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Show H '. THAT FREE SERVICE TO SCHOOLS THE State Medical Association and the State Educational Association make a good deal of H noise about the wonderful free service they H are rendering school children in conducting exami- H " nations of their eyes, teeth, weight, etc, all of which H appears to us to be wide of the mark and to a great H extent money and labor wasted. Practically every B optician and dentist that advertises at all states that H there is no charge for examining, and .inasmuch as H this is as far as the relief extended carries, with ad- H vice to ihe parents to have the eyes of the child fitted H with glasses or its teeth given attention by a dentist, H we fail to sec wherein we are greatly benefitted. H Of course, the chances are that the parent will em- H ploy the dentist, doctor or optician making the exam- H ination and giving the prescription or advice, since H they, of course, know exactly what the condition is H and therefore are better prepared to remedy the dc- H fects. To us it appears more like propaganda in the H t interests of the professional man, who while profess- H , ing very often to be too ethical to advertise in the H newspaper, does not feel any qualms of conscience H- about thus going out and soliciting work in a personal H capacity. H Another phase of pur modern education which H does not appeal vciy strongly to us is the weighing H and measuring of the children under certain ages, H which is widely heralded as a remarkable service for H the children, but which when simmered down is found H to Be largely bunk. Its only useful purpose perhaps H is for the compiling of records to show the true con- H dition of the children, so that the proper govcrnment- H al departments may be able to render needed aid H when laws have been framed to permit of it. But H under present conditions how much good does it do H to send word to the parent that a certain child is H under weight or poorly nourished. Is it to be as- H sumed that any parent in this country is wilfuHy H starving his or her child? Such a thing is not only H preposterous, but its implication is an insult to the H parent. But we have no doubt there are cases of H mal-nutrilion or insufficient nutrition among us, not H only of children, but of grown people as well, and H' we cannot figure out how it could be otherwise, with H flour at $7.00 per hundred, sugar at $17.00, fresh H meat and fish at from 25c. to 45 cents per pound, H cured meat at 40c. to 65c, potatoes at 4c. to 5c, H butter at 55c to 65c, milk at 8c to 10c per quart, H cheese 45c, and everything else in proportion. There H is not a thing reasonable in price that will sustain H life. To a working man with a family of half a doz- H en children the problem is not what is the matter H with his child or what does it need, but rather how, H where can he get it, or the money with which to pay H for it. If our friends of the medical profession and Hj our educators could enlighten the people on this H question instead of devoting themselves to the discov- m cry of new needs for the already over taxed parents H to meetfthey would confer a benefit upon their con- H stituents. M While the educators and the medical association Hj of America are congratulating themselves upon the M wonderful strides they arc making in the rendering of M service to the school children, and are now out with B the announcement that they are going to extend this M free(?) service to parents and other adults as well, H over in little broken England the state is not only Hj examining the children but is rendering free dental, H optical and medical treatment for the children. Not 1 only that, but it is erecting tens of thousands of new M homes to house the inhabitants. One thing the re- M cent war has taught them is that the people of a coun- Hj try are its principal asset ; that upon the perfection of B the race depends the strength, influence and position H of the nation among the countries of the world. And H since the children of today are the men and women Hj of tomorrow, they are worthy of our best considera- M tion and care. Empty advice, without the means of H carrying it into execution, is of little assistance. That HH we could have always for the asking. If we want M to keep our country in the front ranks of citizenship j we have got to go a step further than the "free ad- j vice" point and DO something for the children that B need it. |