the story told points directly to physical, mental, or health
rights neglected. If for every child there is begun a special card,
that will tell his story over and over again during his school life,
noting every time he is sick and every time he is examined, the
progress of the community as well as of the child will be clearly
shown. Such a history card (p. 314) is now in use in certain New York
schools, as well as in several private schools and colleges.

Have you ever watched such an examination? By copying this card your
family physician can give you a demonstration in a very short time as
to the method and advantage of examination at school. The school
physician goes at nine o'clock to the doctor's room in the public
school, or, if there is no doctor's room, to that portion of the hall
or principal's office where the doctor does his work. The teacher or
the nurse stands near to write the physician's decision. The doctor
looks the child over, glances at his eyes, his color, the fullness of
his cheeks, the soundness of his flesh, etc. If the physician says "B,"
the principal or nurse marks out the other letter opposite to number 1,
so that the card shows that there is bad nutrition.

In looking at the teeth and throat a little wooden stick is used to
push down the tongue. There should be a stick for every child, so that
infection cannot possibly be carried from one to the other. If this is
impossible, the stick should be dipped in an antiseptic such as boric
acid or listerine. If, because of swollen tonsils, there is but a
little slit open in the throat, or if teeth are decayed, the mark is Y
or B. The whole examination takes only a couple of minutes, but the
physician often finds out in this short time facts that will save a boy
and his parents a great deal of trouble. Very often this examination
tells a story that overworked mothers have studiously concealed by
bright ribbons and clean clothes. I remember one little girl of
fourteen who looked very prosperous, but the physician found her so
thin that he was sure that for some time she had eaten too little, and
called her anaemic. He later found that the mother had seven children
whom she was trying to clothe and shelter and feed with only ten
dollars a week. A way was found to increase her earnings and to give
all the children better living conditions,--all because of the short
story told by the examination card. In another instance the card's
story led to the dis