SYMPOSIUM ON SCIENCE AND RECONSTRUCTION 43 



attitude of European nations and especially the findings of 

 of our exemption boards, have radiealh^ altered our con- 

 ception of the importance of child welfare work. Strong 

 manhood has its foundation in infancy and childhood, and, 

 as never before, rugged manhood is recognized as essential 

 to the nation which seeks industrial, intellectual, financial 

 or military supremacy. On this account, in this country 

 as abroad, child welfare work has been given an impetus 

 such as it has never had before which will result not only 

 in a material lowering of our present shocking infant 

 mortality; but which will cause a ver}^ different showing 

 if we ever have a selective draft in another generation. 



The examination of several hundred thousand school 

 children, which was brought about on account of the stim- 

 ulated interest due to the war, has brought forcefully to 

 our attention the fact that physical defects are more com- 

 mon among children in rural schools than among those res- 

 ident of cities ; accentuating the importance of sanitary and 

 health work in rural communities which has been over- 

 looked to a considerable extent, through the former con- 

 ception that rural life and healthfulness necessarily go 

 hand in hand. 



Incidentally, our experiences with communicable dis- 

 eases, in mobilizing and maintaining an armv, has caused 

 public attention to be more definitely centered on these 

 preventable ailments than could have been possible under 

 any other conditions. The ravages of measles, of pneu- 

 monia and influenza in our camps at a time when the out- 

 come of the war seemed to depend upon our organizing a 

 gigantic force of fighting men, caused the American people 

 to think seriously in terms of preventive medicine and to 

 appreciate the importance of these diseases in their own 

 communities. The complete elimination during this war, 

 of typhoid fever — the disease w^hich played such havoc in 

 the war with Spain — has caused our people to realize that 

 typhoid fever need not be endured in times of peace. 



The absolute prevention of smallpox among hundreds of 

 thousands of men has accented the truth about vaccina- 

 tion, — a truth whose neglect is manifested by the repeated 

 invasions of this wholly unnecessary disease. 



Camp sanitation with the destruction of the breeding 

 places of mosquitoes, with consequent prevention of ma- 

 laria and yellow fever among the troops in southern 



