426 THE MILK SITUATION IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 



said date operated at his expense at thirteen hundred and nineteen H Street 

 northwest, Washington, District of Columbia ; and the sum of fifteen thousand 

 dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated, out 

 of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to be immediately 

 available and to continue available until and including June thirtieth, nineteen 

 hundred and twelve, for the maintenance of said laboratory, employment of 

 personal services, rent, hire, or purchase, and maintenance of means of trans- 

 portation, supplies, and all other necessary incidental and contingent expenses, 

 to be expended, with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, under the 

 supervision and control of the Surgeon General of the Public Health and 

 Marine-Hospital Service, for the purpose of demonstrating, with the coopera- 

 tion of the health office of the District of Columbia, the practical utility of in- 

 fants' milk depots in the reduction of infant mortality. 



APPENDIX AS. 



REPORT OF DISPENSARY, SETTLEMENT HOUSE, SOUTHWEST WASHINGTON, 

 FROM APRIL 13 TO OCTOBER 1, 1908. 



Appalled at the high infant mortality in Southwest Washington and the 

 poor health which many infants and children in this section experienced, and 

 believing that some effort should be made to correct this, a few of those inter- 

 ested planned a dispensary to which infants and young children could be 

 brought for treatment in the event of their becoming ill. The narrowness of 

 this idea, however, soon became apparent, and it was realized that the dis- 

 pensary had a more important work to do, namely, that of prophylaxis. In 

 other words, while the dispensary should aim to cure, its greatest endeavor 

 should be to prevent illness. 



In canvassing the situation it was found that the great majority of infant 

 deaths were caused by improper food, wrong feeding methods, and carelessness 

 or lack of knowledge in the handling and preparation of infant foods. Imme- 

 diately the dispensary was discovered to have a still more important and 

 wider function to perform than either curing or prophylaxis that of education. 



The question of ways and means then arose. It was necessary to have money 

 and it was also necessary to have cooperation. An appeal was made to the 

 Washington Diet Kitchen to help with the food question. The response made 

 was of the most generous nature. Not only did they agree to furnish milk 

 practically ad libitum, but they also agreed that the milk so furnished should 

 be modified in any way the dispensary physician might direct, so that each 

 infant needing artificial food could get that most adapted to its needs. The 

 Instructive Visiting Nurses' Association was next appealed to, with the result 

 that one of their nurses was instructed to visit the dispensary twice a week. 

 The different relief organizations of the city expressed their interest and 

 promised their help should any of the cases coming to the dispensary require it. 



It is hardly necessary to say that the Neighborhood House gave the movement 

 its most enthusiastic and hearty support, feeling, as it did, that the people con- 

 nected with the house would be those who would most surely benefit by it. 

 The house agreed to shelter the dispensary until the fall. 



It was a matter of little difficulty to raise the money necessary to install the 

 dispensary. Appeals were made to a number of people, and in every instance 

 were answered in the most generous manner, gifts of money, cribs, linen, chil- 

 dren's clothes, scales, and many other useful and necessary articles being 

 received. 



But, although highly encouraged by the enthusiastic way in which the idea 

 had been received by those to whom it had been communicated, it was not 

 without some doubts and misgivings that on the 13th of April the dispensary 

 was opened. How would the dispensary be received by the neighborhood was 

 the question. The idea was an entirely new one. Would it be met by confi- 

 dence or distrust? Would our little craft, launched with so much care and love, 

 be swallowed up by some huge wave of disapproval, or would it weather every 

 storm? 



It took the two weeks remaining in April for the neighborhood and the dis- 

 pensary to become acquainted with each other. During these two weeks 8 



