FIFTY MILLION STRONG 



State Board of Health arrives at the school at 10 A. M. on 

 Health Day and first makes a fifteen-minute talk to the 

 children and visitors on the importance and knowledge of 

 the laws of health. He then makes a medical examination 

 of the pupils and gives each defective child a card to its 

 parents, notifying the parents of the nature of the defect 

 and urging them to see the inspector after the evening exer- 

 cises. The inspector mails a report of the inspection to the 

 State Board of Health, which keeps in touch with the parents 

 of the defective children until they are treated. The in- 

 spector then questions the children after the manner of the 

 old-time spelling match on a health catechism, which has 

 been supplied to the school in sufficient number at least one 

 month before Health Day, after which there is adjournment 

 until 8 P. M. 



The evening exercises consist of from three to four short 

 illustrated lectures by the inspector on the more important 

 subjects of sanitation, interspersed with the reading of selected 

 compositions by the pupils. The last item on the program is 

 the awarding of prizes, a first prize for the best knowledge of 

 the health catechism and a second prize for the best composi- 

 tion. The inspector grades, score-card manner, each school on 

 the excellence of its showing on Health Day. When the work 

 in a county has been completed, a county prize is awarded 

 for the best composition, and another prize for the best 

 knowledge of the health catechism. The inspector can handle 

 one rural school a day, but village and town schools require 

 a longer time. Thus, the whole county is covered. It can 

 readily be seen that this broadens the vision of all the people, 

 and the way is paved either for increased appropriations for 

 similar work along special lines or for the adoption of the 

 county agent plan, which will be next considered. 



The county health agent receives a salary of $2,500 per annum 

 and devotes his whole time to his work. The two phases of 

 his work that occupy most of his time represent his activities in 

 the schools and in the public dispensaries. He aims to visit 

 each school in the county once a year, pick out the pupils that 



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