The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1913-02-07
TO STUDY PROBLEM
BUREAU or SOCIAL HYGIENE 70
EXPLAINED BY JOHN o.
ROCKEFELLER, n.
WAS FOUNDED TWO YEARS AGO
Son Of Retired OIL Masnate Describes
the Origin. Work and Proposed
Plans for the Investigation Of Vice
Conditions.

view 10TH, jan &t.-lu OIucE tuaA
the public might better understand
the Bureau OF Social Hygiene. John
d. Rockefeller. Jr.. on Monday gave
out a statement explaining the origin.
work and plans OF that institution. The
bureau. he said. came into existence
about two years ago as a result Of the
work OF a special grand jury ap-
pointed TO investigate the white slave
trafic In New York city. This jury
recommended that q public commits.
sion be appointed to study the social
evil.
Nr. Rockefeller was foreman OF
that grand jury AID he thereafter
gave the subject deep thought and
conferred with a large number OF lead
Ing men and women. These confer
ences." says Mr.. Rockefeller. "devel-
oped the feeling that a public commits
sion would labor under q number OF
Disadvantages. such as the fact that
II would be short lived; that It's work
would be done publicly: that AZ best
IL could hardly do more than pre-
sent recommendations. So the on-
viction grew that In order TO make a
real and lasting improvement In on
ditions, q permanent organization
should be created. the continuation OF
which would not be dependent upon a
temporary wave Of reform, nor upon
the life OF any man or group OF men,
bu. which would 30 on. generation
after generation, continuously making
warfare against the forces OF evil IL
also appeared that a private organiza,
ton would have. among other adyaa-
tages. a certain freedom from public
!ty and from political bias. which a
publicly appointed commission could
not SO easily avoid.
Therefore, as the initial step, In
the winter OF 1911 the Bureau OF So
eial Hygiene was formed. Its pres
ent members are Miss Katharine Rem.
ent Davis. superintendent OF the New
York state Reformatory for Women
AZ Bedford Hills. ~. Y: Paul VI. War
burg. OF the firm OF Kuhn. Loeb & Co;
Starr J. Murphy. OF the New York bar,
and John d. Rockefeller. Jr. As the
work develops new members may be
added.
One OF the frst things undertaken
BY the bureau was the establishment
at Bedford Hills. adjacent 10 the re-
'ormatory. OF q laboratory OF social
hygiene, under Miss Davis direction.
In this laboratory II is proposed TO
study from the physical. mental. social
and moral side each person committed
10 the retormatory. This study will
be carried on by experts and each
case will be kept under observation
for from three weeks TO three months.
- may be required. When the dag.
nosis 10 completed. IL Is hoped that the
laboratory will be In position TO rec
ommend the treatment most likely TO
reform the individual, or, IL reforma.
ton is impossible, TO recommend per.
manent custc5ial care. Furthermore.
reaching out beyond the individuals
In solyed, IL 10 believed that thus i'm.
portant contributions may be made TO
a fuller knowledge OF the conditions
ultimately responsible for vice. II
this experiment IL successful .ae prin.
ciple may prove applicable TO all
classes Of CRIMINALS and the conditions
precedent TO crime. and lead to lines
OF action not only more scientific and
humane but also less wasteful than
those at present followed"
That its work might be done intelli.
gently the bureau employed George J.
Kneeland to make a comprehensive
survey of vice conditions In New
York. and Abraham Flexner Z o study
the social evil In Europe. and their
reports are now being prepared. These
studies will be followed by others In
various American cities. and Il Is the
hope OF the bureau that, based upon
ali OF them. may be devised q prac.
tical plan for dealing with the social
evil.
In conclusion Mr.. Rockefeller's
statement says: 1T cannot be too
strongly emphasized that the spirit
which dominates the work OF the bu-
reau IL not sensational or sentimen-
tai or hysterical: that II IL o q spirit
OF criticism OF public officials; but
that Il 10 essentially a spirit OF con.
structive suggestion and OF deep sci.
entifc an well az humane interest In
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