WILBUR C. PHIUJTS 79 



Having located the depot and selected the 

 THE MILK: nurse, the next thing is to secure a supply of 

 milk. Many organizations which run milk depots 

 own laboratories, where they modify milk in individual feeding 

 bottles on a wholesale plan and retail it through the depots. 

 These laboratories are expensive and unnecessary, because nine- 

 tenths of all mothers can undoubtedly be taught to modify milk 

 for their infants at home and thus save the great cost of arti- 

 ficially prepared milk. This statement is not based on theory, 

 but on actual experience. At the beginning of its work in New 

 York the Milk Committee operated its own laboratory and dis- 

 pensed modified milk exclusively. The average amount of modi- 

 fied milk consumed by each baby daily was 32*/2 ounces. The 

 actual cost of producing, modifying and delivering this milk, not 

 including rent of depots, help in depots, refrigeration, light, inci- 

 dentals in depots and general administration, was $.004 an ounce 

 daily, or 13 cents for each infant. Had the items been added, 

 the actual cost of milk distribution alone, not including in this 

 any items whatever for educational work or for the supervision 

 of the educational work, would have been very nearly $.005 an 

 ounce daily or 16^4 cents for each infant. 



In August, 1908, the actual cost of relief among 100 infants 

 fed gratuitously upon modified milk provided by the depots was 

 $438.75. 



Believing that the mothers in the majority of cases were able 

 to modify milk for their babies from whole milk, the Milk Com- 

 mittee in November, 1909, gave up its laboratory, sold its equip- 

 ment, discontinued the distribution of commercially modified milk 

 in individual feeding bottles and threw its entire energies into 

 an educational campaign among the mothers themselves. Strenu- 

 ous objections were raised. Social workers protested; mothers 

 pleaded ; nurses implored ; doctors said it was impossible, the 

 mothers were too ignorant, the babies would die. In spite of 

 these protests the change was made, and those who most strenu- 

 ously opposed it are now among its warmest advocates. The 

 committee's reasons for making the changes were as follows: 



1. Because, in the committee's opinion, the exclusive sale of 

 modified milk placed undue emphasis on hand feeding and, as 

 the committee's doctors found in many instances, actually dis- 

 couraged feeding at the breast. 



2. Because the exclusive sale of modified milk deprived the 

 fairly intelligent mother of an opportunity to exercise her intelli- 

 gence and thus was a step backward in the educational program. 



3. Because, where the mother was intelligent and carefully 

 followed the doctor's instructions, she actually could give the 

 baby a food better, because more elastically fitted to its needs. 



