Life in Philadelphia

When Patrolman George Mayne answered a call for police at a Philadelphia home a fortnight ago, he found Thomas Hughes, 22, sadly pointing to a newspaper-wrapped package on the kitchen table. In it, said Hughes, was the body of his premature baby daughter, stillborn an hour or two before.

Policeman Mayne sat down at the table and was starting to fill out a routine report when he heard a faint noise from the package. "The baby's alive," he said. "No," said the father, "that's just the table squeaking." Mayne put his ear to the package, then quickly ripped it open. The 2 1/2 lb., six-month baby was alive all right, and was soon doing well in an incubator at the Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Mrs. Hughes had called in Dr. John L. Cionci when it seemed that she was about to have a miscarriage. He summoned an ambulance and obstetrician, but the baby was born before either arrived. Dr. Cionci twice examined the baby carefully and found no sign of life. The obstetrician also looked at her and thought she was dead. An hour passed before Patrolman Mayne came along.

Said Dr. Cionci last week: "It is possible that the motion of wrapping it in the newspaper, or maybe the warmth inside the paper, started it breathing."

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