The Neshoba Democrat., 1913-01-30
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.

NSW AoIh, JUL. SI.-lu OlueC tAdt
the public might better understand
the Bureau of Social Hygiene, John
d. Rockefeller, Jr., today gave out II
statement explaining the origin, work
and plans OF that institution. The
bureau, he said, came Tito existence
about two years ago as result OF the
work of u 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
large number Of leading men and
women. ''These conferences says Mr..
Rockefeller, developed the feeling that
public commission would labor under
number of disadvantages, such as the
fact that it would be short lived; that
its work would be done publicly; that at
best it could hardly do more than pre-
sent recommendatio So the convic-
tion grew that in order to make real
and lasting improvement in conditions
permanent organization should be Gre
ated, the continuation OF which would
not be dependent upon temporary wave
of reform, nor upon the life of any man
or group of men, but which would 60
on, generation after generation, contin
uously making warfare against the
forces of evil. 1t also appeared that
private organization would have, among
other advantages, & certain freedom from
publicity and from political bias, which
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. Its present men,
bers are Miss Katharine Bement Davis,
superintendent of the New York State
Reformatory for Women at Bedford
Hills, N. Y; Paul NJ. Warburg, of the
firm of Kuhn, Loeb & Co.; Starr j. Muir
ply, 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 reforma.
tory, of 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 re-
formatory. 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 laboratory will be in
position to recommend the treatment
most likely to reform the individual, or,
If reformation is impossible, to recon.
mend permanent custedial care. Further
more, reaching out beyond the individ-
uals involved, it is believed that thus i'm
portant contributions may be made to a
fuller knowledge of the conditions ulti-
mately responsible for vice. If this ex-
pertinent is successful the principal may
prove applicable to all classes of Grim
inals 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 fo!.
lowed"
That its work might be done intelH-
gently the bureau employed George ].
kneeland 20 make comprehensive sur
vey of vice conditions in New York. and
Abraham Flexner to study the social
evil in Europe, and their reports are
now being prepared. These studies will
be followed by Others in various Ameri-
can cities, and it is the hope OF the bu-
reau that, based upon all of them, may
be devised practical plan for dealing
with the social evil.
In conclusion Mr.. Rockefeller's state
ment says: "It cannot be too strongly
emphasized that the spirit which domi.
mates the work OF the bureau is not sen.
sational or sentimental or hysterical:
that il is not spirit of criticism of pub.
lie officials; but that it is essentially n
\ spirit Of constructive suggestion and of
| deep semitic as we'll as humane interest
ia great world Drohlem