302 THE COMMON SENSE OF THE MILK QUESTION 



education and willing to receive it. That, I take ity 

 is the most promising condition that could be desired. 

 In every city in the land I should like to see some 

 effort made to develop a comprehensive, practical 

 plan for the education of mothers in the essentials of 

 motherhood. Until we can accomplish this, babies 

 will continue to die needlessly, victims of ignorance 

 and social helplessness. 



But why should we begin education after mother- 

 hood has been reached? Is it idle to hope that we 

 shall yet develop our educational system so that our 

 girls will not enter wifehood and motherhood — as 

 most of them must — so utterly unprepared and im- 

 fitted for their life work ? Is it too much to expect 

 that some means will be devised to give them a 

 practical education in these matters? No girl, 

 it seems to me, ought to leave school until she has 

 learned how to cook simple and wholesome food in 

 a practical and economical manner; how to sew and 

 mend; how to wash and dress, feed and manage, 

 infants and young children. She should know, from 

 actual practice, how to do these things, and how 

 to clean a house properly. She should have a stand- 

 ard of cleanliness — for, alas ! the house which many 

 regard as being very clean is really very dirty. She 

 should know something of the values of foods, and, 

 especially, the dangers which may be incurred 

 through contamination. She should know some- 



