The preliminary report of the permanent Committee on Standards of Physical Fitness for Children Entering Employment, appointed by the Children's Bureau of the U. S. Department of Labor, is announced. The report consists of two parts-General

Recommendations and Minimum Standards of Physical Fitness for Children Entering and Working in Industry. The general recommendations advocate a minimum age of 16 years for entrance into industry on the ground that the period of pubescence, not completed in the majority of cases until the 16th year, is a time of special strain for the child. No child, according to the recommendations, should be allowed to go to work until he has had a complete physical examination, and has been declared physically fit for the particular occupation which he is about to take up. A re-examination for children when changing occupations and periodical examinations for all working children are deemed necessary. The need of special study by local administrative and medical officers of occupations in which children are likely to be employed is pointed out, and further scientific study of the effect of different kinds of work on the physique of boys and girls in their teens is declared to be essential. The fields which, in the opinion of the Committee are in need of special research, are listed.

The necessity for further study, states the Committee, is urgent. However, on the basis of scientific studies already made and the experience acquired in administering child labor laws prescribing physical requirements now in force in a few States, it is possible to formulate certain tentative

standards. These it is expected will aid materially in safeguarding children from the evil results of premature and unsuitable work.

The suggested standards cover normal development, indicate what constitutes. sound health and physical fitness for specific occupations, and emphasize points to be observed and methods to be employed in physical examinations. Defects for which children should be permanently refused certificates of employment and those for which temporary refusals should be made are listed. A record form for the use of physicians in examining children and careful instructions for filling in this form are appended to the report.

The report will be sent in mimeographed form for criticism before being printed to experts in industrial hygiene, State labor departments, local certificate issuing officers, and interested persons throughout the country.

The Committee consists of the following persons:

Dr. George P. Barth, Director of Hygiene, City Health Department, Milwaukee, Wis., Chairman; Dr. Emma M. Appel, Employment Certificate Department, Chicago Board of Education; Dr. S. Josephine Baker, Chief, Bureau of Child Hygiene, Department of Health, New York City; Dr. Taliaferro Clark, representing the U. S. Public Health Service; Dr. C. Ward Crampton, Dean, Normal School of Physical Education, Battle Creek, Mich.; Dr. D. L. Edsall, Dean, Harvard Medical School; Dr. George W. Goler, Health Officer, Rochester, N. Y.; Dr. Harry Linenthal, Director of Industrial Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass.; Dr. H. H. Mitchell, representing the National Child Labor Committee; Dr. Anna E. Rude, Director of Hygiene Division, U. S. Children's Bureau; Dr. Thomas D. Wood, Chairman on Health Problems and Education, Columbia University, New York City.

The American Hospital Association, through its executive secretary, Dr. A. R. Warner, sends out the following additional information regarding the Convention at Montreal:

"The formal program," the Bulletin states, "is the best ever. The topics are those we should all know about now. Community Hospitals, Dispensaries in Public Health Progress, the Function of Social Service in Hospitals, Industrial Clinics and Standardization are among the list of papers being prepared by those best qualified to present these subjects at the general meetings. The sections on Dispensaries, Social Service, Nursing, Hospital Construction. and Hospital Administration, each have special programs of their respective fields. The Round Table starts at 2 p.m. Thursday and will remain in session continuously until midnight. Mr. Bacon has collected a longer list of subjects than usual and engaged several to relieve him in the chair by spells, so if you stay long enough in this meeting you will hear something of every hospital problem that exists in both large and small hospitals.

"The informal program and reports are of special interest this year. There are the An first reports of our Service Bureaus. unusual report by the Trustees covering the change in the home office to Chicago, the development of State Sections of the Association and the other programs involving policies of the Association will be presented. The Executive Secretary has had an interesting and eventful year's work to report. Only the Auditor's report will be

"The informal program will contain a full discussion of the shortage of nurses, both pupils and graduates, and what we can and should do about it. This situation has become downright serious in many hospitals, especially those outside the centers of population. Something seems to be fundamentally wrong. The resolution passed at the Convention of the Catholic Hospital Association in St. Paul contains real food for thought for hospital administration.

"The report of the committee studying hospital social service will be presented by the Chairman of the Committee, Michael Davis, Jr., and will represent an extensive and constructive piece of work done. The trained investigator of this committee has visited every type of Hospital Social Service Department from Maine to California. The reports have been studied and analyzed by the committee, and the report will contain their findings. A report from this committee will effectively reach every element now engaged in Hospital Social Service Work, and it will practically determine the future fundamental policies and the organA friend of the ization for this work. Association especially interested in this work has provided the necessary funds.

"The American Association of Hospital Social Workers has called a semi-annual meeting in conjunction with our Convention, so that the discussions of the report of the survey will be general and by the best social workers of the United States and Canada.

"Through co-operation with the Division of Veneral Diseases of the United States Public Health Service there will be set up

real Disease Clinic. The United States Government is sending a physician, a nurse and a technician trained in this work, that the operation of a clinic may be observed, including the preparation and administration of arsphenamine. Social Service in relation to venereal disease clinics will be dominated by the Social Service Section of the Association in co-operation with the American Association of Hospital Social Workers.

"The function of the model dispensary exhibit will be to show the best plans of dispensary organization, including administration and staff organization, equipment, admission systems, record systems, night clinics, etc. In co-operation with the Service Bureau on Dispensaries and the Community Relations of Hospitals an information service will be organized by means of which those persons who wish to consult persons especially familiar with certain phases of dispensary work will have the opportunity to do so. In co-operation with the Section on Social Service a similar information bureau in relation to hospital and dispensary social service will be arranged.

"The American Association of Hospital Social Workers, in conjunction with the Committee on Hospital Social Work of the American Hospital Association, will have an exhibit of methods and organization of hospital social service as it is now carried on in the United States and Canada. An information service is planned that will give ample opportunity for delegates to the Convention to discuss with experienced hospital social workers the various phases of the subject.

"The American Conference on Hospital Service, formed and incorporated to promote co-operation between the national organization of the various groups of hospital workers, has some real results to report. It has organized and is operating with financial help from the Rockefeller Foundation the Library and Service Bureau for Hospitals, located in the same building as

our offices. The full details of this and the great service it can render to any hospital and to individual hospital workers will be presented. There will be other activities reported and the discussion of our common. hospital problems in the joint session, by men whose thinking and work has been from a different viewpoint from the administration, will be both interesting and instructive. The Committee working on the Nursing Problem will present for general discussion figures and viewpoints collected

from various sources."

A Field Study

The Nursing Committee of the American Conference on Hospital Service being anxious to secure expressions of opinions on the nursing situation, from organizations and individuals representing a variety of interests, including those which are professional, institutional, educational, economical, social, etc., widely distributed throughout the United States and Canada the following study. It is earnestly hoped that as a result, valuable data may be compiled and presented in the Report of the Nursing Committee at the next meeting of the American Conference on Hospital Service which will take place in Montreal, on October 4, 1920. Such a report will be presented as a basis for discussion and it is hoped that it may lead to an impartial solution of some of the problems of the nursing situation today.

What is your opinion of the value of the three-year course for nurses connected with hospitals; the two-year course for nurses connected with hospitals; the high school pre-nursing courses; the Red Cross extension courses; short courses and correspondence nursing courses?

Are the principles laid down in the nursing education in these courses right or wrong? If right, why does not the present nursing education adequately meet the nursing need? If wrong, how should the training of nurses be made right?

What use are the graduates of these schools making of their training? What misuse are the graduates of these school making of their training? What if any, is the nurse wastage during training? What if any, is the nurse wastage after finishing the course?

What are some of the reasons for the shortage of nurses to-day? What suggestions can you make as to changes in the training, which will make it efficient, and yet not lower the standard?

As a Physician-Do you consider the services of the nurse valuable, if so to what extent? Do you consider the services of the Public Health nurse valuable in your community? If so, to what extent.

As a Citizen-Do you consider the services of a graduate nurse valuable? If so, to what extent? Do you consider the services of the Public Health nurse valuable in your community? Is so, to what extent?

We regret that the above Study, did not reach us in time for publication in September issue, so that our readers might have had an opportunity of sending studies before the time limit, of September 7, to the Chairman, Mary C. Wheeler, R. N., 509 South. Honore street, Chicago, Ill. We will, however be very glad to publish studies, if any of our readers care to send them to us.

Catholic Hospital Association
Convention

The Catholic Hospital Association held its fifth annual convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, in June.

The program covered a wide range of subjects of practical importance to all hospitals. A new magazine known as Hospital Progress has been established, which will be the official organ of the Association. A proposition was made in the president's address, that a training school for superintendents of Catholic hospitals be established at some large medical centre.

emphasized the following essentials of an efficient smooth-working hospital organization:

The Board of Administration of the hospital must be made up of a representative group of citizens of the community.

It is necessary to have special committees to study the various needs of the hospital.

The executive officers should be selected with great care and should be given complete control of all the departments.

It is important to select expert supervisors for various departments and make them responsible for the work of their departments.

In order to solve the labor problem it is necessary to select men and women for their jobs, pay them a living wage and keep them as long as possible.

It is important that complete and scientific records be kept.

Much attention was given to discussion of various phases of the nurse's work-the curriculum and class work; the nurse on active duty; the nurse anesthetist; and the shortage of nurses.

Miss Jamme of California opened the symposium, in which she dealt with the subjects the nurse student herself, and the scope and method of her training. She made a strong plea for nurse instructors and for careful preparation of the nurse in the first six months of her training.

Father Griffin of Youngstown, Ohio, discussed the shortage of nurses. He said there was no need to debate the question as to whether there is or is not a shortage, but emphasized the importance of the question, "What are we going to do about it?" He stated that nurses themselves had done nothing effectively to increase the number of pupil nurses. In his own hospital, the eight hour day had no appreciable effect in increasing the number of nurse candidates, and that it was impossible to secure enough graduates, because of the increased demand for public health, social service and industrial nurses. In spite of the shortage, which