The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 27, 1920, Page 10

g [} ~ Let’s Help Pass the Sheppard-quner Bill Women’s Bill Is Up Help for Mothers and Children, if Congress Isn’t Too Busy With Politics HE session of congress now meeting at Washington, D. C., has before it a _number of bills of interest to farmers farmers’ wives and to women every- ; where. This is the Sheppard-Towner 113, for care of mothers and infants. = As the Leader- has pointed out previously this country now has a higher death rate for mothers at childbirth than any European country, with the single exception of ‘Spain.. Out of every 10 chil- dren born in the United ‘States, one dies before the age of one year. This is twice as high as the infant - death raté of New Zealand.. The Sheppard-Towner bill is intended to remedy this situation. It provides for aid from the federal . and state governments to care for mothers at child- birth and to instruct them in the care of the babies. This bill*was before congress at'the last session. . It failed of passage then because the senators and representatives were too much interested in politics to think much about the women and children. The Sheppard-Towner bill will fail of passage at this session of congress unless women take more in- terest in'it. The best way to help it is to sit down and write the congressman from your district or one- or both of your senators, telling them you believe the Sheppard-Towner bill should be passed at this session of congress. Women Have “Lobby?” | Ten organizations of women, interested in the ac- tivities of congress, have established a joint congres- sional committee, with headquarters at Washington, D. C,, in an effort to get laws in which women are particularly interested. i One of the first activities of this committee or *lobby” will be to boost the Sheppard-Towner bill, providing federal aid for maternity and infancy, 'Phe 10 organizations represented are the General Federation of Women’s .Clubs, National Council of Women, W. C. T. U., National Women’s Trade Union league, National Congress of Mothers and - Parent-Teachers’ associations, National Consum- ers’ “league, Association of Collegiate Alumnae, American Home Economics association, National Federation of ‘Business and Professional Women'’s Clubs, National Leagite of Women Voters. Miss Jeannette Rankin' of Montana, first woman and one bill of especial interest to- “THE FARM WOMAN’S PAGE elected to congress, is one of the members of th committee, Home Building Gains The number of houses built-for citizens of North Dakota by the state under the home builders’ law is now rapidly approaching the 100 mark. Most of the . homes cost approximately $5,000, paid on easy pay- % : 2 ments over a term of years, but would <cost $6,000 * or up by pri- vate con- tractors. The stite makes large ; . ‘ savings by buying its material in large lots and by cutting out private profits. This picture shows the first com- pleted house, put up more than a year ago at Bis- marck. There are now dozens of others. Many Nations Progress - The International Congress of Working Women, headed by Mrs. Raymond Robins of the United: States, but with members in practically all of the important foreign countries, has issued an interest- ing bulletin setting forth the results of the cam- paign to get improved legislation for working women and children in the countries represented in the labor agreements of the league of nations. ' The measures proposed by the labor representa- tives for adoption in all countries included: Limiting hours of work for-women and children. Prohibition of night work for women and children under 18. Giving employed women rest periods before and after childbirth. g % _ Protecting workers against anthrax and lead and phosphorus poisoning. . - -- - . Greece was the first country-to notify the secre- tary-of the league of nations that all these measures had been adopted. Czecho-Slovakia, the new Balkan state created by the peace treaty, notified the secre- tary that its' laws in most respects were already far ahead of those recommended. Belgium, South Af- rica, Great Britain, Italy, Venezuela, France, Ger-. _ many, the Argentine Republic, Austria and Chili are now preparing bills to carry out these provisions. more if put - : Havé You a Club in e Your Neighborhood? Clubs Break Records Two States Pass the 200 Mark—County Federations Organized m2]OTH North Dakota: -and Minnesota.. #! have now passed the 200 mark in Women’s Nonpartisan clubs. North Dakota, where clubs were first organ- ized, now has 227 clubs. A total of 46,5663 women have become active mem- bers since the clubs were started. Minnesota is a’ close second, with 203 clubs and: 3,378 individual members. 'As most of the Minnesota clubs hav been established more recently than the North Da- kota clubs their average membership is somewhat smaller, but every one of them is growing. Next to Minnesota in point of number of clubs ¢ come Montana, Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Idaho and Washington, in the order-named.- - Now that the election is over the women’s clubs in_many states are perfecting county federations.4% Under, the bylaws of the clubs a county federation § may be’ organized whenever any county has five or of more clubs. Minnesota thus far leads in number o* il county federations, with six organized &and five L other counties, with five or more clubs apiece, eligi- ble for county federations.. North Dakota has only two county federations thus far, but many counties have more than five clubs and are taking steps to- form their federations. Montana, although only a young state in the women’s club movement, organ- &% ized its first county federation some months ago. & As soon as the counties are thoroughly organized. & the county federations in each state can form a' |’ state federation, and the state federations, in turn, can elect their representatives to the national fed- ¢ eration for the first national meeting. COWS FOR AUSTRIANS ¢ The American Friends (Quakers). Service com- - 3 mittee is:purchasing cows from American farmers K Lo to provide milk for Austrian children: Under the § terms of the peace treaty Austria was compelled to give up most ‘of its cows to the allies. As a re- sult many of the younger children of Vienna never have tasted milk and the infant death rate is ex- tremely high. The cows are being delivered to Aus- trian dairymen and the Friends committee buys the-- milk. In 18 months the dairyman will be able to - sell enough milk to pay for the cow. .. ITALIAN WOMEN ORGANIZED . : Of 150,000 unionized employes in the textile ir & k v 4 dustry in _Italy, 125,000 are women. o WHEN T 7 Zai — e e s " Bome Q_f'the women (not many of them) were fooled in the last election by the fakes and lies 3 HE WOMEN START TO “CLEAN HOUSE” % v of the politmans,profitemand kept press,John Baer s':ys.'. Wln!) " is happening to these deceivers as the women learn the facts Mr. Baer tells ih picture‘ff,prmw ; PAGE TEN A [ i 5 5 {