Fe JCdltor'a note: The foUowtq article 18 tlalrd of a ....._ nlatlu .to the functloiUI aD4 aebleYeJDtDta or tbe vartou beaelcJarl· of tb Wilmette Commnnlty Cb for w1akfa an umaal UltkHI tunc1 amD&In 18 OODdQOte4 In Wilmette. It Ia felt that the rul4ent8 of the vlllace, wbo the ccmtrlbuton to thle fun4 for all 'feco&'nlae4 ebarlb' &Del welfare geaclee. '8boUJ4 be made tborouchly taJDIUir with the. ob~vee of their ~reneroua IUPPDrt. .,.... article cleala with New Trier ·tton of the Infant Welfare BOClety, Which Ia n»PPrte4 by the Wilmette an4 KenUwortla Centen of the aoclety. Next week'a ato17 wiU hav to do with two welfare enterprlaea, Near But Relief an4 the Volunteen of Amerlea. About a dozen years ago there was orpnizecl in Wilmette an Infant Welfare center to co-operate with the Infant Welfare Society of Chicago in aiYing a better chance of a happy c:hildhood to the underprivileged children in the conselted areas of Chicago. This group lias made' drives for money, pen many days of personal service each month and regularly met to sew. Later there was organized an auxiliary of the younger women in the vjllage which has carried on in a splendid way all of the plans of the senaor group. The Infant Welfare Society of Chi~ago is an outgrowth of the Chicago )(ilk Commission which was organized in 1903 by a group of public spirited citizens for the purpose of furnishing needy mothers and .babies with a supply of pure milk. This work was arried on for eight years but it was found that pure milk alone would not save the babies so, in 1911, the Infant Welfare society was boro with the objective of reducing the infant death rate and improving the health of the coming generation by caring for the mother before the birth of the baby and by teaching her after its birth how to feed and care for it. RapW Esteuioa of Work Ten "stations" were opened the first year, all in the poorest -districts of the city, where the population was most dense and the infant mortality rate highest, each station equiped with a staff of doctors and nurses. The 10ciety now has twenty-three stations, located wherever such quarters can be · e cured in settlement houses, day uurseries and city parks where space can be secured rent free. Conferences are held in these stations twice a week to which mothers bring their babies at regular intervals, undress them and they are carefully weighed and then examined by the doctor. Babies who are sick are sent to the mother's own physician or to a free dispensary, but children who are suffering from malnutrition or from unsanitary living conditions are the special province of the society. The mother is advised by the doctor on all phases of the care of her child and this is followed by regular visits of the nurse in the home. The child's food, living conditions, sleep, clothing, .,.-erythinJ that goel into the problem of a well baby are a part of the nurse's replar routine. Pna ..al Caaf···e· It was not until 1917 that the funds a.ecame available to extend the society's services to the pre-natal care of the mother, a most important part of keeping the baby well. Prenatal conferences are now held at ten of the toeiety's twenty-three stations. The ppectant mother has the advice of the loctor and the nurse both at the statlon aacl in her own home. .........1 Ace Qd'... In 1918 the work wu exteaded ·to ·er the child from two to 1lx yean. eoeiety has a corp of traiped ~llt$1m1 who, like the ·~ make A .. patriotic festival unique to C~i cago in size, scope, and purpose, will be presented at 10:15 o'clock Wednesday morning, February 22, at Medinah temple,- Cass and Ohio streets, Chicaco, when approximately one thousand public high school students will personally participa.te in the Washington's Birthday exercises · held annually under the auspices of the Union. League cl!Jb of Chicago. The exerc1ses compr1se a program of vocal and instrumental music, historic:al pageantry, a~d declamation. Th1s celebration 1s the ;ixth of a series held annually for and by public high schools of Chicago and Cook county. These exercises will mark the climax of months of effort which the various high schools have put into the preparation of individual program numbers. The exercises, in reality, compris~ .a glorious example -?f the _group .act~va ties which are earned on m J!Ubbc h~gh ;chools. It is the only occasiOn du~mg the entire year wh~n repres~ntattves of all high schools m the ctty and ::ounty come together at one t1me. The two-hour program is not only attractive as a patriotic spectacle of dramatic appeal but has a personal ~p peal for thousands of persons wtth sons and daughters enrolled in these high school~. The following high schools will par. ticipate in the program: The New Trier High school band of 100 pieces will play. . The R. 0. T. C. of Tilden Techmcal High school will raise ~he Flag and lead in the oath of al.legtan~e. The Roosevelt Semor Htgh school orchestra of 75 pieces will render tw() musical selections. . . The 100 voiced chorus of Phtlhps High school will sing. . A cast of 60() students fro~ Harnson Technical High schoo! wlll pres~nt an historical pageant wtth full costume and lighting effec~s. Left to ria·t: ,.. .. ··Idee from the New Trier Statioa Jaf-t Welfare aociety. tr: to b) m ti4 m p~ fi, th 01 01 t<J h n4 p1 l 01 ~ c 3 t regular visits to the homes foltowing conferences at the stations. In this work with the older child, not only are physical defects discovered and corrected before they develop into · permanent disabilities but it becomes possible to interest the child in his own well being. Some of the best results are accomplished by giving the child an intelligent interest in his own health program. Mothers are taught to prepare and children to learn to eat the right kind of food, thereby preventing thousands of cases of the evils which malnutrition brings in its train ·such as rickets, bad teeth, tuberculosis and anemia. BelaaYior Prohlema The society has a trained p$ychiatric social worker who handles be&avior difficulties with , special emphasis on early trai'ning and habit formation in the hope of preventing serious behavior problems and maladjustments in later life. Mothers are assisted in developinl{ self reliance and independence in the child and the child learns early in life hi$ proper place in the work about him. The society is suoported entirely by voluntary subscriotion. The total co~t of carincr for 16.28.1 mothers and chitdren in 1927 wa! 1168,043.29. Pint a... Statioa New Trier station is located ~t 2150 Wettt North avenue and is a Class A sta.tion doinl{ pre-natal, infant and nr,.. school work. It is supported by Wilmette and KenUworth Centers of the Infant Welfare society. They cared The rapidly growing village of Deerfor 981 mothers and babies in 1927. field. where new subdivisions and exConference attendance was 4446, and . tensive civic · planning have come to the nurses made 4714 visits to the be a part of the daily routine, has rehomes. The infant death rate for the ceived valuable recognition in her dewhole society for 1927 was 9-10 of one velopment efforts from the Chicago. percent. The infant mortality rate Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad comfor the babies cared for at New Trier pany which recently announced a restation was 44-100 of one percent. ducti~n of eleven minutes in the runThere is a marked contrast in the ning time of its morning trains from b~i>ies who came to the first ·Welfare that village into Chicago, the new stations years ago and the babies wllo schedule being only 38 minutes. . come today. The babies of twelve Deerfield residents are now lookmg years ago were . largely babies who forward · with eager anticipati.on to a were ill anJ needed corrective treat- realization of the rumor whtch they ment. The great majority of the ba- sav is current, that the Milwaukee hies today are brought to the station railroad is contemplatin~t very soou when a few weeks old and . are rarely the installation of a third track beill. In congested distri"ts where the tween Chicago and that village. hou~ :ng facilities are a problem and the economic conditions often are a Trier station consists in weighing the menace to a happy home life, the babies and taking histories of the visiting nurse is often considered a ·progress and generally preparin~ the guardian angel. A vreat effort is baby for the doctor to see. Abo11t made by the Infant Welfare society fifty babies are taken care of at eadt to obtain just the right kind of nurses conference. This is a very worth who are not only trained in their while work since it is prevent:ltive. orofession but who have understanding If we can keep the maiority . of thP. hearts and are willin~ to help solve children in these thickly populated all these hoiJ!e problems. sections of Chicago well until they are HO,.. f . C...Oaa SupDOrt six years old, they surely have a Wilmette has a Senior board of splendid chance to grow up into very twentv-two members which m e e t s worth while citizens. Every citizen of ""ce a month to plan and sew and trive Wilmette who lives in our beautiful four davs a month in service at the surroundings, where fresh air, prooer ~tation in the citv. Tlu~ Yountl Wo- food and rare opportunitie~ are themen',.- auxiliarv ~f the board ha!l one privitetre of every child, wiD want to hundred member· Rivin~ a similar share in this work by subscribingserrice. The a\\,!tiliary senice at New generously to the Community Chest. Railroad Adds Boost to ld De I t Deerfie Ve opmeD t