A “WAR” COMPARISON

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11248, 28 June 1922, Page 8

A “WAR” COMPARISON

HOW THE BABIES DIED. Take as an example the two cities of Paris and Edinburgh. “When the Germans besieged Paris in 1870, nearly all the infants horn died. In 1915, when the German armies again were only sixty miles from Paris, it was decreed that no spirits should be sold to soldiers, women or children. A special milk supply was provided by the military authorities for the mothers and children of Paris. The infant deathrate fell, and the number of still-birtha fell to the lowest on record. More—the average weight of the infants at birth was the highest on record. In spite of the adverse conditions of war, this time of invasion of Prance proved to be the best on record for motherhood and infancy. “In Edinburgh, in the same year, 1915, where prosperity was extreme and an unprecedented amount of money was availble for motherhood, the infant deathrate rose abruptly, and was the highest on record for fifteen years. It was, in fact, higher than in 1885, the first year of which there is any record. Official records point indisputably to maternal spirit-drinking as the cause, and that this factor decided the remarkoblo contrast between the results in Edinburgh and Paris.” The above is extracted from the N.zj Education Department’s Special Report No. 13. The Government thinks the children should know this and act upon it. Adults may also take the lesson to heart and vote out the liquor traffic.— N.Z. Alliance Publicity (51).