The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1913-02-07
WORK AND PLANS OF THE
BUREAU OF SOCIAL HYGIENE
This Organization is Doing
a Great Work of Suppress
sing the "White Slave
Traffic. ID. Rookie
feller and Other Influen-
tial Men and Women at
Head of Organization.

The Bureau of Social Hygiene
came into existence about two years
ago, as result of the work of the
Special Grand Jury appointed to in
vestigate the white slave traffic in
New York city which served during
the first half of the year 1910. One
OF the recommendations made by it
in the presentment handed up at
the termination of its labors was
that public commission be appoint
ed to study the social evil. The fore
man of that body subsequently gave
careful consideration to the charac-
ter of the work which properly be
done bu such commission ana the
limitations under which it would op-
crate. In this connection, separate,
personal conferences were held with
over hundred leading men and wo-
men in the city, among whom were
lawyers, physicians, business men,
bank presidents, presidents of COM
mercial organizations, clergymen.
settlement workers, social workers,
labor leaders and reformers. These
conferences developed the feeling
that public commission would la
Dor under a number of disadvantages
such as the fact that it would be
short lived; that its work would be
done quickly; that at best it could
hardly do more than present recon-
mendations. The conviction also grew
that the main reason why more per-
manent results had not been obtained
by the various organizations which
had dealt with the subject of the So
cial evil during the past ten or fif-
teen years was that most of them
were temporary. While active, they
materially improved the situation,
but as their efforts were relaxed.
there came the inevitable return to
much the. Same conditions as before.
The forces of evil are never greas.
ly alarmed at the organization of in
vestigating or reform bodies, for they
know that they are generally com
posed of busy people, who cannot
turn aside from their own affairs for
any great length of time to carry on
reforms, and that sooner or later
their efforts will cease, and the pa
tlent denizens of the underworld and
their exploiters can then reappear
and continue the traffic as formerly.
So the organization grew that in
order to make a real and lasting 1ms
in
nent organization should be created,
the continuatio nof which would not
be dependent upon temporary wave
of reform, nor upon the life of any
man or group of men, but which,
would go on, generation after gen
Grafton, continuously making war
fare against the forces of evil. 1t al
so appeared that private organiza-
ton would have, among other advan
tages, certain freedom from public
ity 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
Social Hygiene was formed It's
present members are Miss Katharine
Bement Davis, Superintendent of the
New York State Reformatory for
Women at Bedford Hills, New York:
Paul M. Warburg, of the firm of
Kuhn, Loeb, & Company; Starr J..
Murphy, of the New York Bar; and
John d. Rockefeller, Junic' AS the
work develops, new members may be
added.
oe of the first things undertaken
by the Bureau was the establishment
at Bedford Hills, adjacent to the Re-
formatory, of Laboratory of Social
Hygiene, under Miss Davis's direc-
tion. In this L laboratory, it is pro-
posed to study from the physical,
mental, social and moral side each
person committed to the Reforma-
tory. This study will be carried on
by experts and each case will be
kept under observation for from
three weeks to three months, as may
be required. When the diagnosis is
completed, it is hoped that the Lab
oratory will be in position to reco-
mend the treatment most likely to
reform the individual, or, if reforma-
tion is possible, to recomend perma-
nent custodial care. Furthermore
reaching out beyond the individuals
involved, it is believed that thus i'm
portont contributions may be made
to fuller knowledge of the condl-
tions ultimately responsible for vice.
If this experiment is successful, the