisters, clambered about in imminent 

 danger of broken necks and tramped toes. One might label the picture 

 I thought, "An average family on a holiday." As I looked back I saw 

 myself and my brothers and sisters forty years ago, no better — no worse. 

 Measles, mumps and whooping cough would be a part of these children's 

 lives as it has been of mine. If they lived through these necessary evils, 

 without too great loss of vitality, they might grow to manhood and woman- 

 hood. Then I began to think that this family would probably mean more 

 families of the same kind — possibly with less endurance. A friend inter- 

 rupted my thoughts to invite me to go to the stock barns with her where 

 the premiums had just been awarded. Blue ribbons and red ribbons 

 showed bravely on the stalls. Every animal in the clean, well-ordered 

 cattle and hog pens had been fed, and groomed with the utmost care. A 

 man pointed with pride to a pen of hogs, and told us that they had been 

 watched almost night and day; that the water they drank had been ana- 

 lyzed, their food measured and weighed and only the kinds given them 

 that would bring results. It was then that the idea of the babies' health 

 contest for our near state fair was born. If scientific care and common 

 sense had done this for animals then the same happy combination could 

 do wonders for the human animals, was the summary of my deduc- 

 tions, and thus I hit upon the fundamental principles of eugenics and 

 won the endorsement and co-operation of the medical men and women 

 of the nation. 



We lowans have long judged our corn, our hogs and our cattle by 

 scientific standards to find the most perfect specimens and encouraged 

 better corn growing and better stock raising — isn't it about time that we 

 gave at least equal attention to our greatest product, our babies? 



From this idea came the first babies' health contest, which was held at 

 the Iowa state fair, August 28, 1911, under the auspices of the Iowa con- 

 gress of mothers and the extension department of the state agricultural 

 college. 



The initial contest proved so successful and aroused such interest in 

 child study among fathers and mothers, that the management of the 

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