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it is with me ; it is with the public. When you are told that the 

 application of knowledge which we now possess in an entirely 

 practicable manner will lead to the saving of 125,000 lives yearly 

 among these infants, is that not enough to stir you to activity? 

 In this country at least in any democratic country the public 

 must be enlightened, otherwise we cannot secure from our legis- 

 latures the necessary laws and the necessary funds, resources 

 for carrying out these preventive measures. I regard, there- 

 fore, the stirring up of the public, the enlightenment of the 

 public, as one of the most important functions of the Associa- 

 tion. It should stimulate better sanitary organization and admin- 

 istration in the country all along the line. It should lend its 

 whole force toward the organization of a National Health De- 

 partment, which movement has been so forcibly presented to us 

 by Professor Fisher tonight. We should all be familiar with 

 the character of the opposition to the movement. I do not pro- 

 pose to discuss it, but it is based upon misconception and it is 

 based upon ignorance, and sometimes, I think, it is based upon 

 intentional misrepresentation, as has been pointed out, putting 

 personal interests and commercial interests above the interests 

 of health and life. This Association, therefore, should stand, 

 for a strengthening of the activities of the Federal Govern- 

 ment in public health work. That department will surely have 

 a Department of Child Hygiene. We have had demonstrated to 

 us in New York City how much good can be accomplished by 

 the creation in a Department of Health of a division of Child 

 Hygiene. They have taken the lead there in this regard as so 

 often and to such a great extent in public health work. 



Then this matter of registration of births. That is at the 

 bottom of this whole movement. I hope those who are here 

 will be able to be present when Dr. Wilbur reads his paper on 

 this subject tomorrow night. Then you will learn that we are 

 creeping in the dark until we have an accurate and tolerably 

 full registration of births. There must be a pressure brought 

 to bear upon the medical profession, who are woefully lacking in 

 the performance of their duty in this matter, and I simply men- 

 tion that as a matter of very first importance to be considered 

 in the activities of this Association to see to it that our country 

 is no longer in the scandalous and disgraceful condition in 

 which it is today as regards an accurate recording of births. 

 It would be the topic of an entire lecture to make clear to you 

 exactly why we should have an accurate registration of births. 

 We cannot tell you what the rate of infant mortality is, the 

 ratio of deaths of infants under 1 year of age per thousand 

 living. We can only guess at it. We cannot define the rate of 



