The facts brought out in legislative hearings by those urging support for the so-called "Maternity Bill" amply prove this.

Taking the figures for New York State alone, in the year 1920 we find a total of thirteen mothers out of every thousand dying in childbirth, with an estimate from physicians that with proper care two-thirds of these women could have been saved.

A competent mother, then, physically speaking, means not only one measurably strong but one sufficiently cared for to prevent overstrain before the birth-hour.

Again, in New York State alone, we find that eighty-six babies out of every thousand die before they reach the end of their first year.

This may be from ignorance on the mother's part, or it may be from her physical weakness unequal to the care of the new baby.