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102
would be regarded by the Board as satisfactory arrangements for
giving advice and instruction to those who have charge of infants.
This expression of opinion by the Local Government Board
might alone be sufficiently convincing to induce some Local
Authorities to adopt the Act; but apart from this, if a Local
Authority, recognising its responsibilities to protect the health of all
classes and ages, is interested in this question of infant mortality
and is desirous of lessening it, if this result can be achieved by a
reasonable expenditure consistent with the ends aimed at, then
arguments are not wanting to show that the adoption of the Act,
if properly supplemented, will lead ultimately to a diminution of
infant mortality.
Infant mortality being largely due to carelessness and want of
knowledge, it follows that if measures are adopted to bring the
necessary knowledge to those having the care and nurture of
infants, there must be in course of time an improvement in the
infant death rate. The dissemination of knowledge is the means
employed everywhere to remove evils due to ignorance, and such
means has met with signal success in every sphere of activity.
Why should such efforts in this special field meet with less success?
Prejudice, obstinacy, and unwillingness to receive instruction have
ever been urged against any improvement, but these have always
yielded when the proposed change has been based upon science
and reason.
No public health measure has ever been proposed based upon
surer and more reasonable grounds than the proposal to bring to
those needing it a knowledge of the proper principles of the care
and nurture of infants.
The cost as estimated by me is trifling, considering the end
worked for. It is difficult to express in current coin of the realm
the commercial value of a human life; but the late Dr. Fanestimated
that the child of an agricultural labourer at birth is
worth £5 to the community; at the age of 5 years, £56; at the age
of 10 years, £117; at the age of 15 years, £192: at the age of
25 years, £246, then gradually decreasing in value to the age of
70 years, when its worth is represented by £1.