The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-07-09

problems. and therefore must be saou1- dered by representatives of all inter ests and groups in the population. Emphasis has been laid upon the inn portance of the work being done by persons with adequate training and experience. Emphasis has also been placed upon the importance of co-op- eration with national organizations so that the local program following the survey whether it involves housing, organized charity, prison reform, or other special effort, will be in har-
 mony with the standards set up by the
 national organizations in the various
 fields.
 raised Why make surveys over and
 over again in cities all over the coun- try? Won't a few sample surveys
 cover practically all the city prob
 Ien1s and thus supply to all cities the
 proper programs for improvement? ?'
 But conditions vary in different cities,
 and the citizens of one locality will
 health or recreation problem merely
 because some other city in a. distant
 state has one. Each city will not and should not be satisfied unless the study
 is made of its own actual conditions.
 The surveys conducted by the De-
 partment Of Surveys and Exhibits have
 thus far taken four general forms The first is a quick neighborhood study to gather such salient facts as many indicate some of the principal social and civic needs. Such a neigh borhood survey was made, for exam pie, in district of Old Brooklyn, com prising over 100, 900 people. One of the results of this study was the organfza- ton of the Old Brooklyn Civic league with a paid social worker now in
 charge of its constructive program.
 The second type is a. path finders lsz1F11 yexy31- Cifu-IUif5fa =
 inatfon to discover the facts that may 1 indicate the need of the later more in tensive. survey, and the main lines which the latter should take. The
 Department has made pathffnder'e
 surveys in Topeka, Kans, Springfield,
 H., Scranton, Pa, Ithaca, N. Y., and
 Atlanta, Ga In g. few of these cities certain parts of the investigation pro-
 ceeded beyond the mere preliminary
 stage.
 The third type is the more intensive general survey. The best example 1 among those conducted by the De partnent in the last few months in the Newburgh survey. This covered public schools, public health work, fcharities, deffnquency, municipal eff 1 ency, industrial conditions, housing and recreation.
 l The fourth type is a. more specialized 1 investigation confined to the field of l public health and sanitation. The wide relation of health work to all
 problems involving a citys people has l Led to the inclusion of such investiga- l tions within the scope of the Depart ment's activities. The most recent ex- ample is the investigation of the work 1 of the Depar tment Of Public Health o1 l Newark, N. J., a city of 0,000 pop
 rnation. This was undertaken at the
 request of the municipal authorities. With the survey idea firmly estab- I1J 4Iao future cities will themselves carry on continuous survey work so as always to have at hand the -to-date facts of their social, civic and economic l conditions. If programs to remedy or prevent city evils, or to promote civic welfare, are to be worth while they must be based not on guess work methods but upon scientific study of
 the facts. This is the meaning of the social survey.