Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-01-19
Miss Mcdowell Talks
on Social Conscience

The feature of the week for the
women of the city viii, be the mass
meeting to be held at the Illinois Fri
day afternoon at o'clock which will
be addressed by Miss Harriet Wit
tum of Chicago. Announcement oil
this meeting was made by Mrs. F. III
First of the civic department at the
January session of the Woman's club
of Rock Island, held Saturday after
noon at Masonic temple. Miss Vittum
is associated with the Northwestern
settlement of Chicago and very recent
ly addressed the civic department OF
the club on the problems of municipal
housekeeping. She at that time I'M
pressed her hearers with her great
earnestness and familiarity with sub
jects that the women of this city are
Interested in that an effort was al
once made to bring her to address
mass meeting of women The meet
ing of Friday will not be for club wom-
en- only, but for all women of the city
and its object will be to arouse the
women of the city to their RESPONSE
bility in voting on matters of public
interest.
The meeting of Saturday afternoon
was addressed by Miss Mary Mellow
ell of the University of Chicago settle
ment who spoke on the theme or So
cial conscience Social conscience is
growing rapidly according to Miss
Mcdowell. For a long time it seemed
to lie dormant, but this was only a
formative period in preparation for the
awakening that is surely coming. She
spoke of the absence of any standard
ization of the relation of the social
conscience with city government. with
the giving or taking of money; the So
cial conscience has not until recently
asked how the clothes that are worn
are woven, what the ventilation. light
and what the conditions are in the
room where they are made; what the
wages, the hours of rest, the age or
the worker, what is that workers in
clination, etc, but about all these
there is a fine sensitiveDess growing.
Social conscience is invading politics
and political programs are being made
out with the best interest of human
beings in mind. The churches are
growing a new conscience out OF the
old conscience and social service de-
partments are being organized, the
labor question, the liquor question, and
the molding of public opinion are re-
ceiving a share of attention which they
should have had long ago. But with
this new conscience comes new
sense of obligation. The mother can
think no longer only of her child,
she must think of all children. She
cannot think only OF her home and its
condition, she must think of her OBJ
legation to all people, see that they
are properly housed, fed, have the pri-
vacy of home life, the proper condi-
lions under which to raise a family.
She must feel a sense of obligation
in the city of her home, in every street,
alley, church, school building and pub
lie place.
Miss Mcdowell has made special
study Of civic conditions and alive to
the knowledge of wrong civic govern
ment which cannot be remedied unless
there is something with which to re-
place evil or whatever is wrong, she
made tour abroad to study methods
Of municipal housekeeping in older,
more experienced Europe She visited
all the large cities of the old CONT |
nent and cleaned from them the good |
points of their government Her spec |
al study was the disposal of garbage |