Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1921-12-28
FOUR.
.cHLDREN,S BUREAU

nropressiye and can not be compieteu,
and thus far the bureau has hafdly
made a beginning in performing the
vast task assinged to it" says Julla
C. Lathrep in her annual report 90
the secretary Of labor, made PUBIC
today. This is her ninth and last re.
mort as chief, written on the eve OF
her resignation last August.
The report sets forth the coopera,,
ton which the bureau has effected
with various governmental, state and
nriyate agencies, and urges further
correlation and cooperation IN child
welfare work. The achievements OF
the bureau during the last year are
described under each Of its five 81
visions. and progress in the bureaus
first child welfare study in our island
possessions is reported.
Included in the years work OF the
child hygiene division were children !, $
health conferences conducted in small
towns and rural communities by the
staff of the bureaus child welfare
Snecial. a motor truck fitted up Tor
health consultations. A total OF y
900 children were examined IN sec
ton of Kentucky, and numerous cases
of malnutrition were found, even
araong the children of the well-to-do
farmers. Personal instructions were
piven to mothers and teachers IN the
proper feeding and general hygiene
care of children, and efforts were
made to see that permanent, active m
terest in child welfare measures was
established. In Arkansas the special
made its way through floods, and
over bad roads and steep mountains,
reaching six counties in which l,22S
children were examined. AS result
the report states, several communities
are undertaking follow-up work.
The principal studies OF the INDUS
trial division during the year were
concerned with child welfare IN coal
mining camps and in cotton growing,
sugar beet, and truck farming areas.
me report calls attention to the IN
furious effect of too early and too
heavy labor, in agricultural no less
than in industrial pursuits. An aver
age age of only II years was found
among the chila workers OF the sugar
beet fields studied. An important
niece of work accomplished through
the industrial division was the pre-
liminary report of the committee APP
pointed by the bureau to formulate
standards of normal development and
sound health for children entering en-
Dloyment and children at work. These
recommendations will be revised from
+bn 1;rht of fNrthpr
research and experience.
Juvenile court studies made IN ten
courts by the Social Service division
revealed great diversity in procedure,
organization and methods. A confer
ence on Juvenile courts was held IN
June, under the joint auspices 0! the
Children's Bureau and the Natlona!
Probation Association. AS result OF
this conference, committee OF
Judges, probation officers, and others
interested in the problem was appoint
ed BY the bureau to serve as an ad-
visory committee on juvenile court
standards. A study OF children vlo-
lating federal laws each year IS prob
ably at least 1000, that many OF
these children come up for trial in the
federal courts, and that the procedure
in these courts is totally unadapted TO
children's work. The department OF
Justice and the postoffice department
were most helpful in making avail
able the data on which the study was
based.
The child-welfare study iii Porto
Rico, undertaken at the request OF the
commissioner of education Of the IS
land and approved by the governor
and the Bureau Of 1nsular Affairs,
is taking the form OF children,s
year demonstration, with plans 1or
repeating the various features Whlch
proved effective here in 191SS-l9. 1t
opened with recreation, special en-
'phasis being placed on athletics and
active sports, in close cooperation
with the teachers.
The widening sphere of the bureaus
influence and the increasing demands
made upon it call for an expanding
program, says Miss Lathrop. She
recommends three new services: First,
division Of legal research, to enable
the bureau to follow and promptly
report and analyze the state statutes
affecting children; considerable work
has been accomplished along this
line, but the undertaking is far
from complete. Second, expert Serv-
ice in the field of recreation; the re-
port calls attention to the value OF
study from the social standpoint Of
suitable types of recreation to be pro
vided at public expense or under pub
lie supervision. Third, the addition
of an exhibit expert to the staff OF
the bureau, so that the results of its
scientific studies may be presented in
new exhibit forms as we'll as BY the
usual report Little gray pamphlets
filed away in orderly fashion," Miss
Lathrcp says, "do not answer the tax
payers demand for effective service"
For the past three years the bu-
reau has been operating under sub
stantially the same appropriation,
which is almost S150,O00 less than
was available during children's year.
For the fiscal year ending July /,