192 THE TREND OF THE RACE 
born it was 128.1. The relatively preventable character of this 
mortality is indicated by the fact that length of residence in the 
United States was found to affect greatly the infant mortality of 
the foreign born mothers; those mothers who had been here over 
five years had an infant mortality rate of 165.7, while for those 
who had been here less than that time the rate was 248.8. An 
investigation of the infant mortality of Montclair, N. J., by the 
Children’s Bureau gave the infant mortality among the native 
white women as 49, among the foreign born as 88.1, and among 
the negroes 151.5. Wolf compiled statistics in Erfurt, Germany, 
which indicated that out of the one thousand babies born, 
505 died among the working class 
173 “ (<3 oe middle ce 
89 “cc “cc (73 rich “ 
Dr. John Robertson found the infant mortality in Birmingham, 
England, in 1915 to be 200 per 1,000 among the poor, and 50 per 
1,000 among the middle class and rich. He found that when the 
father earned less than £1 a week if the mother were employed at 
a factory the infant mortality was 203, if she were employed at 
home or elsewhere it was 187, and if not employed 191. If the 
father earned over £1 a week and the mother was employed in a 
factory the infant mortality was 123, if employed at home or else- 
where it was 53, and if she were unemployed, 99. 
Undoubtedly a large amount of infant mortality is the result 
of the ignorance and inexperience of mothers. Poor milk, im- 
proper feeding, inadequate medical attention, and unsanitary liv- 
ing conditions are responsible for many deaths of infants especially 
among the poor. Undoubtedly as a result of these conditions 
large numbers of normal and healthy infants perish. Several 
epidemics common to infancy and childhood are practically as apt 
to take the strong as the weak, and with improper care during 
illness even an exceptionally strong child may die. Many stu- 
dents of the subject consider that the infant death rate is for the 
most part quite indiscriminate and non-selective in its action. 
