WM. H. WELCH, M. D. 55 



infant mortality at all in this country today. We guess it is 

 something like one-seventh ; in New York perhaps one-seventh 

 of those born die in the first year of life. 



Another very important activity will be the correlation of all 

 the various agencies that are acting separately. The various 

 public and private agencies should be all brought together in 

 order to secure the best results, because they will often be work- 

 ing at cross purposes otherwise. This is specified as one of the 

 very important activities of the Association, and it is indeed to 

 be very much emphasized. 



Then I hope the Association will stimulate investigation in 

 this field. We have by no means the amount of knowledge 

 which is to be desired. It is a big and significant fact that the 

 campaign for the prevention of infant mortality has been long 

 delayed in this direction. One reason is, I think, that we have 

 not such tangible, accurate or precise knowledge of the many 

 causes of infantile diseases that we have about some other dis- 

 eases. Take, for instance, yellow fever, typhoid, malaria. How 

 relatively definite our knowledge is of the etiology. There are a 

 great many problems connected with this whole subject, which 

 must be solved before we can go ahead with as full knowedge 

 as is to be desired. 



I think also one of the important purposes of the Association 

 must be to formulate a definite program of preventive meas- 

 ures. When you go over all the possible factors and influences 

 concerned, you will find that you are brought to problems of 

 poverty, of ignorance, of dirt, of insanitation, of industrial con- 

 ditions, etc., and one is confused to know exactly where to take 

 hold in order to secure in the shortest time the best results. I 

 hope one of the purposes of this Association will be to formulate 

 as definite a program as possible as to where and how efforts 

 should be concentrated in order to secure the best results in 

 the shortest time and in the most economical way. 



These are what I conceive to be among the important func- 

 tions of this Association. What we may expect from the direct 

 benefit in the saving of human life would, of course, justify all 

 efforts ; but I am very fond of dwelling upon the indirect benefits 

 which come from all these movements. "Infant mortality is the 

 most sensitive index of social welfare;" it takes hold of the very 

 foundations of society. Its prevention means improvement in the 

 homes, improvement in the mothers, and improvement in the soci- 

 al conditions, the industrial conditions and the sanitary conditions 

 in general This, as Professor Fisher has pointed out, is suffi- 

 cient answer to those near-sighted persons who think they are 

 extremely philosophical in this matter when they argue that we are 



