Science in Public Affairs 



has been made for regular medical inspection 

 of all school children. The mere existence of 

 numerous cases of unsuspected but serious disease 

 of heart and lungs would necessitate medical 

 inspection, but what of the accumulated mass of 

 suffering and incapacity which is involved in all 

 these untended eyes, throats, and ears ? Does it 

 not seem waste of time and money to try to teach 

 lessons to children whose first and crying need is 

 for medical aid to enable them to see and hear ? 



Without medical inspection the facts remain un- 

 known on which alone can any system of training 

 be built up. Without it infectious diseases cannot 

 be detected or their spread arrested. Without it de- 

 fects which would suggest special or modified teach- 

 ing do not come to light. Without it very many 

 of the smaller ailments which could be cured by 

 timely treatment develop into lifelong infirmities. 



But it seems needless to prove further what is 

 so obvious that since this Report was written the 

 more important educational authorities have taken 

 the matter in hand, and an Inter-Departmental 

 Committee have just reported (November 1905) 

 on the progress made in England. The expen- 

 diture required for medical inspection turns out 

 to be very small, in no urban area more than a 

 T \d. rate, and the results have been very satis- 

 factory, especially with respect to the detection 

 and treatment of defects of eyesight, and to the 

 prevention of the spread of infectious disease. 

 "Diphtheria especially, it is stated, is now in 

 several areas under such complete control that it 



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