Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-10-11
Mrs. Roosevelt Urues
Parents 10 Teach Girls
|Se|f-Proieciion
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Continued From First Page.)
the problem Of teen-age, Govern
|ment girls living here without
proper supervision" squarely on the
Governments shoulders.
Uncle Sam brought these young
sters here, and he is therefore In
the position OF guardian for them.
But instead Of looking after them,
he has dumped them on the city
|of Washington and said, Here, it's
your problem now He's falling down
on the job badly" Mr.. Everett said
Government Held Responsible.
Hundreds Of these girls, brought
here by Government pleas, are UNI
necessary. he said. TOO many Gov
eminent agencies wanted a large
reservoir Of workers, SO they asked
for workers In case at some future
time they would be needed" he
declared.
But those that are needed, and
do come here as war workers are
the responsibility Of the Govern
ment, just as the soldiers in France
are" he said. Their problems are
many. They are young, inexperi-
enced. They come here looking for
glamour and adventure. They make
more money than most Of them
have ever seen before. And because
they don't get the right kind of
help, too many Of them find their
glamour and adventure in the wrong
way"
The murder of Miss Berrum called
attention to situation that has
existed long time, Mr.. Everett said
AS steps in solution to the prob
lem, Mr.. Everett outlined his pro-
gram, including things social work.
ers and health workers and plenty
|of Government officials have been
discussing for a long time" he said.
FIRST" he said, these youngsters
OF Is and II should be sent home.
I won't name a definite age mini
mum because I know girls mature
at different ages-but most girls
under 20 are too young to be running
loose In Washington.
Would Provide Tests.
Second, establish a very careful
screening process for hiring the
girls. Girls who come to Washing
ton to work should be able to pass
strict medical and psychiatric tests"
He asserted that because Govern
ment workers were not tested for
tuberculosis, venereal and other
diseases, District hospitals are
caring for many Of them. who
should never have left home" He
also said that some personal inter-
viewing should be given so that
girls who obviously have little
stability" would not come to WASH
ington to work.
Third, give these girls some idea
about facing the problems that meet
them here. The younger girls
should not be allowed to live in
rooming houses alone, but should
be given some sort of guidance
ALI of them should have their at
tention called to the very real prob
lens they face"
He gave the example of one per-
sonnet director at an Arlington
Farms dormitory, who planned
to have woman doctor give
lectures on sex problems. "She was
stopped by higher-ups because they
feared such a program might get
back to the girls homes, and parents
might worry.
-... Even Barred Posters. ...
"She wasn't even allowed to put
up United States Health Service
posters-the Government is urging
that all industries and businesses
use these posters. Yet In one, of the
biggest industries OF all-Govern-
ment-they put thumbs down be-
cause Of prudishness." he said. The
posters put up In the dormitory, and
then taken down when orders from
higher up came through, warned
girls against pickup" dates made
with strange men on street corners
Fourth, enlarge our police force
which is inadequately stated now
Our police are doing whale of a
good job, but as one of them said
to me, We can't play nursemaid for
every kid with wild ideas"
Mr.. Everett, In asking for a larger
force, pointed out that one reason
why the force was understaffed was
lack of money, and he said, "As such
q large part Of our population Is
not native-but brought here by
the Government-the Government
should put up more to help meet
the cost"
Problem Part Of War.
Society owes duty to minors, !"
he said, land in this case, Uncle
Sam represents society. He is not
living up to that duty. The churches,
the YWCA, the USO. and other
organizations are doing a splendid
Job. But the fact remains that some
girls are not finding their recreation
at these places. They are finding 1t
on street corners. It's time some
thing was done.
And I'm getting tired Of hearing
Government officials asking that the
problem be hushed, so that the war
effort won't be hurt. It's just as
irritating as the old remark, don't
you know there's war on?' Help
ing these girls won't impede the
war-their problem is part Of the
war" Mr.. Everett declared.