An unusually well managed and effective hearing before the House of
Representatives committee on expenditures in the Interior Department
was held in Washington on January 27, following the White House
Conference on Dependent Children. No happier practical expression of
the unanimous conclusions of the conference could have been conceived
than this gathering of nearly all the conference leaders, representing
every section of the country and all shades of opinion in dealing with
childhood's problems.
Many persons listened to the unanimous plea that the federal government
should heed the cry of the child and espouse its cause at least to
the extent of providing a children's bureau manned by experts in such
questions as the causes and treatment of orphanage, illegitimacy,
juvenile delinquency, infant mortality, child labor, physical
degeneracy, accidents, and diseases of children, to whom those engaged
in dealing with these problems could direct inquiries for information
based on adequate and authoritative research. The gathering of such
information and its dissemination in bulletins easily understood by
the common people, the making available for all parts of the country
the results of the experience and suggestions of the most favored
parts and of any foreign experience in dealing with problems similar
to our own,--in short just such service as the government now renders
so cheerfully to the farmer though the scientific work of the bureaus
of its well equipped Department of Agriculture is all that the bill
for the children's bureau asks. Upon the question of the propriety,
constitutionality and expediency of the federal government doing this
work there was not and cannot well be a single objection made. For
the first year an appropriation of $51,820 is asked. As was carefully
pointed out by several speakers, much of the work to be done is
partially undertaken and could be done more adequately by existing
governmental agencies such as the Census Bureau whose work would not
be duplicated if we make it the sole business of some one bureau to
bring together in one place and focus on the problems of childhood
the information desired by child helping agencies and to find out
what is needed to stimulate greater efficiency in work for children.
No administrative powers or duties of inspection with respect to
children's institutions or work are proposed or intended to be given to
the federal children's bureau. Therefore only those whose deeds will
not stand the light of publicity need fear the operations of the bureau
or expect anything but help and stimulus in the better performance of
their service to the public.
All these points were made with singular unanimity and earnestness by
many speakers who were heard by the committee and were seconded by the
still larger number who recorded their names and the societies they
represented as favoring the bureau. The judges of the leading juvenile
courts were present in person, including Judge Lindsey of Denver,
Judge Mack of Chicago, Judge DeLacy of Washington and Judge Feagin
of Montgomery, Ala. Herbert Parsons, who introduced the bill in the
House, and Secretary Lovejoy of the National Child Labor Committee,
which stands sponsor for the bill, conducted the hearing jointly. Miss
Lillian D. Wald, who originally suggested to the National Child Labor
Committee the advisability of such a bureau, made the opening address,
giving in substance the very clear and able argument for its creation
which she had presented the previous evening at the banquet of the
children's conference. She pointed out the universal demand for it in
the following language:
And not only have the twenty-five thousand clergymen and their
congregations shown their desire to participate in furthering
this bill, but organizations of many diverse kinds have assumed
a degree of sponsorship that indicates indisputably how
universal has been its call to enlightened mind and heart. The
national organizations of women's clubs, the consumers' leagues
throughout the country, college and school alumnæ associations,
societies for the promotion of special interests of children,
the various state child labor committees, representing in their
membership and executive committee education, labor, law,
medicine and business, have officially given endorsement. The
press, in literally every section of the country, has given
the measure serious editorial discussion and approval. Not one
dissenting voice has it been possible to discover.