OUR LADY'S UTTER

NZ Truth, Issue 811, 28 May 1921, Page 2

OUR LADY'S UTTER

II Fy-DOT.- j| A great deal is being said and written just now over the remarkably high death rate ' attending maternity cases m New Zealand, as compared with America and elsewhere. That dreadful scourge, septicaemia, called puerperal fever or bloodpoisoning; m bygone days,. is the main cause of such a high rate of mortality; but, unfortunately, the public is kept m the dark as far as possible as to the actual cause of many deaths. The .highly infectious nature of the disease causes doctors and nurses to hide from their patients, whenever possible, the real nature of their disease, because they know that their practice would suffer. Only a few months ago a death took place from a virulent attack of septicaemia and two other patients, m this small private hospital were hurried ipff to a neighboring nursing home some ten miles away. One of these women was actually m labor and was confined soon after her arrival per motor car and, of course;, succumbed to the disease which is specially infectious to pregnant women and can be carried to nurses and doctors. In fact one, case can be the means of infection and death to scores of others. Can nothing be done to inflict a heavy fine or imprisonment on those who fail to notify the health authorities of such cases? If the jlaw needs altering, will our M.P's. see to it that the necessary alteration is made? The case above alluded to was a particularly distressing one, and a fine young woman, wife of a Teturned soldier, • was murdered . just as surely as though poison had been administered. : A nurse who attends a case where septicaemia occurs should be pensioned by the State and isolated until all danger of infection is removed. Were this done, 'she -would not be penalised by loss of employment, but would be placed beyond temptation to hide the nature of the complaint, or to, shield unscrupulous medical men. The question has become a burning one m certain' parts. of the North Island, and apparently only an American paper comparing the high rate of maternity mortality has aroused our men folk to action — with their pens. .It needs more than this, so let's hope jphe next session of Parliament will see something done. ■ ■» • ■ " .. ■ ' Those gay young dogs, the "Victoria College students, started out on their annual effort to paint the town red and give amusement to their friends and relations. Usually ."Kirk's" premises, ' especially the tea-rooms, are the scene of much fun, but this time the doors were locked the, mirthmakers turned their attention to all and sundry on the footpath, greatly to the dismay of some and the intense enjoyment of others. 'Tis whispered that the tea-room girls were quite disappointed at not receiving the usual number of kisses from the boys they had so attentively waited on during the year! "Dot" and other females who have had to sit twirling their thumbs .whilst the girls refused even to see them, are feeling quite glad at the turn of events. : : : : : : The Secondary Schools Conference has been m session and some good work has resulted, but the idea of one teacher that small district high schools should be abolished m favor of large centralised ones, is a 'bad one. Primary education with its following secondary course should be available to all. This would not be the case if children had long distances, to travel. There is a distinct tendency to abolish the twomile distance as laid down by the Act of 1876 and place schools further apart. One has only to travel over the Southern Hawke's Bay and Main Trunk townships to see what hardships children have_now to undergo before they can reach school. Roads are bad, and rendering much needed assistance on the farms leaves little spare time to travel . too far afield for education; The teacher who advocated centralisation on the plea of securing greater efficiency, was speaking within the. dire knowledge of his, subject. Some of our most successful men. m the scientific and educational world emerged from small schools and not from large ones. True, during war time", far too many untrained, uncertificated teachers were turned loose amongst our young schol- . ays. Better pay and better conditions will remedy this state of affairs. Will some of our pure food Inspectors or officials travel round our butter depots and test some of "this season's" brand, and state whether it is not injurious to health? The smell arising from a box sold by a certain "whole-sale"-retailer would poison a pu>p. ! i :: ! ! A paragraph m last issue regarding the success of an armless soldier who has passed the Technical School bookkeeping exam., may be thought to reflect upon the chief departmental officer of the Repatriation Department. Such is not. the case. Mr. Samson at once decided that the ex-soldier should have a trial at the occupation he desired. The trouble was, and Is, that officers m the lower rung take upon themselves to decide these important matters m a manner too often disasterous to the department and the soldier. Our advice, therefore, is when the underlings refuse you fair treatment, write direct to Mr. Samson and mark your envelope "Personal." He has never yet been known to turn a decent man down, !! !f !» The entertainment m the evening took the form of an extravaganza, entitled "Done to Death," the % work of Messrs. W. E!. Leicester and C. D. Pope and the music by W. H. Stainton. Some of the acting was very good; some very bad; some of the jokes were clever and funny; others were m very bad' taste and displayed an unpardonable trace" of mobbish class distinction, which is very amusing as coming from a so-called democratic institution, supported by the. people for the people. However,' the young folk on the whole. .were simply out for enjoyment and a right jolly time thej' had, surrounded by admiring relatives and friends.