The Omaha guide., 1935-09-14
National Social Work
Conference; Montreal

NNo AOAA 80 III
a The conference headquarters
was located on the third floor Of the
Sunlight Insurance Building.
Some idee Of the size Of the con-
ference and the different interests
covered by those participating in it's
program may be suggested by stat
ing that there were SIP speakers.
Ono can see that there were enough
participants to have a convention If
thero were no one else present. Of
n Five Thousand delegates in at
tendance, between seventy-five and
n hundred were Negroes.
Some Of the high points in the con-
Terence was the opening meeting in
the Forum Sunday night, June 9,
which was presided over by Honor
able c. F. Beaubien, X. c., Senator,
President, Canadian Committee, Ma
sonal Conference of Social Work.
An address was given by His Excel
lency the Right Honorable the Earl
OF BcssbOrough, P. c., G. G. M. G..
Governor General of Canada, and the
annual address was given by Miss
Katherine F. Lenroot, Chief Chill
dren's Bureau, United States Depart
ment OF Labor, who was the retiring
President OF the Conference. This
Forum, with a seating capacity of
upwards Of twenty-five thousands
with two galleries, was well filled.
The amplifier made IT easily possible
for those farthest removed from the
speaker to hear without difficulty.
The subject for the Monday night
ceeting in the same auditorium was
"The Outlook for Economic and So
cial Security in Great Britain, and
America" Sir Francis Floud, High
Commissioner for the United King
dom and former Minister Of Labor
OF England, discussed the outlook for
e~cononi c and social security in Great
Britain. Honorable Frances Perkins,
Secretary of u. S. Department Of
Labo.. discussed the outlook for eco
romic and social security in Ameri-
ca.
There was this main difference in
in the subject matter Of the two adj
dresses: The major part of Mss
Perkins address may be character
lied as prophecy, in that she was
outlining and describing various and
sundry measures which were then
before the different legislative bodies
at Washington and their effect upon
economic security, if and when en-
acted into law by the United States
Congress. On the contrary Sir Fran
els devoted most Of his time to Civ
ing concrete illustrations as to the
measures already employed in Great
Britain providing greater social and
economic security for the people. For
example: He said, Two and a half
million new homes had been built in
Great Britain through the govern
ment's housing program, since the
War, that 25 percent of the total
population of Great Britain has been
rehoused since 1918, in addition, he
said, over a million houses have been
built by private capitaly during the
that the smallest number of days lost
same length of time. He said in 1884
by wage earners on account of
strikes in the history of organized
labor in that country. He told of the
benefits given to the unemployed
through old age pensions and unem-
ployment insurance. A million seven
hundred thousand people were bene-
f~iciaries of some phases of economic
and social security in Great Britain
during 1884. For example: everyone
insured under the unemployment in
provision is entitled to 26
weeks Of free medical service during
the calendar year.
The subject of the meeting Tues
day night in the same main auditori-
UNI was Social Work in the Econom-
ic Crisis" which was discussed by
Miss Mary Van Kleeck, President Of
Second International Conference of
Social Foundation, of New York. On
the same program, Prof. Paul H.
Douglas, Professor of Economics,
University Of Chicago, gave a review
Of the prospects and accomplish
ments for social justice in the United
States. Miss Van Kleeck gave a criti-
cal and scientific analysis of the
weak points in the proposed conom-
ic and social security legislation now
being considered at Washington and
put the responsibility squarely upon
the shoulders of social workers to
become in fact the representative of
their clients in an attempt to build a
new economic and social order rather
than palliating tools manipulating
under captalistic control.
Monday afternoon a memorial
meeting was held in memory of the
late Jane Adams in the St. James
Presbyterian Church. Among the
speakers were Miss Frances Perkins
and Mr.. Eugene Kinckle Jones. The
meeting was well attended and the