The Madison journal. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1888-current, 1913-02-01
STUDIES Big PROBLEM
BUREAU OF SOCIAL HYGIENE is
EXPLAINED.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Tells Of Its
Origin, Work and Plans for the
Investigation Of Vice
Conditions.

the public might better understand
the Bureau of Social Hygiene, John
ID. Rockefeller, Jr., today gave out a
statement explaining the origin, work
and plans of that institution. The
bureau, he said, came into existence
about two pears ago as a result OF the
work of a special grand jury ap-
pointed to investigate the white slave
traffic in New York city. This jury
recommended that a public commits
sion be appointed to study the social
evil.
Mr.. Rockefeller was foreman OF
that grand jury and he thereafter
gave the subject deep thought and
conferred with a large number of lead
ing men and women. These confer
ences," says Mir. Rockefeller, "devel.
oped the feeling that public commits
sion would labor under a number OF
disadvantages, such as the fact that
II would be short lived; that its work
would be done publicly; that at best
it could hardly do more than present
recommendations. So the conviction
grew that in order to make a real
and lasting improvement in conditions,
a permanent organization should be
created, the continuation of which
would not be dependent upon a tempo
rary wave of reform, nor upon the life
of any man Or group of men, but which
would go on, generation after genera
ton, continually making warfare
against the forces of evil. 1t also ap-
peared that a private organization
would have, among other advantages,
a certain freedom from publicity 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
cial Hygiene was formed. Its pres
snt members are Miss Katherine Benz
ent Davis, superintendent of the New
York state Reformatory for Women
at Bedford Hills, y. Y; Paul NJ. War
burg, Of the firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co. !;
Starr ]. Murphy, of the New York bar,
and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. AS the
work develops new members may be
added.
One of the first things undertaken
by the bureau was the establishment
at Bedford Hills, adjacent to the re-
formatory, of a laboratory of social
hygiene, under Miss Davis direction.
In this laboratory it is proposed to
study from the physical, mental, social
and moral side each person committed
to the reformatory. 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 dag
nosis is completed, it is hoped that the
laboratory will be in position to rec
ommend the treatment most likely to
reform the individual, or, if reforma-
ton is impossible, to recommend per-
manent custodial care. Furthermore.
reaching out beyond the individuals
lHNCINtu, IL 10 UcllcNSu lhdI Ihuo ILL
portant contributions may be made to
a fuller knowledge of the conditions
ultimately responsible for vice. II
this experiment is successful the 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 intelu-
gently the bureau employed George j.
Kneeland to make a comprehensive
survey of vice conditions in New York,
and Abraham Flexner to study the so
cial evil in Europe, and their reports
are now being prepared. These studies
will be followed by others in various
American cities, and 1t Is the hope
OF the bureau that, based upon all
Of them, may be devised a practical
plan for dealing with the social evil.
In conclusion Mr.. Rockefelle's state
ment says: "It cannot be too strongly
emphasized that the spirit which domi-
mates the work of the bureau is not
sensational or sentimental or hysteri-
cal; that 1t is not spirit Of criticism
of public officials; but that 1t is es-
sentially a spirit of constructive sug-
gestion and Of deep scientific as well
as humane interest in great world
prohlpmo