The Washington herald., 1912-02-17
SOCIAL SERVICE WORK
INTERESTS WASHINGTON
Exhibits Showing Conditions in District of Columbia
Will Be Continued Next Week.

Popular interest in the social service
exhibit now being conducted by the Men
, and Religion Forward Movement in
Epiphany parish hall has been so great
that the social service committee of the
movement has decided to continue IL
over Monday and Tuesday Of next week.
The fact that all Washington is alive
TO the Importance Of social service work
has been shown in the crowds that have
tnronged the hall daily.
The exhibit yesterday attracted large
numbers of men and women throughout
the day. the interest i'm this display, to-
gether with that manifested in the social
strvice institutes conducted by the move
ment indicating that a larger number Of
lGymen are more deeply interested in this
phase OF the movements activity than
IN any other OF its aspects. The exhibit
Is a comprehensive one. covering practi-
CaIly the entire field of social endeavor
in Washington. and occupies two large
rooms on the ground floor Of the parish
nall
As Illustrated by charts and diagrams,
the facts brought out by the social serv-
ice workers of the local committee of the
Men and Religion Forward Movement
take on Il significance that does not ap-
pear so readily when they are presented
H. the form of statistics. One of the
most striking charts compares the num-
i'er of churches in the District with the
number of saloons. there being 2S9 of the
former and 5I2 Of the latter.
According 10 the data obtained by the
committee, there were in Washington
last year 34OJ3 arrests. OF which num-
Der 126 per cent were men, 10T per cent
women. 142 per cent boys, and 2.5 per
cent girls. The crimes and misdemea-
nCrs for which the arrests were made
are shown graphically by means Of
series OF charts. and large amount OF
detail is given regarding them.
a chart which has perhaps excited as
much interest as any in the entire exhibit
IS that which shows the relation Of lv-
ing cost to salary in Washington. The
salaries of Government clerks have not
been raised, As whole, for much
longer period than that covered by the
Investigations recorded on the chart which
include the years 1915 TO 1911. inclusive.
The average cost OF commodities during
that period is taken as the standard for
comparison. The date show that although
in 1897 The purchasing power of a salary
was Ill per cent OF the average for the
term, II decreased in 1907 10 IS per- cent,
and is now only 81 per cent In other
words, according to these data. dollar
to-day will buy only about - per cent
as much as it would in 1897.
number Of charts have been pre-
pared to show the causes Of deaths in
Washington. and these indicate that there
has in general been a diminishing of the
death rate within tie last ten years. 1t
is now 17.SO per thousand, whereas the
birth rate is 1S.fT per thOusand-bOth fig
Ures applying only tn the white popUla-
ton. The death rate OF children under five
years # age has decreased from 5.36
per cent to 26T per cent, and that of
children under one year of age
from iO5 per cent TO % per cent.
investigations Of the committee disclose
the fact that diseases that must be re-
ported to the hCaih officials have been
well taken care or and that such dis
eases have become markedly less dan
geroUs since supervision has been at
tempted. Because they have declined in
Importance as factors in the death rate,
the nOnrepOTted diseases have shown a
relative increase in the number of deaths
they cause. The inference drawn by the
committee is that il all diseases were
reported they could be guarded against,
and as a result the decline in the death
rate would be general.
\ remarkable condition is indicated by