230 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



tests of the value of infants' milk depots yet made. 

 Mr. Straus himself, in a paper read at the Congris 

 International des Gouttes de Lait, held in Paris, in 1905, 

 has cited statistics which show that in New York 

 City during the ten years, 1894-1904, there was an 

 annual saving of 6982 infant lives, and I believe that 

 of all the factors contributing to that great result, 

 the most important single factor was the work of the 

 Straus depots. 



The experiment on Randall's Island is important 

 because it affords much more direct and convincing 

 testimony upon the influence of a carefully super- 

 vised infants' milk depot upon the rate of infant 

 mortality. The experiment was conducted under 

 test conditions practically, so that we are able to 

 judge the effect of the milk depot without having to 

 make discounts in favor of other factors. In the 

 early nineties the death-rate among the infants in 

 the Infant Asylum at Randall's Island was so high 

 as to become a matter of very serious reproach to 

 the city. The death-rate among these tiny victims 

 of poverty and crime became the shame of the city. 

 The babies died like flies, arid it became a grim 

 pastime among the attendants when a child was 

 brought to the hospital to estimate its chances of 

 living. The officials attacked the problem with 

 seriousness and intelligence, but made painfully slow 

 progress. The death-rate among the babies was 



