division in practically every city of importance. The interchange of opinion was informal. Special emphasis was laid on the question of prenatal work. The experience of New York City was quoted in this regard. It was the universal opinion that prenatal work offers the greatest opportunity of the future for further reduction of the baby death rate, and the concensus of opinion was that every division of child hygiene should institute work of this type. On the afternoon of November 4, a meeting was held on the subject of the "Pre-school Age," with the following papers: "Psychology of the Pre-school Period," by Dr. C. M. Campbell, of Boston; "Day Nurseries," by Mrs. Laurence Hamill, of Cleveland, and "The Re-creation of the Pre-school Child," by Mary Margaret Roche, of Grand Rapids, Mich. This meeting did not bear directly upon methods pertaining to establishing physical health in the child, but accentuated rather the psychological line of approach, which had already been taken up in a previous meeting. The medical session, and the session on nursing and social work, were both held on Saturday morning, November 5. The latter was a meeting of interest mainly to nurses, and had to do very largely with methods to be followed out with children of pre-school age, and the type of records to be used. It is the plan of the American Child Hygiene Association to elect its president a year in advance. The president, for the present year, is Mr. Herbert Hoover, while the president-elect, for next year, is Dr. Livingston Farrand. Miss Mary Arnold, of the Babies' Welfare Federation of New York City, and Dr. F. L. Adair, of Minnesota, were elected vice-presidents. LIABILITY FOR SALE OF UNWHOLESOME FOOD. "An action was brought in the Georgia courts to recover damages for injuries alleged to have been caused by the consumption of butter containing a deleterious substance. The plaintiff had purchased the butter in the original unbroken package from a retail dealer who had, in turn, purchased it from the defendant. The evidence submitted by the plaintiff showed that the defendant did not manufacture or pack the butter, but acted merely as distributor. Because of the insufficiency of the evidence the lower court granted a nonsuit. "However, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2, reversed the judgment (Fleetwood v. Swift & Co., 108 S. E., 909), holding that the distributor of an article is not entirely without responsibility in the matter. The court said: 'We do think, however, that, since the evidence is undisputed that the article was actually handled by the defendant, it was incumbent on it to exculpate itself to the extent of showing that it had in good faith procured it from some reputable manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, as an article reasonably safe for the use intended, especially so since there is nothing on the package to indicate who, as manufacturer or packer, was ultimately responsible for the alleged tort.'" -(Public Health Reports.) TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR ATTENDANTS ON THE SICK. The following schools give a nine months' course leading to a certificate authorized by State law, and include instruction in the rudiments of nursing. The entrance requirements are not as high as those for trained nurses; neither is the course as long. Any grammar school graduate is eligible for admission. The schools are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Welfare of New York City: New York City Children's Hospital, Randall's Island. Central Neurological Hospital, Welfare Island. Sea View Hospital, Staten Island. HOSPITALS TO AID IN CURBING UNLICENSED MEDICAL PRACTICE. Dr. Charles Norris, Chief Medical Examiner, recently sent this notice to all hospitals in the city: "In all cases resulting in death where it appears in the history of the case, that, shortly before admission to the hospital and while the patient was suffering from the disease causing death, such patient had been under treatment by an unlicensed practitioner and there is reasonable ground to believe that such treatment contributed to the condition causing death, you will forthwith notify the Medical Examiner of the city, in order that prompt and proper investigation of the case may be made." The immediate reason for sending the notice was the death of several persons after, or during, the attentions of chiropractors. MORTALITY BULLETIN FOR THE WEEK ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1921. There were 1,364 deaths and a rate of 12.37 per 1,000 of the population reported during the week, as compared with 1,386 deaths and a rate of 12.77 during the same period of 1920, a decrease in the absolute number of deaths of 22 and in the relative number of deaths of 44, this latter being dependent upon the increase in the population. The outstanding features of the week's mortality was the considerable decrease in the number of deaths reported from diphtheria, to wit, 25, as compared with 35, a decrease of 10. Lobar pneumonia was credited with 85 deaths, as compared with 110, a decrease of 25. Six deaths were attributed to influenza, as compared with 13, a decrease of 7. On the other hand, a pronounced increase was shown in the mortality from organic heart diseases, there having been 305 deaths reported during the week, as compared with 261, an increase of 44 deaths. Viewed from the viewpoint of age grouping there were 175 deaths of infants under one year of age, as compared with 186, a decrease of 11 deaths. Between one and five years of age there were 86 deaths reported, as compared with 101, a decrease of 15 deaths. Between five and sixty-five years of age there were 768 deaths reported, as compared with 755, an increase of 13 deaths, and at ages sixty-five years and over there were 335 deaths reported, as compared with 344, a decrease of 9. The death rate for the year 1921 was 11.17 per 1.000 of the population, as compared with a rate of 12.93 in the year 1920. This rate of 11.17 is the lowest death rate that the City of New York has ever had the good fortune to experience, the next lowest being that of the year 1920, which exceeded that of the year just closed by 1.76 of a point, which is equivalent to the saving of 10,120 lives. Another new lowest record was established in infant mortality. During the year 1921, 71 infants under one year of age died out of every 1,000 born, as compared with a rate of 85 deaths at this age group in the year 1920, a saving of 14 lives in every 1,000 births and as the number of births totaled slightly over 134,000 it is equivalent to the saving of 1,876 lives at this age group during the year 1921. division in practically every city of importance. The interchange of opinion was informal. Special emphasis was laid on the question of prenatal work. The experience of New York City was quoted in this regard. It was the universal opinion that prenatal work offers the greatest opportunity of the future for further reduction of the baby death rate, and the concensus of opinion was that every division of child hygiene should institute work of this type. On the afternoon of November 4, a meeting was held on the subject of the "Pre-school Age," with the following papers: "Psychology of the Pre-school Period," by Dr. C. M. Campbell, of Boston; "Day Nurseries," by Mrs. Laurence Hamill, of Cleveland, and "The Re-creation of the Pre-school Child," by Mary Margaret Roche, of Grand Rapids, Mich. This meeting did not bear directly upon methods pertaining to establishing physical health in the child, but accentuated rather the psychological line of approach, which had already been taken up in a previous meeting. The medical session, and the session on nursing and social work, were both held on Saturday morning, November 5. The latter was a meeting of interest mainly to nurses, and had to do very largely with methods to be followed out with children of pre-school age, and the type of records to be used. It is the plan of the American Child Hygiene Association to elect its president a year in advance. The president, for the present year, is Mr. Herbert Hoover, while the president-elect, for next year, is Dr. Livingston Farrand. Miss Mary Arnold, of the Babies' Welfare Federation of New York City, and Dr. F. L. Adair, of Minnesota, were elected vice-presidents. LIABILITY FOR SALE OF UNWHOLESOME FOOD. "An action was brought in the Georgia courts to recover damages for injuries alleged to have been caused by the consumption of butter containing a deleterious substance. The plaintiff had purchased the butter in the original unbroken package from a retail dealer who had, in turn, purchased it from the defendant. The evidence submitted by the plaintiff showed that the defendant did not manufacture or pack the butter, but acted merely as distributor. Because of the insufficiency of the evidence the lower court granted a nonsuit. "However, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, Division No. 2, reversed the judgment (Fleetwood v. Swift & Co., 108 S. E., 909), holding that the distributor of an article is not entirely without responsibility in the matter. The court said: 'We do think, however, that, since the evidence is undisputed that the article was actually handled by the defendant, it was incumbent on it to exculpate itself to the extent of showing that it had in good faith procured it from some reputable manufacturer, distributor, or dealer, as an article reasonably sa for the us intended, especially so since there is nothing on the package to manufacturer or packer, was ultimately responsible for the leg te who, TRAINING SCHOOLS FO The following schools give a authorized by State law, and inclu entrance requirements are not as Rural problems. Problems and opportunities of lay directors of private organizations. Round table conference of directors of Divisions of Child Hygiene. Medical session. Session on nursing and social work. At the session on Co-ordination of Child Health Activities, a paper was read on "Local Co-ordination" by Dr. Haven Emerson. Dr. Emerson recognized that public agencies do not cover the entire field of child welfare and that, for the present at least, it is apparent that private agencies must function and supply some of the necessary health supervision. In order, however, that such work should be effective he stated that the private agencies should work in close co-operation with the public agencies in child welfare, and should co-ordinate all of their activities. He presented, as the best type of work of this nature, the Babies' Welfare Fedcration of New York City which acts in active co-operation with the City Department of Health, and which brings together over 200 agencies whose work is closely harmonized. This paper was freely discussed by Dr. Baker and Miss Arnold, of New York City, and by representatives from various other cities. It seemed generally agreed that the work carried on in New York City was far more advanced than that of any other city in the country, and that similar co-ordination of child welfare activities should be established in other cities, in order to avoid duplication of work and wasted efforts in campaigns for improvement of child health. Other papers at this session were read by Dr. Walter Brown, of Mansfield, Ohio, on "State Co-ordination"; and on "National Co-ordination," by Dr. Philip Van Ingen, of New York City. The discussion on national co-ordination was started by Dr. Van Ingen, who also discussed state co-ordination. Not much work has been done in this line, and Dr. Brown's paper was simply a plea for better understanding in that direction. Dr. Van Ingen spoke of the Child Health Council at Washington, as an instance of national co-ordination. On November 3, the morning session was a joint one. The presidential address was delivered by Dr. Henry L. K. Shaw, of Albany. Dr. Shaw traced the development of child hygiene work in this country, and outlined plans for further development. His address was published in the December issue of "Mother and Child." The afternoon session was given up to Health Education, under the chairmanship of Dr. Thomas E. Finnegan, of Harrisburg, State Commissioner of Education of Pennsylvania. This meeting was a particularly significant one, the topics being discussed from the point of view of the home, the kindergarten, and the psychological approach to health education. The first paper, on "The Home and Child Hygiene," was by Mrs. Charles H. Remington, of Providence, R. I. Mrs. Remington spoke about the home influences as viewed by mothers, and the influence of parents' associations and mothers' clubs on the question of health development in childhood. Miss Julia Wade Abbott, who is Chief of the Department of Kindergartens, of the National Bureau of Education, spoke on "The Establishment of Health Habits in the Kindergarten." Miss Abbott's contribution was a valuable one, leading as it did to emphasis upon the pre-school age as the time when health habits should be firmly established. She spoke of the kindergarten as being the most effective instrument for this purpose. A paper on "The Psychology of Health Education" was presented by Mrs. Arnold Gesell, of New Haven. Mrs. Gesell's contribution was most interesting. Health education of children, at the present time, is assuming a position of great importance. Mrs. Gesell believes that there is a way to teach health habits, through |