The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1913-02-07
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.

New York, Jan. 27.-In order thai
the public might better understand
the Bureau of Social Hygiene, John
D. 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 years ago as 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 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 number Of
disadvantages, such as the fact that
1t would be short lived; that it's work
would be done publicly; that at best
1t could hardly do more than pre-
sent recommendations. So the con-
viction grew that in order to make a
real and lasting Improvement in con-
ditions, a permanent organization
should be created, the continuation Of
which would not be dependent upon a
temporary wave Of reform, nor upon
the ife of any man or group of men,
but which would go on, generation
after generation, continuously making
warfare against the forces Of evil. 1t
also appeared that a private organiza-
ton would have, among other advan-
tages, certain freedom from publici-
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
cial Hygiene was formed. Its pres
ent members are Miss Katharine Benz
ent Davis, superintendent of the New
York State Reformatory for Women
at Bedford Hills, N. Y; Paul M. War
&,
Starr J. Murphy, Of the New York bar,
and John D. Rockefeller, Jr. AS the
work develops new members may be
added.
zone of the first things undertaken
by the bureau was the establishment
at Bedford Mills, 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, so
cial and moral side each person COM
mitted 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
involved, 1t is believed that thus i'm
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 condi-
lions precedent to crime, and lead
to lines of action not only more scien-
tific and humane but also less waste
full than those at present followed"
That its work might be done intel
ligently the bureau employed George
J. Kneeland to make a comprehensive
survey 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 9th
ers in various American cities, and 1t
is the hope of the bureau that, based
upon all of them, may be devised q
practical plan for dealing with the so
cial evil.
In conclusion Mr.. Rockefeller's
statement says: "It cannot be too
strongly emphasized that the spirit
which dominates the work of the bu-
reau is not sensational or sentiment
tai or hysterical; that it is not spirit
Of criticism of public officials; but
that it is essentially a spirit of con-
structive suggestion and of deep
scientific as we'll as humane interest