HE GIRL AND HER CHANCE T By HARRIET McDOUAL DANIELS UC-NRLF SB flOS THE GIRL AND HER CHANCE THE GIRL AND HER CHANCE A Study of Conditions Surrounding the Young Girl Between Fourteen and Eighteen Years of Age in New York City Prepared for the Association of Neighborhood Workers of New York City By HARRIET McDOUAL DANIELS \\ Union Settlement NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO Fleming H. Revell Company LONDON AND EDINBURGH Copyright, 1914, by FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY New York: 158 Fifth Avenue Chicago: 125 North Wabash Ave. Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W. London : 21 Paternoster Square Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street CONTENTS PAGE Foreword by Mrs. V. G. Simkhovitch. Introductory Note. I. Old and New Aspects 11 II. The Home 14 III. Efforts at Readjustment 24 IV. The Education of the City Girls 27 V. Constructive Elements in Education 34 VI. The Industrial Situation 44 VII. The Industrial Situation (continued) 56 VIII. The Love of Play 67 IX. The Settlement as a Factor 74 X. The Church and the Girl 85 XI. Organizations for Girls in New York City 88 5 3421G4 CHARTS. PAGE 1. Curve showing Public School Attendance of Girls for all Grades 31 2. Occupations of New York City Girls 46 3. Occupations of Girls in Thirty New York Set- tlements . 51 4. Percentage of Occupations in Relation to Nation- ality 60-61 5. Nationality of Girls in Thirty New York Settle- ments 76 TABLES. PAGE 1. Occupations of Girls in New York City 47 2. Occupations of Girls in Relation to Nationality (Ages, 14-16 years) 62 3. Occupations of Girls in Relation to Nationality (Ages, 16-18 years) 62 6 FOREWORD THE reader will find in this book not only a careful statement of facts collected from per- sons who have had wide and long continued experience, but also a study which is checked up by a personal acquaintance on the part of the author with many working girls. Trustworthy as to fact, the study is also sound as to inference. The more we learn about the life of the industrial family, and especially about the young girl who has suddenly emerged from the protection of a highly centralized and authoritative family life into the confusion of modern industrialism, the more ob- vious does it become that two great changes must take place and are taking place; first the humanizing of industry and second the freeing of woman that she may become the master of her own life. Indeed it is doubtful if the former is possible with- out the latter. Self mastery comes to some through religion, to others through the interlocking necessities and mutual aid of family life. To all it comes as a result of that group experience which is the matrix of religion, of art, and of politics. MARY K. SIMKHOVITCH. INTRODUCTORY NOTE In June, 1911, at the National Federation of Charities and Corrections in Boston, a National Federation of Settlements was formed. As a subject of study for the year the problem of the adolescent girl between fourteen and eighteen years of age was taken, with the hope that "through this interchange of experience a number of prac- tical conclusions might be reached which would have unique value for each of the four hundred Settlements in the United States." 1 In November, 1911, the subject was discussed before the Association of Neighborhood Work- ers of New York City and in December, 1911, it was decided that in addition to the general survey covering all Settlements a special survey of New York City be made. A committee was appointed as follows: Mrs. Vladimir G. Simkhovitch, chairman, Greenwich House; Miss Lillian Wald, Henry Street Settlement; Dr. Jane Robbins, Little Italy Neighborhood House, Brooklyn; Miss May Mat- thews, Hartley House; Miss Alice Gannett, Lenox Hill House; and Mr. Robbins Gilman, University Settlement. The actual work was begun in January, 1912, and has con- tinued for the greater part of two years. The vast amount of material gathered from the many Settlements in the United States and edited by Mr. Robert A. Woods and Mr. Albert J. Kennedy, of South End House, Boston, was published last fall under the title "Young Working Girls." To those of us who have sought in vain for literature on the girl problem, this book, with its wealth of material and its sane broad point of view, gives a comprehensive understanding of this most difficult of all problems. And while the subject matter in the fol- lowing pages of this book will be found to approximate closely that found in "Young Working Girls," it was felt by those most interested that the peculiar social conditions 1 See Schedule on the Problem of the Adolescent Girl. National Federation of Settlements: 1911-1912. 9 10 INTRODUCTORY NOTE. existing in New York City would give a unique value to this study. This, then, furnishes our excuse for so soon placing before the public another book on the same topic and following so closely the same lines. We feel the two books supplement each other, the one giving the broad general view, the other tending towards the concrete prob- lem as it presents itself in the City of New York. The data for the New York survey were obtained from 42 New York and Brooklyn Settlements, from some thirty organizations dealing directly or indirectly with the adoles- cent girl, from 80 churches where social work is carried on; and in addition to the above, many hundred workers with girls, such as school and district superintendents, teachers, school visitors, librarians, lecturers and club leaders, were interviewed. Thanks are due to the many Settlements, clubs, organizations, and churches whose hearty co-operation has made this study possible. In par- ticular do we extend our thanks to those who have given us the use of unpublished material. OLD AND NEW ASPECTS BEFORE entering upon the results of this survey, attention must be called to two facts that have an important bearing on the study of the ado- lescent girl. First and foremost must be noted the far-reaching social and economic changes of the past twenty years that have so completely altered the po- sition of woman in the world. The girl is no longer safeguarded as she has been in the past. The older type of woman, the "haus-frau," whose place of busi- ness was the home, whose horizon was bounded by household cares, is superseded by the new woman, no less womanly but with broader interests and a better understanding of life; if less tender, less sentimental and possessing a new element of womanly strength. So that in considering her home environment, her education and her place in industry, we must remem- ber that the girl is to be prepared not for the older type of womanhood but for the new and responsible position of woman in the world. Moreover, this investigation is differentiated from other investigations by dealing, not alone with tables of statistics, with wages and hours of work, but with that most pliable and varying element of all elements the human being; and from all the myriad types of human beings, we must select the most variable quan- tity to be found, the most unstable and uncertain, the one whose actions can be least foretold and whose inner life is the most difficult to understand the young girl at the period of adolescence. ii 12 OLD AND NEW ASPECTS. The fourteenth year marks the height of these adolescent disorders. Up to ten years of age the girl is a child growing naturally as all children do. In the few years preceding adolescence the rate of growth in both height and weight is diminished as if nature wished to conserve her strength for the coming strug- gle 1 . But at about ten years of age the most significant changes begin. The girl suddenly shoots up and from thirteen to fifteen distances her brother in both height and weight. At seventeen or eighteen she has practi- cally ceased to grow. Moreover, the separate parts and organs of the body do not grow in equal ratio so that the "due balance and harmony of growth" 2 is disturbed. "Adolescence begins with a new wave of vitality seen in growth ; in the modification of near- ly every organ; in new interests, instincts and ten- dencies ; increased appetite and curiosity, so that ..... it is physiological second birth. 3 " Added to these sig- nificant changes that are so far-reaching in their ef- fects, is that most vital change of all, the development of the reproductive organs which together with the establishment of the menstrual period, makes this the most critical period of the girl's life. It is necessary, then, to keep in mind these two facts in the following study. Moreover, because of the nature of the investigation and because the problem under consideration offers practically an unexplored field, the survey cannot in any way be regarded as an intensive study but rather a bird's-eye view of the situ- ation ; in other words, as a general survey of the field. l, G. Stanley: Adolescence; Vol. i, pp. 14, 16, 23. 2 Ibid. pp. 51-52. a Ibid. p. 308. OLD AND NEW ASPECTS .13 The results are extensive, impressionistic, rather than specific and direct. If, however, we have brought to- gether some few facts that bear on the girl and her problems and if through these facts we can arouse the spirit of sympathy and interest that will make possible further study of this all-important subject, we shall feel well content. II THE HOME IT is perhaps trite to say that of all the influences that act upon the child during its formative years, the most powerful is that of the home. Whether this influence retains its potency during the adolescent period is a question. The restlessness under restraint, the sense of adventure, the new aspect toward life, all tend to drive the girl away from parental con- trol. It is true that this state of affairs will readjust itself later after the storm and stress of the adolescent period but meanwhile an untold amount of suffering is caused and the girl even when blessed with a good home, is subject to a vast number of mental and moral dangers. To the unprotected girl, the element of physical danger is added. Our inquiry deals in particular with this girl. Does she have an adequate home? What of its influence on her? Is the attitude of the other members of the family a just one? And how does the girl herself react on this environment? It seems hardly worth our while to spend much time on the physical home when the knowledge of existing conditions is so widespread. Among the evils accen- tuated, we find the impossibility of quiet, the lack of privacy, the lodger evil and the most frightful over- crowding. 1 1 Read Vieller : Housing Reform and A Model Tenement House Law. 14 THE HOME 13 This over-crowding is unqualifiedly bad. The working-girl returns at night to a few small rooms, some of them without light or ventilation, all of them crowded to their limit by the family. She has nowhere to rest, no moment of quiet to recover her equilibrium after the day's hard work. In many cases she must help with the housework. If she wishes recreation, she must find it elsewhere; and at night she must sleep with one and perhaps more bed-fellows, the street noises breaking her rest. Everyone needs time away from others and this under existing conditions is im- possible. Aside from the danger of infectious and con- tagious diseases, the strain on the nerves caused by this over-crowding is enormous. The increasing number of nervous break-downs alone prove this. The moral and social effects are even more serious. "When a whole family, adults and children of both sexes, is crowded together in a single room, moral degredation is almost inevitable. 1 " Moreover, the lodger evil adds greatly to this danger. One of the most prominent social workers in New York made the interesting statement that the present tenement house law is based entirely on sani- tary conditions and while this is most necessary and excellent, it has resulted in making the social environ- ment even worse than in former years. It has provided light rooms and separate toilets and even in some cases bath-rooms, and so has raised the standard of living; but light and space and aids to cleanliness almost in- evitably mean higher rents, and many families, in order to meet the increased demand on their money, have 1 Seligman, R. A.: Report prepared by ; The Social Evil, p. 128. 16 THE HOME been forced to take lodgers and so have disturbed the unity of the family life. In the reports on the con- ditions existing among those working on men's cloth- ing, the status of 853 families was studied. Of the 53 German families, only three took lodgers or boarders. There were 95 Jewish families; 17. took lodgers, there being in many cases more than one lodger. Among the 695 Italian families, there were 190 families taking in 378 boarders and lodgers, or two to a family. The Germans are evidently not accustomed to eke out their income in this way; but nearly 18% of the Jewish ana 1 27% of the Italian families over one-fourth have outsiders in their homes. 1 One case was reported where a young and pretty daughter was sleeping with a woman lodger of openly evil repute. When the mother was spoken to, she seemed to see no way out of the difficulty. The added income more than outweighed the moral danger. In a questionaire sent out by a certain settlement to its club girls between fourteen and eighteen years of age, the following question was asked: Do you keep any boarders ? Of the nineteen girls who answered this question, only two kept boarders. The investigator, in commenting on their answers, says that it seems to be a delicate subject, as if the keeping of lodgers or boarders needed excuse. One girl writes that they "don't and never did keep them"! And another, seemingly aware of danger, says, "We do not keep boarders. I do not like them, because they interfere very much with the girl children in the family, and because thank God we do not need to keep them/' 2 1 Wage-Earning Women and Children: U. S. Dep't of Labor; Vol. 2; pp. 630-1. 2 From a special study of the Home Conditions of 19 Russian- Jewish Girls by the Harlem Federation. THE HOME 17 The economic pressure that compels so many families to take lodgers, forces the girl out into the world. The parents in far too many cases regard their children as economic assets and as such expect them to go to work at the earliest age possible. "Yes, we're havin' a hard time; but Florence will soon be fourteen and then she'll help." "Rosie, she work next a year. Rosie, she help." These are remarks heard daily among the working class. In the many interviews held with social workers the conclusion was unanimous that the children were regarded as economic assets, that the father in many cases exploited his sons and daughters, and that while there was seldom actual cruelty beyond harsh and vulgar words, there was too often little or no interest in the child as an individual. The standpoint of the mother is even more vital than that of the father, for it is to her that the grow- ing girl should come for help and advice. And here too the social workers of the city are unanimously agreed on the utter lack of understanding between mother and daughter. Perhaps, after all, it is too much to hope that mem- bers of one generation can understand fully those of another and younger generation. And just at this time of adolescence, the girl is most difficult to reach. Doubtless a certain amount of misunderstanding is inevitable and to be accepted without too great sur- prise but that there should be such a complete lack of friendship as exists at present between the vast ma- jority of the mothers of the working class and their daughters points to some hidden reason other than the difference in the point of view of the two generations or the storm and stress of the adolescent period. And this is found in the effort at readjustment being made i8 THE HOME by foreigners between the traditional customs of the home country and the conditions, economic and social, existing in the new world. Of the groups of nationalities in this country, none present a more interesting picture than the Italian. In coming to America he has brought with him the time-honored traditions of Italy. The father must work, usually at manual labor; the mother keeps the house. The children run wild and the boy later "sows his wild oats'* but the maturing girl is guarded with the most jealous care until a husband is found for her and she is safely landed in the married state. In Italy the girls acquiesce; these laws are natural, sanctioned by tradition; there is no questioning of them. Then the family comes to America. The father, working in the ditch, spending his evenings at his club or in the saloon, gains his knowledge of America from the ward politician or from the man he has pushed up in the social scale and who calls him a "dago." The Italian mother stays at home. She may remain in this country for years without learning the language or going a block away from home. She tends the house, sets fairly good food before her husband and children and then, under economic pressure, finding that she can earn money by taking in work, she sews on garments or makes artificial flowers. After school the children help; and the sweating industry has sprung into life full- grown. Moreover, the Italian, finding that his neigh- bor's children work and seeing the economic value of such a procedure, is ready to take his daughter from school and put her to work at the earliest possible moment. And the girl, imbued with the independent spirit of America, needs no urging. But in forcing his daughter out into the world the father has ex- THE HOME 19 posed her to new influences and a new environment and it is not strange that she soon resists the attitude of her parents. As soon as she matures, strict super- vision begins. It hardly seems a reasoning out of the matter ; it is more like an instinct, a superstition. And the girl resents the curtailing of her liberty. So far they have been held by tradition, but the time is coming when they will break away from this restraint and with the centuries of dependent womanhood behind them, it will be strange indeed if many do not succumb to the countless temptations met on every hand. The Hebrew problem carries with it many of the same aspects save that here the awakening has already come. The great Jewish traditions, the centuries-old religious belief with its beauty and grandeur, are being swept impatiently aside by the Jewish girl as she enters industry; and we find mainly because of her native curiosity and her independent spirit, a surpris- ing number of the Jewish girls among the ranks of the prostitutes. She will doubtless be safer than the Italian girl, however, when once the period of transition is passed for she has the safeguard of intellectual ability. The attitude of the parents too is of a different type. While they expect their daughters to work they realise the value of education and a vast number of Jews are found in the higher institutions of learning. The Irish are fast becoming Americanized. The difficulty here is not the re-adjustment of the tradi- tional point of view to modern American ideals, but especially with the poorer Irish a certain lack of in- terest in their children. It is the lazy careless happy- go-lucky attitude so common to this nation that harms. In the better homes, however, there is a real interest in the girl and we see little of the tendency to ex- 20 THE HOME ploit the children that is shown among the Italians and the Jews. The Irish mother is anxious, fearful for the girl and eager to help; and it may be safely said that the better Irish parent is more interested in his sons and daughters as individuals than either the Italian or the Jew. Not only is the parent inclined to misunderstand the girl at home but the case is rare indeed where the parents take an interest in the conditions surrounding the girl in her hours away from home. One mother, when the wisdom of knowing where her daughter was employed was suggested, answered, "Oh, she can take care of herself." This seems to be the general atti- tude. Of course this is in some measure explained by the mother's lack of English and the confusion at the new method of life together witK the girl's independent attitude. The economic factor is also important. The average mother, if the question of a good wage under poor conditions and a smaller wage under better con- ditions comes up, will invariably decide in favor of the higher wage. In the matter of recreation the parents are somewhat more interested. The possibility of the girl getting into trouble and so disgracing the family is an ever pres- ent one. The Jewish mother dresses her daughter well in order that she may make a good match while her father watches carefully the "company she keeps." The Italian tries to circumvent trouble by keeping his daughter virtually a prisoner. Nowhere is found a true sense of the need of recreation for the growing girl. Many parents are most just to their daughters in the necessities of life but they have yet to learn that recreation is also a necessity and that their present THE HOME 21 attitude of regarding fun as a luxury is fundamentally wrong. But what of the girl herself and her attitude toward the home? Up to fourteen and indeed till she leaves school she is to all intents and purposes a little girl, often naughty and unmanageable, but after all in most cases conforming outwardly at least to her parents' point of view. At fourteen she enters the most critical part of the adolescent period; added to this in many cases she enters the industrial world. She suddenly finds herself of importance ; she has become a factor in the family life. In many cases her mother cannot speak English and she is called upon to transact the business of the family. She works and brings in money as her father and brothers do. Unlike them she hands it over intact to her mother.) This seems a universal custom. Miss VanKleeck states that generally speak- ing 85% of the girls who live at home hand all their money to their mothers. Of 344 department store girls recently interviewed, 290 or 84% gave all their wages to their families; 41 gave part and only 13 gave none. Of 1,532 factory girls, 1,349 or SS% gave all to their families and only 10 gave none. 1 Strange to say, the girls do not resent this. Where this has been discussed in girls' clubs the opinion has been practically unanimous that it is the right thing to do. "Boys are different/' said one girl. "Of course it is different if you are a daughter,'* said another. "It just wouldn't seem nice not to," added a third. Further, the girl seems to feel that if she hands over all her money to her mother she has a right to remain 1 U. S. Dep't of Labor : Wage-Earning Women and Children : Vol. 5, pp. 20. 22 THE HOME at home when out of work and the seasonal aspect of woman's work makes this a pertinent question. It woujS seem unwise to urge the girl to relinquish this fine spirit of helpfulness. The girls usually know how the money is spent. Indeed, I feel we underesti- mate the knowledge the girls have of family affairs, for as a rule the girl's touch with the home life is so intimate that she as well as her mother knows the necessity of economy and wise expenditure. A questionaire was recently sent out by a New York settlement, 1 to 73 Russian Jewish girls asking ques- tions on home conditions; only nineteen answered but their answers are worthy of consideration. Most of these nineteen said they were happy in their homes. One says "I am as happy as one would be if it rained a few days and then sunshine is here." The mother seems to be a more natural confidante for the girl than the father who "would laugh at me." The busy life of the mother seems to leave little time for confidences, however, and so many girls confide in their friends. The girls seem to realize the burdens of the mothers. One little girl, speaking of these burdens, says, "You see I can't be very happy because I understand the conditions." The question was asked "Are your par- ents interested in your club and in the other things you do?" One writes "My mother and father are very interested in my doings so that I will not go wrong. They are interested in my club but not very." And another "They always give me a nickel for the club with a will. Therefore I think they are inter- ested." All the answers are in the affirmative with qualifications. This certainly gives us a brighter pic- 1 The Harlem Federation. THE HOME 23 ture than painted elsewhere but it should be noted in passing that of these nineteen girls, twelve are school girls and eight of these twelve are in the high school while one is studying music and two more expect to go to high school ; hence, an intelligent group. Ill EFFORTS AT READJUSTMENT MANY of the settlements and church houses are doing constructive work in readjusting the difficulty of the misunderstanding be- tween the parent and daughter. ( The most satisfactory method begins with home visiting. Not only is it possible thus to get in touch with the parents them- selves but the back-ground this home picture gives, helps greatly in dealing with the girl herself.) Often a chance word will open the eyes of the mother or father to the daughter's worth and needs, and a word about her mother will perhaps show the girl the too often tragic pathos of her mother's life. Talks to groups of girls on the home or discussions before mothers' clubs on the problems that confront the growing girls, have met with undoubted success. The so-called sex-hygiene lectures given in the ma- jority of settlements have without any doubt given to both girls and parents a new point of view and a greater sympathy with one another. If the talks can be given to the foreign mothers in their own language there is a greater likelihood of complete understanding on the part of the mother. Further, a strong effort should be made to preserve the family unit. There is probably not a worker among the Italians who has not encountered the difficulty of building up clubs of Italian girls, |and the difficulty can easily be solved by asking the family as a whole. Those who have seen the Italians at Hull House where the entire family, parents, children, yes, and grand- 24 EFFORTS AT READJUSTMENT 25 parents meet together for a social evening, will real- ise the value of this work. Sometimes the girls them- selves can be persuaded to give a party for their mothers and in this way a more friendly feeling may be established. The loss of the family unity is one of the most serious evils of the times and it is only by giving the members of the family group some common interest that we can hope to hold them together. It is hardly necessary to mention in this connection the tre- mendous unifying pow r er of religion. Another interesting attempt has been made to bridge over this gulf between parent and daughter by a social worker who has offered her services as go-between at the public school in her district. During certain hours she is on hand to talk over with any mother the possi- bilities of the girl's future. This is along the line of vocational guidance but reaches out to the mother rather than to the girl. Enough cannot be said for the study of old-country traditions with a view of interesting the girl in all that her forebears knew and loved. It would indeed be a pity if the present generation grew into woman- hood with a scorn for the fine old traditions of the fatherland. One club of Irish girls is becoming greatly interested in the Irish legends through a study of the Irish songs. In like manner the Jewish club and the Italian group should know aind love the characteristics of their nation and race. And it is not too much to hope that this also will aid in doing away with the misunderstanding now so apparent. The girl must not only be reconciled to her parents' home but she must also be prepared for the future home which in all probability will be hers. Certainly no one can speak with greater authority on this sub- 26 EFFORTS AT READJUSTMENT ject of training for the horne than Miss Mabel Kit- tredge. Through her unremitting toil, there are now established in different parts of the city several centers where girls are taught house-keeping and home-making. Miss Kittredge is instrumental also in obtaining the first model flat in the public schools. As Miss Kit- tredge suggests, the best way to teach the children is to train them under conditions somewhat resembling the situation at home; heretofore the domestic science rooms of the schools have presented to the child noth- ing whatever resembling the home ; with the establish- ment of this new model flat, a new order has begun. Much of the work done along this line as yet finds its outlet in the inevitable cooking and sewing classes. There is a call for something broader, more construc- tive^ better rounded out to fill the girl's future needs. /Coud not a course, called perhaps a Home- Making \ Course, be planned, where the necessary sex instruc- (tion could be given, followed by child-study; and this ; in turn could be followed by house furnishing and deco- < rating, by lessons in buying and preparing food, and in the general care of the home. The eagerness of girls seventeen and eighteen years to obtain definite informa- tion along all these lines leads one to believe that such a course would be popular as well as educative. IV THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS BEFORE entering into a discussion on the edu- cation of the adolescent girl, and in what way this education prepares her for life, let me state briefly the Compulsory Education Law of New York State. This law provides that all children be- tween seven and fourteen years of age in proper mental and physical condition be required to attend upon instructions, namely, (i) All children between seven and fourteen years of age must attend during the en- tire period the school attended is in session; 1 and (2) All children between fourteen and sixteen years of age must attend school when not regularly employed under the labor certificates 2 issued by the local Board of Health. 1 Boys, unless they have completed the gram- mar school, must attend evening school. There are no regulations in this matter regarding girls. There are in Greater New York 527 day schools. Of these 496 are elementary schools, 21 are high schools or schools with high school departments and two are vocational schools. There are besides three training schools, three truant schools, one school for the deaf and one nautical school. The evening schools number 122; 103 elementary schools, 15 high schools and 4 trade schools. 8 1 See Education Law 621 ; 624. 2 See Labor Law 70-73 ; 161-165. 3 See Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Superin- tendent of Schools for the year ending July 31, 1912. pp. 18-19. 27 28 THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS In addition to these public schools of Greater New York, the city has 45 corporate schools, industrial schools, etc., which receive a share of the school fund. There are 1 7O-odd parochial schools and a large num- ber of private schools. 1 In giving these statistics, I wish merely to call to your attention certain interesting contrasts twenty- three times as many elementary schools as high schools and only one trade school for every 248 elementary schools ! Evidently our girls do not wish and certainly do not receive, either trade training or a higher edu- cation. The population of Greater New York is approxi- mately 5,000,000. The Board of Health estimated that on July 31, 1912, the number of children between five and eighteen years of age was approximately 1,266,- ooo. 2 The net enrollment of the public schools was 785,642 or 15.7% of the population and 62% of all the children of school age. Since the school law is compulsory for all classes of society the remaining 38% are to be found in the parochial, private and cor- porate schools. The net enrollment of the kindergarten is 52,226, of the elementary schools 672,360, of the high schools 56,788, and of the vocational schools 1,871.* Let us look at this from the point of view of age. There were in 1911-1912 in the elementary schools, high schools, and the trade schools of Greater New York: pp. 19. 2 Ibid : pp. 34. 3 Ibid : pp. 21-24. THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS 29 32,656 girls between 13 and 14 years of age 26,453 " " 14 " 15 " " " 15,431 " " 15 " 16 " " "' 7,159 " " 16 " 17 " " " 3,124 " " 17 " 18 " " " 2,780 " 1 8 years and over. 1 It is interesting to note that beginning with the seven year-old at 33,281, the number of girls in school rises to 35,196 in the next year, and from that time on the fluctuation is never more than 1,000 until the drop at the beginning of the fourteenth year when the curve descends almost perpendicularly. (See Chart I). It is easy to see without further comment that the vast majority of our girls leave school without taking a high school course. The number of boys and girls graduating in 1911- 1912 was 38,951 and the number entering high school from the public schools 22,773 or 58,% of those gradu- ating. 2 We find, then, that some 16,000 leave school after graduating and doubtless enter industry. Moreover, there were 40,591 employment certificates issued in the single year 1911-1912 by the Board of Health. 3 Over 24,000 of these, then, were to pupils who had not completed the elementary school course. Indeed, the median child who takes working papers is only in the 6B Grade ! 4 In the high schools there were in 1911-1912 a total enrollment of 56,788 boys and girls. Of these, 3,530 1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools, pp. 62. 2 Ibid: pp. 147. 8 Ibid : pp. 240. 4 Report of the Vocational Guidance Survey. July, 1912. 30 THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS were graduated. 1 The girls numbered 2,285 and the boys, 1,245. Comparing the number graduating with the number entering high school 22,773 we find that 1 5/4% only will complete the high school course. 2 It is apparent, then, from the above statistics, that the drop in school attendance at fourteen is enormous, we find that three-fifths of our employment certificate boys and girls are under graduates, and that the ma- jority of these, probably three-fourths, have not com- pleted the seventh year. Further, of the entire school population, less than one-half of one per cent, will become high school graduates. What are the causes for this exodus from our schools ? Possibly first to be mentioned as a contributing cause is "economic pressure." This cry has been ably answered by the report of the Vocational Guidance Survey. To the surprise of many who while interested in this problem have not made a study of it, it was found that only 20% of the 327 children studied, were obliged to leave school on account of economic pressure. 3 In practically every case the earnings of the child from fourteen to sixteen years do not even pay for his own expenses and are so slight an addition to the family budget that except in rare cases they could be spared. It must be remembered, however, that from a psychological standpoint, whether there is real need or not, the mischief is done as soon as the parent is convinced of the need and that it would be at least in many cases difficult to secure the co-operation of the 1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools: p. 147; 148. 2 Ibid : p. 148. 3 Report of the Vocational Guidance Survey. July, 1912. THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS 31 o = 2T2T 1 . tf) i O tn 32 THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS parents should we at present compel the child to re- main in school until sixteen years of age. I would mention as a second factor a certain lack of interest by both parents and children in educational matters. The present system of education does not hold the child nor the parent. "The most striking thing in the attitude of the parents and children toward the school is their apathy. More than two-thirds of the children and more than three-fourths of the parents had no conviction that it was worth while to spend more time in school. To parents whose whole life is encompassed by steady daily toil, school often seems a thing apart, outside; it was not a basic necessity of their lives." 1 Far more important than the so-called economic pressure that seems to force our young people into in- dustry at this early age, or the apathy shown toward school, is a third factor, namely, that restlessness and discontent, that eager reaching out after new experi- ences, that desire for life in its most vital sense, with which this adolescent age is so replete. The school- room is the house of bondage, the world of industry is that promised land where ever-new wonders will be found; somehow the girl manages to secure her em- ployment certificate and fares eagerly forth into the new and unknown world. And many feel that this new experience gives an education to the girl superior to that given by the schools; not that conditions are better but that the view-point of the girl is changed. In industry certain habits are instilled that the school signally fails to give the girl. She may be late 1 Report of the Vocational Guidance Survey. July, IQI2. THE EDUCATION OF CITY GIRLS 33 to school or even play truant if care is taken to avoid the officer; but let her be late at her work and she feels the loss in a material way. She realises at last that "time is money," that she must "stick to her job," that absences must be reduced to a minimum and that "tending to business" is the first requisite to getting on in the w r orld. She learns the lesson in a hard school, it is true. No one cares why she is late or absent; it matters very little to the foreman why her work is not done as well or as rapidly as that of the girl next to her; if she cannot come up to a certain standard, she can go; there are others to take her place. And in spite of the many misfits and many cases where the girl has a dozen jobs in as many months, it is noteworthy that most of our young people take the industrial life seriously and feel anxious indeed if they are out of work. I remember well a boy who said gravely that he would take anything rather than be idle. "It ain't good for a fellow to lie around," he went on, "You get used to it too easy." And one successful worker among girls has made the statement that nothing so quickly arouses her anxiety from a moral standpoint as having a girl change "jobs" often. Moreover, the importance the girl feels at becom- ing a wage-earner, the new respect with which she is treated by her parents and neighbors, together with the entrance into a life where she is no longer merely a school girl but an actual factor in the economic world, all tend to give her a sense of independence ; and while this may and often does show itself in a certain arro- gance and over-confident spirit, the effect upon her character is on the whole good. CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS IN EDUCATION THE question naturally arises how these condi- tions may be met and overcome. Is it possible to disabuse the minds of the parents of this idea "economic pressure"? Can we in any way arouse them from their apathy? With the addition of more trade schools and a better adaptation of our schools to the needs of the girl, can we hope to tide over this restlessness of adolescence and convince the girl that she really wishes to remain in school ? Our first impulse is to feel that trade education is the necessary and immediate requirement. The 1,871 who are in the public trade schools as against the 40,000 who have secured their working papers would almost force one to the opinion that the trade schools are the only solution. Surely the army entering this "new ex- perience" each year is hardly prepared for industry! It is true that new trade schools should be opened. The number of girls in skilled trades, such as the sewing and operating trades, certainly points to the necessity of more schools. The Manhattan Trade School, 1 formerly under private management but taken over by the city in September, 1910, has demonstrated clearly the wisdom of such work. In 1911-1912 the enrollment was 1,050, 188 completing the course while 435 were forced to leave before finishing the course. 1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Sup't of Schools. Report on the Manhattan Trade School: pp. 341-353. 34 CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS 35 The fact that the work is not compulsory makes for a constant shifting among the pupils. And yet this very influence against continuous and steady attendance works out to the advantage of the girl herself. There are four trades taught: dressmaking, millinery, ma- chine operating, and novelty work. The first two may be termed highly skilled trades; the operating is hardly so highly skilled while there are features in the novelty work such as sample mounting that may be regarded as unskilled labor. A girl may try all four trades; it will be only a matter of time before she finds her proper level. If in the highly skilled trades, she will doubtless finish the Manhattan Trade School course and be placed in an excellent position. If she finds, however, that she will never become a skilled worker, the school through the Placement Department will doubtless be able to place her in a congenial po- sition. This "trying out" process is a most necessary part of the industrial life; in a school such as the Manhattan Trade School it can be done under the best conditions and with the sympathetic help of trained women, a most vital improvement upon the usual method of giving up job after job until one is found that "fits." In the latest report on the Manhattan Trade School, Miss Marshall, the principal, speaks of the value of the complete course. Graduates have no difficulty in finding positions in the skilled trades for which they are trained and the average wage at the start is $5.07. The incompletely trained girl on the other hand rarely enters the skilled trades, receives at the start only $3.89 and shows a constant fluctuation form job to job. 1 : 341-553- 36 CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS But while this trade education is necessary for a certain portion of our girl workers, it is not at present possible, however desirable, for the great majority who at fourteen enter industry. In this question of trade training, certain facts must be kept in mind. First and foremost, must be taken into account the fundamental difference in trade education for boys and girls. For the boy this trade education is most necessary. His en- tire future depends absolutely on just how skilled he may become in some one line of work. And this very success will bring to him what he desires; means of support for wife and children, the power to have a home, to enjoy the goods of life, to pay insurance dues and club and union dues, to become a power in his community, all these natural desires urge the lad on to the acquisition of a good trade. The girl on the other hand has few of these in- centives. "Woman has entered industry half-heart- edly. She is not work-conscious as she is home-con- scious. The old home tradition remains with her a powerful sentiment. Her interest is the home. She expects to return to a home life of her own. Indus- trial work is a mere interlude. It is this work inter- lude that is so fraught with danger from the very fact that it is a makeshift. It is still unrelated to the deep- est conscious or unconscious purpose of the girl." 1 However greatly she may enjoy her work at heart she expects to become a wife and mother and she recognizes that a trade education is not for her as for the boy a fundamental necessity. 1 Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science: Volume on Woman's Work, Mrs. Simkhovitch, V. G. A New Social Adjustment, pp. 83. CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS 37 Many other solutions to the problem are suggested. Some advocate raising the school age to sixteen, while others feeling this unwise, believe that it is pos- sible so to change the present curriculum that the child will voluntarily remain in school. One of New York's most prominent workers suggests that the age of gradu- ation be raised to approximate with the sixteenth year thus acting as an incentive to those who care for the elementary diploma. And another group feel that some such system of continuation schools as obtain in Ger- many will best solve the problem. In Munich, how- ever, the continuation schools for girls have proved the least successful part of the undertaking and it is well to call to mind here the girls' point of view as op- posed to that of the boy. The curriculum of the year corresponding to our eighth year in the Munich schools is significant. "Religion, 2 hours weekly; household management and cookery, 8 hours; needle-work, such as is needed in the household, 4 hours; German, in business cor- respondence, moral and ethical training, reading les- sons, including domestic subjects, hygiene and Ger- man and family life, 6 hours; Arithmetic, manage- ment of domestic accounts, elements of commercial arithmetic, cost of living and the maintenance of the home, 4 hours; gymnasium and singing." 1 If our elementary schools offered some such course, modified to suit the needs of the American girl, we should have more satisfactory results. And in ad- dition, scholarships might be offered to those showing 1 Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science : Vol. on Woman's Work. Woolman, M. S. Training the Youngest Girls for Wage-Earning; pp. 145. 38 CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS marked ability in any skilled trade or in the case of children who are in need of further education. The Henry Street Settlement has worked out this idea in a most successful way. The scholarship fund is de- voted to the use of those who may legally go to work and whose parents cannot afford to give them a higher education. About fifty girls are at present receiving these scholarships, an average of three dollars a week each being given them. One girl, receiving only a small wage in a little east-side shop, with no chance of advance, was given an opportunity to study design- ing and art. She is now in the employ of a large house and has already been sent to Paris as a buyer. The suggestion has also been made that the last two years of the elementary course be given over to trade education. It must be remembered, however, that what we have to consider is not "industrial training for the masses but training for the industrial masses" and that this training in the elementary schools at least must be of a liberal rather than an industrial type. Possibly in our effort to readjust education to existing conditions, we are leaning too much towards the in- dustrial aspect in our schools. Not that we do not need manual training and domestic science and art. We need more of these rather than less. But this hand work should be linked in a very definite way with brain work. It is far more necessary that the child should be taught certain habits rather than certain processes. Efficiency has to do with habit, not proc- ess. Teaching a child to make a box or a shirtwaist under supervision may make of her a very efficient machine but she ought to be an efficient human being. The manual work in the broadest sense is valuable only when the mind is so awakened that efficiency will CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS 39 be sought in every act of life. If we can arouse without undue self-consciousness the mind of the child so that she will be able to look squarely in the face her own powers of efficiency or inefficiency we shall have gone far towards making this a nation of efficient workers. Many educators are putting much time on this question of readjustment. Studies are being made by skilled workers and the new Vocational Education Sur- vey, which has grown out of the Vocational Guidance Survey will take as its work the collection of "data about actual industrial conditions for the use of the schools in working out types of industrial training." 1 The signs of the times show in the High School work as well as in the elementary schools. The Aid Committee of the High School Teachers' Association publishes contributions on the subject and a constant readjustment of curriculum is made. The Washing- ton Irving High School trains directly for the home. In the Wadleigh High School a course is given under the title of Social Science. Trie course deals with three main topics: Self-study with the sub-headings Self- analysis, Formation of Ideals and Self-development; Vocation Study which deals with the description of oc- cupations, the choice of a trade and the preparation for industrial life; and finally City-Study dealing with present conditions, with ideal conditions and the best methods of developing these conditions. The Horace Mann School gives an interesting course called Prac- tical Arts. It comprises a study of dress, of the art of 1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Sup't of Schools: Report of the Vocational Guidance Survey. PP. 397- 40 CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS house-keeping and home-making, a lecture course on personal and family hygiene including sex-hygiene, and a study of present social conditions. In the high schools throughout the city the regular course is most popular and what might be termed the high school studies are the ones on which the greatest stress is laid. The signs of the times show here, how- ever, in a course in biology including the study of the functions of plants, animals and man. This course is now taught in every high school and the emphasis is gradually shifting from the structure of the various forms to their physiological functions as digestion, respiration, reproduction, etc., and further to the relation of this subject to the well-fare of man. 1 Here, if anywhere, might the necessary instruction in matters pertaining to sex be introduced. This whole question of teaching matters pertaining to sex is a serious one. The method suggested above is logical and possible in the future. The reticence of the past has been so strong, however, and the interest of the present so new and so intense that it is doubtless not wise to advocate immediate teaching in the schools. This attitude is all the more to be emphasized in that many of the teachers still hold the old-fashioned point of view. The three teachers who were observed stuffing their ears with cotton preceding a sex-hygiene lecture they were forced to attend, belong to a group who very honestly feel that their point of view is right. But the teacher who said in an awed and indignant whisper after hearing a series of lectures that the morals in their school had suddenly become "too shocking for 1 Thirteenth Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools: pp. 112. CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS 41 words" rather convinces one by her attitude that these lectures that open the eyes of the teachers to actual con- ditions have their place. The crying need is for com- pulsory education along these lines for every man and woman who teaches our youth and no effort should be spared to induce every normal school to plan some course on this most important matter. And not until the majority of the teachers have the right point of view, should it be introduced into the schools. But this frank dealing with facts will not solve the problem. Knowledge alone does not save, and if this instruction in matters pertaining to race instinct is not related vitally to the most elevating ideals, the benefit derived therefrom will be less than we expect. In this field the home, the church and the settlement must take the lead. As yet the home takes practically no responsibility; of the 82 Protestant churches who as- sisted in this study, only 12 were making any attempt to teach "sex-hygiene" and only 27 felt that such effort was wise. The influence of the settlement has been along constructive lines. In the year 1911-1912 fifteen settle- ments furnished lectures for their girls and women on this subject; this last winter there is hardly a settle- ment that has not tried the experiment of at least one course of lectures. The results have been surprisingly good. As far as could be ascertained, in only two cases did it seem unfortunately true that the girls took the instruction in a wrong way or placed a vulgar inter- pretation upon it. The mothers, who in the majority of cases were consulted before the lectures, were glad to shift the responsibility that weighed upon them and indeed in many cases came gladly to lectures them- selves. And the many remarks of the girls on the sub- 42 CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS ject easily convinced the club leaders that the step had been a wise one. A few cautions on this topic should be mentioned. On no account should any one girl hear more than one series of lectures. When once the facts are known and the right attitude of mind gained, there is no need of further discussion. During this period of adolescence personal talks are often more productive of good re- sults than lectures to a group; but when this is im- possible the group should be approximately of the same age and of girls who are friends ; and the talks should be friendly and natural. Finally the information given should be quite definite. Things must be called by their right names; questions must be answered with the ut- most frankness; nothing that the girl wishes to know should be withheld. The two great objects are to satisfy her curiosity and her very legitimate thirst for knowledge as to the facts of life, and then to give these facts which to her are often sordid and vile so delicate and beautiful a setting that they will take on a new meaning and life will become a holy thing. The settlements have been in the advance guard of all industrial and educational work. The old cooking class has been in many cases superseded by "supper-clubs" where the girls learn not only cooking but buying as well. And the fun is enhanced when the boys are invited to partake of a meal. Sewing is not so popular as cooking. We find, how- ever, successful classes here and there. One club was held together an entire winter by the carrying out of the suggestion that each girl fill a "chest" in the good old-fashioned way. Shirtwaist classes are popular and a "trimming hats" class is always in demand. The tendency at present is away from the stereotyped class CONSTRUCTIVE ELEMENTS 43 of a few years ago to a well rounded out course in home-making. Efforts are being made to develop the girl's taste alone asthetic lines. Sometimes the girls arc allowed to furnish a new flat. Talks by experts in artistic furnishing are always inspiring and the girls are amazed and delighted to find that simple artistic effects are within the reach of everyone. Again, the interest aroused of late years in the old- world industries which many of our immigrants drop upon entering the new world will tend to bring into prominence new lines of work for women. The classes in stencilling, brass work, basketry, etc., are popular. And the many lines of co-operation between settlement and school tend to keep each in intimate touch with the ideals and work of the other to the great advantage of both. Classes in civics, in city planning, in industrial conditions and laws, should be further developed. If woman is to take her share of the world's burden, she must learn to know conditions and the means of bettering them and a course such as this could easily be adapted to girls of the adolescent age. Settlements, churches, organizations of every type, the school-men, educators, factory owners, "cap tains of industry," yes, even the boys and girls themselves by their very restlessness and impatience, are working for a solution of this problem of how best to educate our youth; and this tremendous interest in the topic of education points to a speedy readjustment along these lines. VI . THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION I HAVE said that on the whole the effect of industrial life on the girl is good. Such a state- ment needs qualifying. It is good in many cases; it would be good in every case were the conditions under which she works what they ought to be. Work hurts no one ; it is overwork with the poison of fatigue in one's system that harms; it is work under unsani- tary conditions and in industries where the industry itself is harmful that evil causes results; it is the long hours of standing that continue throughout the month with no regard to what the girl's physical condition may be that ruin health; it is the whole accumulative effect of unsanitary lodgings and unwholesome food, of overcrowding in the homes, of overwork and over- strain in the working hours under unhealthy conditions and in harmful trades, that so vitally injures these potential mothers of the race and damns to degeneracy and early death the little children of our crowded city streets. There are approximately 375,000 boys and girls in Greater New York between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. The number in school is probably about 150,000; 100,000 in the public schools and 50,000 in other schools. The Permanent Census Board was able to locate in industry only 66,620 boys and 65,352 girls, a total of nearly 132,000 engaged in industrial pursuits. Of the 90,000 odd unaccounted for, there is little question that 30,000 to 40,000 are at work and some i 6,000 to 20,000 between 14 and 16 years are doubtless working illegally. 44 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION 45 This army of young people that enter industry at fourteen are must be, from the very nature of things, unskilled workers. Driven to work either by economic pressure, by the exploitation by the parents, or because the school, not answering to their need, has become irksome, they make their way into factory and store and office, hoping in this new environment to find what they have instinctively missed in the old. And the tragedy of these young things does not end here. "Do you think we marry because we love?" said one worker in her broken English. "We marry because we are tired tired and we hope to escape from work." By consulting the chart and table showing the occu- pations of girls between fourteen and sixteen years and sixteen and eighteen years of age in New York City, 1 a general view of the situation may be gained. 2 The Manufacturing and Mechanical Pursuits from the largest group, numbering 20,716 girls or 1^/2% of the total number (117,479). Here are found the 3,600 machine operators, the dressmakers and- seamstresses numbering together over 3,600, the shirt and waist makers, the 1,400 milliners, the 1,600 feather workers, those in the tobacco factories and the workers of boxes, artificial flowers, book binding, etc. The group drawing the next largest number is that composed of those engaged in Domestic and Personal Service. Of the 20,360 in this group, over 18,000 or 15^2% of the whole number of girls between fourteen and eighteen years are employed in housework. 1 Quarterly Publication of the American Statistical Ass'n : The Permanent Census Board of New York City ; September, 1912. 2 See Chart II and Table I. 46 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION Chart II. Occupations of New York City Girls. TV* ci *" 1 | 54-oi-e ^0 w 3 o 1 5) U. tv n? ! j ^* 62 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION TABLE II TABLE SHOWING OCCUPATION IN RELATION TO NATIONALITY OF 1,283 GIRLS BETWEEN FOURTEEN AND SIXTEEN YEARS IN THIRTY SETTLEMENTS w c i u o> o O <(} 8 C/I ,H"o en ffi 73 8 5 fe C/5 8 $ OJ.C ,- u Hc/3 Q! 58 00 Jewish 41 38 71 S?6 4O A 24 e 7m Irish 49 38 17 AA 2 17 I 171 Italian 50 4 2 O o 8 o 12 A American 23 25 6 59 1 1 2 o 121 German 7 7 21 1O 6 2 Q o 81 Slavs, etc 5 3 o 2 ii 1 I o Others . o i O 1 T O 2 7 Total .175 116 121 715 73 14 63 61,283 TABLE III TABLE SHOWING OCCUPATION IN RELATION TO NATIOALTTY OF 1,877 GIRLS BETWEEN SIXTEEN AND EIGHTEEN YEARS IN THIRTY SETTLEMENTS c tn u o a; c 3 V) y> o V) si tfi O o> u S'> S ca .. o. 0) 3 _ 2 o gjG eflj- n i- (2 t/3 O $ Ht^ Qc^ < 00 H Jewish 293 68 395 171 33 ^?8 10 4 [,041 American 109 65 85 22 i T 18 2 33 Irish 72 T8 71 32* o T 13 I 208 Italian 133 i 27 I 3 T 20 T6 German 33 13 ?8 II 5 6 6 O 102 Slavs 4 10 6 6 T T 3 O 31 Others . 5 i o 6 Total .649 176 612 243 43 38109 71,877 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION 63 spend far more in dress than her factory sister. The story is told of a little cashier of sixteen years who on her small wage was just able to support an invalid mother. One day the manager of the store said to her, "You will have to dress better if you stay here. Go to the suit department and buy a suit." She told him she could not afford it but was finally obliged to buy the suit or lose her position. She bought the suit. On the next pay-day she found that her entire wage was stopped until the suit was paid for ! The girls are often exposed to moral danger as well. And not only to danger within the shop but the cus- tomers themselves find in the freedom of the right of purchase, an opportunity offered in no other trade. Travelling men who are dissolute and are without the restraint of public opinion, find here easy victims for their lust ; and madames, when purchasing goods, make little presents to the girls commiserating with them on their hard lot and telling them that they themselves were once salesgirls. On every side the girl sees the glamor and brightly-colored side of vice; seldom she sees the horrible results. She becomes sophisticated and is often persuaded that there is no harm in im- morality if one is not found out. In the social service work at Bellevue Hospital, many unmarried girls who come from the factories or domestic service are found in the maternity ward. The shop girl finds her way into the ward for venereal disease. There are good and bad factories as well as good and bad shops. Offices are often dangerous if only one or two girls are employed. But neither in factory work nor in offices are girls so openly exposed on so many sides to constant danger and temptation as in department stores; and the general opinion of social 64 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION workers is that the factory is the safest place for the girl. Our records do not show one of the greatest evils of women's work, the seasonal trade. Those who have read "Making Both Ends Meet" by Miss Wyatt and Miss Clark will be impressed by the reiteration of this evil. "During the idle time/* "the long dull season," "in idle times" are phrases that meet one's eye on every page. "We only went from bed to work and from work to bed again," one of the girls said. "And some- times if we sat up a little while at home, we were so tired we could not speak to the rest and we hardly knew what they were talking about. And still, al- though there was nothing for us but machine and bed, we could not earn enough to take care of ourselves through the slack season." 1 Many of the girls try to supplement their own trade with another that will dovetail into the slack season. One girl working at millinery that most seasonal of all trades was bright enough to see that the sewing trade overlapped the idle months. "So I applied for a position. I didn't know a thing about the work but when he said, 'Do you know how to sew?' I just an- swered, 'Sure! What do you think?' And he took me and now I'm busy all the time and am earning good wages, too." In direct contrast to these idle weeks and months, are the weeks of the "busy season" when "overtime" is required. "Overtime means something more than an overlong period of work. It means irregular work; it means evening work after and in addition to day work, often without previous notice to the employe; 1 Clark and Wyatt : Making Both Ends Meet : pp. 62-63. THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION 65 it means in many trades that worse consequence, over- time followed by out-of-work, a 'rush' season of too much work with a slack season of no work and desti- tution close behind it. * * * On the physiological side, we have seen that overtime, like other forms of over- work, injures health, because in one word, it strains. It postpones rest beyond the point when rest can nor- mally accomplish its office of repair. * * * These are what overtime work invites and brings with it, requir- ing during overlong hours increasing stimuli for wea- ried muscles from already tried nerve centers. * * * It is hardly surprising that workers should come to work late the next morning after evening overtime, and that the reaction after a spurt should lead to 'loafing' and inferior production in consequence." 1 And to these evils of the low wage, the seasonal trade and overtime work, must be added those related to the long hours of standing, to piece work and to speeding. The present interest in scientific management to- gether with motion study will in a measure relieve this excessive strain. Little by little the interest of the girls themselves is becoming enlisted and where this is done and the girl co-operates w r ith her employer, a certain element of understanding on both sides is brought in that will tend to better conditions. We have spoken of the difficulty of sustaining the girl's in- terest in any work in cases where she has left school at fourteen with no training and no preference as to the work she attempts. The older girl does not so surely lose this interest, while trade training arouses a certain professional pride. "In some instances a knowl- 1 Goldmark : Fatigue and Efficiency ; Part I, pp. 75-77. 66 THE INDUSTRIAL SITUATION edge of the manufacture of a special article from be- ginning to end has seemed to increase the girl's interest in her particular part of the work even when this work is most uninteresting in itself. Anything that makes a girl feel that her work is important in making a per- fect whole will increase the interest in a purely me- chanical task/' 1 Little by little the girl's sympathy for her working sister is arousing all working girls to an effort to better conditions. The most vital mark of this is seen in the tremendous growth of the unions among working wom- en. This new consciousness of group loyalty is so rapidly awakening that it is quite possible the girl her- self may solve her own problem. The picturesque shirtwaist strike of a few years ago was a small affair compared with the strike during the winter of 1912- 1913 of the white goods workers and kindred trades. And the fact that the average age of these thousands of workers is only seventeen years adds an element to the struggle well worth considering. The various organizations working to better conditions, the laws to protect the industrial class, the trend of public opinion, all promise a brighter future ; the club leader because of her intimate knowledge of the girl, has seized the opportunity of co-operating in a most vital way with these organizations; but the greatest assets in the fight are the girls themselves, and it is only in so far as we can give them this spirit of group loyalty and co-operation, and can make use of this tremendous fund of youth and energy and optimism and enthusi- asm, that we can hope to solve this most difficult of all problems. 1 Quoted from the report made by the Hudson Guild on the Industrial History of Thirty-six Girls. VIII THE LOVE OF PLAY IN the foregoing pages we have tried to show the actual conditions surrounding the girl in the home ; we have pictured the industrial life of the girl and have to some extent made clear the problems that are arising through attempts made to readjust present educational methods to her new position in the world. It remains to find what other agencies bring their influence to bear on this impressionable creature and to judge, in so far as we are able, what the effect of these agencies may be. From eight in the morning until six at night the girl is at work. Except for the trip to and from home and for the noon hour, her time belongs to her em- ployer and she may be said to have no life of her own. After six o'clock and on Sunday she is free. Home duties claim her for a portion of the time but to a great extent her time is her own to spend as she her- self wishes. What does she do in this leisure time? To what agencies does she turn for relaxation, for en- joyment and inspiration and pleasure? It is in these hours that the girl may best be judged. What a man does with his leisure time largely determines the man. And first of all, after the long wearisome day in factory or store, there arises quite legitimately a de- sire for pleasure. The day leaves her over-tired ; her muscles are strained with the tension of speeding or the worse tension of standing. Naturally her desire turns to that form of amusement where every muscle 67 68 THE LOVE OF PLAY is brought into action, where rhythm and harmony and light and color and motion unite to call forth the very acme of all that stands for enjoyment in the girl's mind. And this is dancing. There are 480 dance halls in Greater New York. This includes dancing academies, where the selling of liquor is prohibited by law ( there are between sixty and seventy of these academies in Manhattan alone), the dance halls of the picnic parks (Queens has 95 such parks), and every description of dance halls from the large halls accommodating over a thousand dancers to the hall behind the saloon where only a few of the toughest and most immoral type congregate. Since the agitation of recent years, nearly seven hundred dance halls have been investigated and brought under better control. The average accommodation of these halls is some 200 and this means that every night and Sunday, some 96,000 young people are finding amusement in this manner a total for the week of over 670,000! A few years ago, a most interesting investigation of dance halls in New York was made. The investigator attended the dances as one of the girls and quite evi- dently gained an insight impossible to obtain from other methods. In her report particular stress is laid on the commercializing of pleasure that dance halls thrive by their vices and the young girls are the vic- i tims. On the east side 40 dance halls were visited and here the investigator noted the extreme youth of the girls, hardly one being over twenty years and many only fourteen and fifteen years of age. Indeed, a statement 1 We are greatly indebted to Miss Julia Schoenfeld for this information. THE LOVE OF PLAY 69 was made by one of the members of the Dancing Mas- ters' Association, that in the academies where dancing was taught, 45% of the girls were under sixteen. The girls were earning $5.00 to $7.00 a week and some of them were spending from 5OC to a dollar on dancing. Many of them in their efforts to live up to their standards, refused, after leaving the hall, to speak to the men with whom they had danced. On the west side, it was found that the girls were older and more inclined to drink although there was less of this than one would suppose. But even in these halls of a better class, where good girls go and make poor futile efforts to have their good time and yet remain good, the danc- ing masters themselves told the investigator that it was almost impossible for any girl to come night after night and remain moral. There is no doubt that these halls should be regu- lated by law, that proper sanitary conditions should be enforced, that immoral and tough dancing should be prohibited, that the sale of liquor should be so regu- lated that "soft" and "hard" drinks should cost ap- proximately the same. This has been successful in other cities and it is only the indifference of public opinion that such conditions exist here. The better class of commercial dance halls is greatly to be desired. The Dreamland Dance Halls Company runs excellent dance halls in other cities. Palisades Park in New Jersey has succeeded in running an amusement park with a dance hall above reproach. Perhaps the most difficult evil to control is the club dance given in the lower class casinos. A group or club of young men will rent a hall and sell tickets for a dance. Liquor is invariably sold, the cost of renting the hall without the sale of liquor being prohibitive. 70 THE LOVE OF PLAY From the boys' standpoint this dance is a private affair and hence supervision is difficult. Tough dancing is allowed, there is great freedom in behavior and the immoral woman is ever present to "spot" the weak and pretty girl. The dance is advertised by "throw-aways," small cards that invite one to the entertainment. There is at present a movement in the direction of municipal dances as typified by the recreation centers in our public schools. In the year 1911-1912 there were fourteen of these centers for girls and women, with an average attendance of between 300 and 400. These centers are precisely what their name implies. There is a study room and a library, game rooms, baths, clubs and classes, music, moving pictures and lectures. Mixed dancing classes have been opened, in general attended with great success. 1 The general consensus of opinion is decidedly in favor of these centers; reports received from social workers who have visited them are universally in favor of such ventures provided there is adequate super- vision, and that the amusement provided is of the best type. But these two provisions must be rigidly main- tained. The influence of the school is strong. Any relaxation will be quickly noted and taken advantage of ; and it were far better to have no recreation centers than to have them regarded by boys and girls as centers where restraint is removed. In January of 1912 four centers were opened in con- nection with the gymnasia in the public baths buildings. These centers are provided with a well-equipped gym- nasium where classes in gymnastics and folk-dancing 1 Fourteenth Annual Report of the City Superintendent of Schools : Special Report on Recreation Centers. THE LOVE OF PLAY 71 are carried on daily, and social and neighborhood dances are frequently held. 1 The form of amusement second in popularity if we except that amusement so popular at all times and in all places, of walking the streets, is the motion picture show. There are in New York City some 600 of these shows, 500 being regular motion pictures while a hundred or more use the motion picture in connection with vaudeville. The attendance varies from day to day, Sunday being of course the largest day. The average is some 400,000 a day. Since the lowest price of admission is five cents, the poor of the city are paying out at least $20,000 daily on this form of amuse- ment. Everything possible should be done to eliminate the evil features of this form of amusement ; bad venti- lation, dark halls and doubtful vaudeville. The motion picture show is one of the best possible forms of entertainment provided for our young people. It has replaced the cheap melodrama; it is so moderate in price that it is within the reach of all ; and the control of a National Board of Censorship eliminates to a great extent the possibility of pictures that have a demoralizing influence. The educational opportunities offered by motion pictures are tremen- dous and many settlements and churches are making use of them for this purpose. One of the most delight- ful sights in the city is the park directly in front of Hudson Guild on a summer night when out-of-door motion pictures are exhibited to the thousands who eagerly seek this pleasure. The dramatic instinct is strong in the young and in 1 Under the auspices of the Public Recreation Commis- sion. 72 THE LOVE OF PLAY spite of the fact that motion pictures are so popular, the theater still holds a warm place in the girl's heart. And they appreciate a good play. The idea that our girls want only melodrama is a false one and there is here a great opportunity for cultivating the taste so that really good drama is preferred. There is one roller skating rink in New York City. This problem is at present not a vital one but it is well to remember that in a few years the cycle of amuse- ments may again bring it into prominence and we should be ready to meet it with wholesome and ade- quate supervision. In the summer months, the amusement parks are crowded to their utmost limit. We have already spoken of the excellent way in which the Palisades Park is run. The same cannot be said of many of the other parks. Coney Island is notorious for its free and easy manners which lead all too surely to vice and im- morality. Anyone who has visited these parks in the height of the season and has watched the thousands crowding the beaches and the near-by amusement places, who has been an eye-witness to the licence al- lowed, the slipping away from conventional behavior, must have been deeply impressed with the fact that these resorts are most dangerous to the young girl. Our citizens should demand and should be provided with clean and well supervised beaches, adequate bathing-places and good amusements to help them live through the hot summer months. We have spoken of the never-exhausted pleasure of walking the streets ; and this is closely linked with the free hour at noon. Many stores and factories provide rest-rooms and luncheons at a nominal price for their employes and under such circumstances the girl is THE LOVE OF PLAY 73 guarded from moral danger. These rooms, however, are in many cases lacking in comfort and cheer and moreover give little chance for that change of environ- ment and companionship so necessary to continued effi- ciency. If the girl goes out to lunch and so gains the diversion which sends her back refreshed to her work she is exposed to many temptations that her more guard- ed sister escapes. She has little or no money beyond that for her lunch and car fare. On every side the picture shows flaunt their lurid posters before her eyes and on every corner and before every entrance groups of young men congregate ready to "treat" and they do not treat for nothing. One Settlement situated near a large factory, has thrown open its doors to the factory girls, offering hot soup at a few cents a cup and a place to eat lunch, and directly afterwards provides good music for dancing. Some such device should be used in every settlement in the neighborhood of a factory unless of course the factory provides the necessary amusement. This evil and danger of the noon hour is greatly on the increase. In the case of the Italian girl, this hour is peculiarly fraught with danger. During work hours she is under the watchful eye of the boss, out of work- ing hours she is under the strict surveillence of her parents; during this one little hour she is free and it would be strange indeed if in many cases she were not led astray. IX THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR IN the last chapter we dealt entirely with those agencies that provide recreation for the girl. There are other agencies which while affording recreational facilities, endeavor to supply constructive elements as well. And these are the settlements, the churches and the various religious and secular organiz- ations for girls. There are in Greater New York between sixty and seventy settlements. Thirty-odd of these are non- sectarian deriving their support from the voluntary contributions of people not otherwise joined together. The remainder are settlements who receive their sup- port from a church or group of churches or are directly connected with some one church. Besides these settle- ments there are various organizations where activities corresponding to those of the settlement are carried on. In 11911-1912 thirty settlements handed in sta- tistical reports, giving a sum total of 3,078 girls reached. In 1912-1913 23 settlements again handed in a revised report while seven settlements that had hitherto taken no part in the study also sent in reports. These reports gave the occupation and nationality of girls between fourteen and sixteen years of age and also of those between sixteen and eighteen years, and give a total of 3,160 girls. On these last reports the charts on Nationality 1 and Occu- pation as well as the chart on Occupation in Relation i See Chart V. 74 THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR 75 to Nationality are based. Of the 23 settlements who handed in reports both years, fourteen showed an in- crease in the number of girls reached while nine showed a decrease. The number reported by the 23 settle- ments in 1911-1912 was 2,438, by the same 23 in 1912- 1913, 2,638, showing a gain in numbers of 200. The total number of girls between fourteen and eighteen years of age reached by the 37 settlements sending statistics is about 3,800. Strangely enough, in almost every settlement it was found that more girls between ten and fourteen and again between eighteen and twenty-two years were reached than be- tween the given ages. Comparing the charts for the different age-groups, we find that 600 more girls be- tween sixteen and eighteen are reached than between fourteen and sixteen. It would seem that statistics as well as the general opinion of the workers go to prove the special difficulty of reaching girls of this age. The Chart on Nationality shows an enormous per- centage of Jewish over other nationalities. It would be of interest to compare the percentages with the en- tire population and possibly it would be found that the given percentages were not so far out of proportion. The large groups are the Jewish, the Irish, Italian and American. The German is smaller and the Slavs, in- cluding the Bohemians, Hungarians, etc., number only 2%. The fact that the nationalities in the settlements narrow down to these few groups makes it the more possible to study in detail the history of each nationality and the work best adapted to it. The problem of nationality and the old-world traditions is too vital a one to be ignored. The activities for girls follow much the same line in all the settlements. There are classes for those who 76 THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR Chart V Nationality of Girls in Thirty New York Settlements. A. Total: 1,283. Ages : 14-16 years. B. Total: 1,877. Ages: 16-18 years. THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR 77 are inclined to work ami clubs for those of a more social bent. There seems to be a general consensus of opinion that gymnastics are very valuable but that there is not much interest in this line of work on the part of the girls. However, in the settlements that can boast of a well equipped gymnasium and a well-paid and efficient teacher, there seems little difficulty in in- teresting the girls. Perhaps here more than in any other branch there is a necessity for efficient instruc- tion and good equipment. Folk-dancing is far more popular and is certainly most desirable. So far as I have been able to ascertain, there are only two settlements where social dancing is not allowed. One is distinctly a church house, the other is supported by a church. In spite of the broader point of view than that obtaining some years ago on this subject of dancing, there are still those who question the wisdom of allowing it. At one of the largest dance halls one night, leaning over the balcony and watching the crowd below, I said to one whose broad outlook on life and sympathetic touch with young people make him a power in his corner of the world, "What do you think of it all? Do you approve? Is it right"? "It is inevitable," was the reply. And in this answer lies the crux of the whole matter. The young dance as naturally as a kitten plays; the im- pulse is as universal, as primitive; and to our shame be it spoken that we provide no safe place for this form of pleasure but hand over the means of gratifying it to those agencies who for commercial gain exploit the natural craving of youth. The settlements have done much to uplift the amuse- ment of dancing. Some six or eight settlements have regular weekly dances, open to the public and these 78 THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR have been in some cases successful. The weekly dances open to club members have succeeded in every par- ticular. The young people regard these dances and the standards set as "high but the thing." One girl, after a dance in a public hall, was heard to say in that apt phrasing that expresses so fully the sentiment of the speaker, "The Settlement for ours" ! At an east side dance, where the dancing, except for a small group, was of the toughest type, an outsider, watching, finally pointed out the few good dancers and asked for an ex- planation. "Oh, they're from the Settlement," was the reply. Turning our attention to girls' clubs as such, we find much diversity. The so-called "social club" usually does a little of everything and at this age variety spells success. One of the most remarkable workers with girls in the city changes the work of her club from month to month. Suggestions are handed in by the girls and these are discussed and voted upon in the business meeting. One month they sew, another read or debate, a third month they will have a course of lectures or get up a play. This occupies only a part of the evening for a social club feels defrauded of its natural right if the evening does not end in games or a dance. With the Jewish young people debates, literary meetings, and dramatics are popular; among the Italians and Slavic races we find manual work popular while the Irish and American girls are more inclined to an evening of fun. But special stress should be laid on the necessity of every club doing something of real value if it be only for fifteen minutes. It is all too easy to spend the evening in a social good time and on occasion right and wise; but to let week after week THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR 79 slip by with nothing but dancing is neither wise nor right. And in the end the club members will prove more loyal to the club and to the settlement if they can look back and see something of worth accomplished. Social club work as well as class work must be con- structive to be successful, and a good leader can sense the feeling of the club and make her suggestions at the right moment. As one director of girls' work has said, the success of a club depends mainly upon two things first, upon throwing as much responsibility on the girls as possible; and second, upon enlisting the girls' sym- pathies in service for others. An interesting scheme has been recently tried by one of the New York Settlements, of placing a younger club in the hands of a club of long and good standing. An incident is related of such a club where a party had been arranged for the younger girls. To the older girls' horror, the fifteen younger girls arrived on the evening of the party with fifteen boys in tow! "What shall we do?" exclaimed the girl leaders to the club director. "Entertain them," was the response, and for two hours the older girls played games, danced, and served refreshments. After the boys and girls had de- parted, loudly rejoicing at the evening's pleasure, the older girls sank down, limp and exhausted. "Now," said their leader, "You can see how tired I used to get when you had parties." "Gee, I never thought of that," said one girl solemnly and the rest looked thoughtful. The responsibility assumed for that young- er club had put them in touch with their leader in the way that nothing else could have done. Committee and other routine work is of the utmost value. Every club should be self-governing with a frequent change of officers and as much of the routine 8o THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR work as possible should be given to the girls. The very fact that the girls lack this business sense is a reason for cultivating it. The meeting should always follow adopted rules of order and the girls should be en- couraged to express their own point of view in a busi- ness-like way. Small groups succeed better than large ones although occasional meetings of all the clubs are advisable. A plan that has worked out successfully at one of the set- tlements is to have every girls' club entertain all the remaining clubs at least once during the winter. The different groups in this way become acquainted and a certain spirit of friendly competition adds zest to the undertaking. The whole question of mixed clubs has excited much attention. In one settlement certain boys and girls of the adolescent age help in various ways with the younger children and once a week meet together to discuss how they may do better work. Some few set- tlements have successful mixed clubs among the Jewish young people but so far as I know, with the exception of the above, there is not a single mixed club for younger boys and girls in any settlement in New York. The tendency, however, to throw boys' and girls' clubs together for a good time is growing constantly and bids fair to solve the problem. In many settlements the monthly dance has become an established custom. In some cases, two clubs of the same age and social rank, take turns entertaining each other. In other cases, it has been found advisable to allow the club members to invite their outside friends. In one settle- ment a House Council passes on the dance and decides all matters pertaining to it. In another settlement the House Council also decides whether the status of the THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR 81 individual clubs is such that they are entitled to be represented on the Council. The standard here is markedly high ; no club may become a senior club and hence receive recognition from the Council and inci- dentally have the right to attend the dances, until it has been in existence at least three months, can show an average age of eighteen years, and has proved itself worthy in loyalty to the house and in upholding fine ideals in manners and morals. Social rank holds here as elsewhere and care should be taken in the smaller mixed clubs to throw together only those of the same social status. One settlement is solving the problem in an unique way. Whenever a boys' or girls' club is organized, steps are immediately taken to get in touch with those of the opposite sex who are friends of the club members and in time another club is developed ready to meet with the first club when occasion demands. This mingling together of boys and girls in a wholesome way is much to be desired. Summer camps offer here a great op- portunity. Those who have visited Mt. Ivy of Col- lege Settlement and have watched the healthy pleasures of the young people, will certainly indorse any plap that throws the boy and girl together in so natural a manner. Whatever lines of work may be developed in the future with regard to this question, it must be remem- bered that young people will meet and that the street is practically their only meeting place under existing circumstances. The call of sex is strong; the awaken- ing springs of life drive onward heedlessly these young things, and their crude half-shamed attempts to attract attention would seem unmaidenly if they were not so pitiful. The story of one girls' club is worth reciting. 82 THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR A dance had been planned and great excitement pre- vailed because the club leader had consented to each girl asking a boy friend. What was her surprise, then, to discover at the final meeting a strong sentiment against having boys. She was frankly puzzled. The girls had been most eager; they were girls a little in- clined to be loud, certainly a type that would want boys; but their attitude was distinctly changed. "Aw, we don't want no fellers"; "We can have more fun alone"; "Let's cut 'em out" expressed the sentiment of the girls. The leader assented to the new point of view, still puzzled, and the evening of the dance came. And then after the second dance the leader was ap- proached by two of the girls who casually alluded to a boys' club meeting in the room overhead. "They're mighty nice fellows, ain't they?" was asked. Other girls gathered round and then to the utter surprise of the leader, some one suggested that the club be asked down! "But you didn't want boys"! she said. "Aw, well, we don't mind 'em," was the response. And sud- denly a light dawned on the leader and she suspected what later she found to be the case, that these girls actually did not know any boys to invite and had taken great pains to arrange the little scheme by which they might meet their mates. It would hardly be right to drop the subject of club activities without a word about dramatics. Such ex- cellent work is being done along this line, however, that more than a word is unnecessary. One leader calls attention to the elements in this dramatic work that make for success: "Opportunity for self-expres- sion and a worthy aim and standard of achievement." It would be an advantage if more work could be done with mixed clubs; this succeeds admirably at Hull THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR 83 House even with little children. I would also suggest that charades form one of the most delightful amuse- ments that can be suggested for a club and after a lit- tle experience the girls will greatly enjoy an evening spent in this way. There seems to be a great need for good short plays ; moreover, it is most advisable to use plays of as high a literary grade as possible and there are not many such plays. It is not possible to speak of the many ways and means by which girls may be interested and held. Teas, parties, excursions, exhibits, trips to museums and theaters, talks and lectures, all tend to aid in the good work. An effort should be made to encourage good reading and occasionally one is astonished at the re- markably good taste shown by the girls themselves. In our study of sixty girls on the middle east side two sisters Russian Jews were found who had just fin- ished Spencer's Education and were at the time greatly interested in Ibson's Ghosts. Finally, it must again be emphasized that the set- tlement is the best agent for giving to the girl more vita) contacts for enjoyment. The greater the number of the goods of life that one enjoys, the more sane and worth while life becomes. And one of the most piti- v ful aspects of the whole situation to my mind is the intense longing of these girls for fun and the narrow interpretation put on this word "fun" by the young people of our cities. In most settlements the number of girls reached keeps approximately the same from year to year or per- haps increases to some extent. There is one question per- tinent, however: does the shift from position to po- sition in the industrial world make itself felt in the settlements? In other words, do we reach the same 84 THE SETTLEMENT AS A FACTOR girls year after year or does the membership constantly change? And if so, why? Kingsley House, of Pitts- burgh, Pa., has made an interesting study of this very question. It was found here that while the total regi- stration varied little from year to year, there were several hundred girls who did not come back and whose places were filled by others. An extended in- quiry was made with some of the following results: that 3Q% of the girls had moved away, many leaving no trace with even their nearest neighbors; 17% had registered at other and newer centers, 10% were kept away on account of school work, and 15% had started in to work and "were too tired" or "too busy." Such a study points out the necessity of some follow-up system by which those who move away can be placed in other settlements and those who are "too tired" and "too busy" may be encouraged and helped. It seems neither thrifty nor right to lose sight of those who in the truest and best sense of the word, are assets of the settlement. X THE CHURCH AND THE GIRL IN the eighty-two Protestant churches who answer- ed our request for information, we find 3,903 girls in clubs and classes outside of the regular religious classes. 1 The girls are of all types. Perhaps the American girl predominates but every nationality and every occupation is found. The work is in the main very much of the type done by the settlements ; the 1 During the survey, 150 churches were selected, all of which were doing social work. Following is a list of de- nominations written to and the number of answers re- ceived : Letters written Replies rec'd Protestant Episcopal 44 27 Presbyterian 30 20 Dutch Reformed 15 13 Baptist 12 5 Methodist 10 2 Lutheran 7 i Congregational 5 i Unitarian 3 3 Universalist 2 I Undenominational 20 9 148 82 The work among the Jewish girls is done through the many admirable agencies found throughout the city. The Roman Catholic girls of this age are reached by the So- ciety known as the Children of Mary. Letters to promi- nent rabbis and priests and interviews with those who are in touch with girls of the Jewish and Roman Catholic faiths, give the basis for information along these lines. 8s 86 THE CHURCH AND THE GIRL classes furnish sewing, cooking, basketry, etc., while the clubs arc social with usually some definite object in view. Model flats are found where the girls often entertain their friends; dancing is spoken of many times but only three times in connection with mixed classes; some few churches find employment for their girls and several churches have lunch-rooms where a hearty lunch is provided at a nominal rate. In almost every church the object of the club and class work is both religious and social; in four cases it is frankly social. This work is vitally connected with the church work in fifty-one churches; it is separate in six churches; there is no reply to this question in the re- maining twenty-five churches. To the question, "Is definite religious instruction given ?" 48 answer "Yes/' 10 answer "No," and the rest ignore the question. The question was also asked "Is the standard of mo- rality high" ? Twenty-six ignored this question ; one said "We hope so"; one "On the average, yes"; an- other said "Yes, with a few exceptions"; 43 boldly answered "Yes"; one bluntly replied "No, it isn't"! Churches of the present day are awakening to the need of social life and recreation for the young. The good old days are over when the pastor knew each member of his flock and he must rely on others to help him in his work. Through these clubs and classes he and his assistants are able to come vitally in touch with the young people of the congregation. And this is a necessary thing if we are to hold our young people in the church. As life interests multiply and less time is available for quiet thought, the old religious forms are dying out. The foreigner, coming to this country with a different viewpoint and imbued with the spirit of in- THE CHURCH AND THE GIRL 87 dependence, casts impatiently aside the home traditions and with them, in many cases his religious affiliations. Among the Jewish people, the old religious forms have to-day no such vital hold on the young men and women as formerly; the Italians are hardly the ardent Catho- lics of a generation ago; the Bohemians are notably free thinkers. In a study recently made of sixty girls on the upper east side, almost every family had religious affiliations in the old country; scarcely one of them was connected with a New York church. The trend of the times is steadily away from the church doctrines and stress is laid on the brotherhood of man rather than on the fatherhood of God. But religion means more than form or doctrine. Does it matter at all whether a girl be Jewish, Protes- tant or Catholic or even a free thinker, if her spiritual nature be so awakened that it dominates her everyday life? And this spiritual insight, from whatever source it comes, is necessary. Moreover, it is not only the individual that needs this spiritual impetus. Some common faith is necessary also for the conservation of a united family life. It is to the churches that we turn in this crisis. And it is noteworthy that the churches whose doors stand wide open through the week for clubs and classes of every type, whose heads, whether priest or pastor or rabbi, know the everyday lives of its members, are the ones whose aisles are crowded on Sunday with those who long to understand the meaning of the fatherhood of God. XI ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS IN NEW YORK CITY WITH the newly awakened interest in the young girl, there has sprung into being many organizations for girls. Some of these, in particular those of a religious nature, have been in existence for many years, but the majority date back hardly a decade. The older organizations are re- vising their aims and constitutions; and the newer ones seek, each in its own way, to answer to the girls' needs. From the almost complete neglect of the girl and her point of view, we are coming to the time in the near future where we will consider her as she has a right to be considered our greatest asset to the future's good. The growth of the Young Woman's Christian Asso- ciation in the last few years is most gratifying. It now has the metropolitan form of organization, comprising eight branches doing work in eleven different centers. Junior activities include classes for the younger girls in Bible study, sewing, dressmaking, millinery, em- broidery, crocheting, gymnastics, swimming and book- binding. Most of the work is done under club forma- tion; that is, one club of girls will take up several different kinds of activities, having short sessions of each in one evening, or taking up different subjects on succeeding evenings. Glee and dramatic clubs are very popular among the younger girls, but the Camp Fire 88 ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS 89 groups are the most enthusiastic. A central Recrea- tion Center, where the interests of the younger girls will receive much consideration has been recently opened. The spirit of doing kindly things for people less fortunate than themselves permeates all the clubs. The majority of those reached are school girls, but many are cash girls, and some work in factories and stores. Many Jewish and Catholic girls as well as the Protestant girls, take advantage of the Junior Depart- ment. The recent building campaign is opening up to the Association splendid opportunities for greater work in New York City and according to the trend of the times, much effort is being made to help the girl be- tween fourteen and eighteen years of age. The Young Women's Hebrew Association is en- gaged in much the same lines of work. There are social and literary clubs, entertainments, dances and lec- tures. On Friday night religious services are held. Besides many educational classes in the evening, in- cluding Hebrew, Jewish history, dressmaking, stenog- raphy and physical culture, the association has a day commercial school. It has also a free employment bureau and the dormitory offers an excellent home at a low cost. A new eight-story building, which will give the association an added opportunity for work, is now in process of construction. The Educational Alliance is reaching 2,060 girls between fourteen and eighteen years of age, nearly all of whom are recent immigrants. The girls are entirely Jewish; 787 are found in school, 763 in factories, 339 in offices (it will be seen that here the percentages for offices is much lower and for factories much higher than in the reports for the settlements) and only 47 90 ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS in stores. One hundred and twenty-one are at home and three in domestic service. The Alliance is a great club house for the people and perhaps nowhere in New York can so many young people meet together for a good time or for actual work in so natural a way. The Hebrew Educational Society of Brooklyn car- ries on work along the same lines as the Educational Alliance. The clubs and classes reach a total of 230 girls between fourteen and eighteen years of age. The girls are entirely Jewish. We find here as in the Educational Alliance that the largest number 124 are in public or trade schools. Here, however, the office girls, numbering 7)1, far outrank those in other trades. Factory girls number only 16, store girls only three and there are none in domestic service. There is a small professional group four teachers, one artist and one social worker. The three most notable religious organizations for girls are the Girls' Friendly Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the King's Daughters, and the So- dality of the Children of Mary of the Roman Catholic Church. The two latter are a great power for good in many churches but they lack the splendid organiz- ation of the Girls' Friendly Society. This society was founded in England in 1875 and can doubtless claim the right of being the oldest organization for girls in existence. The aim and purpose is character building, and believing that this aim can only be promoted by the influence of religion, the organization is funda- mentally religious. The girl members may belong to any religious body or to none, but must be girls of good character ; the leader or associate, as she is called, must be a communicant of the English Church or its sister Church in America. Its activities are much the ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS 91 same as other organizations entertainments, lectures, classes and clubs. Summer homes are a prominent feature of the work. Its world-wide membership gives it a great opportunity for work and so vital a connec- tion is kept up between the various local societies that when a girl changes her residence, she can be immedi- ately transferred from her own society to the one in her new home ; and often a girl, when travelling alone, is met at station after station by the associates and so sent safely on her way. The King's Daughters, while distinctly a Christian sisterhood, is not in any sense denominational or sec- tarian. It welcomes all who are willing to work for humanity in the name and for the sake of Christ. Each circle is left free to choose its own officers and decide upon its own activities provided it keeps always in view the objects stated in the constitution of the society namely, "the development of spiritual life, and the stimulation of Christian activities." The members are pledged as well to help in every line of work es- tablished for the good of mankind and in many cities they have greatly influenced legislative action in pass- ing better laws for child labor, factory inspection, com- pulsory education, etc. Their activities are wide- spread; diet kitchens, day nurseries, lunch and rest rooms, food and fuel clubs, libraries, vacation homes; these are a few of the many good works in which the members of this organization are interested. The Sodality of the Children of Mary is the great junior organization for the younger girls of the Roman Catholic Church. The excellent system of graduating children from one organization to another as they grow older, so that no child is lost sight of from babyhood to man or womanhood, deserves great credit and might 92 ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS well be copied by other churches. The Sisters, who give their lives to this work, exert a strong influence over the girls and aside from the many activities of the organization, the development of the spiritual life is continually sought. The Girls' Athletic League was organized in 1905, having no official relation with the Board of Education until the fall of 1909, when the Board authorized its control of all athletics pertaining to girls in the public schools, and established a department of girls' athletics as a part of the department of physical training. This attempt to Interest girls in athletics and out-door sports has been most successful. The total membership numbers nearly 23,000 girls of all ages, and there are doubtless some 8,000 girls enrolled between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. The development of the sportsmanlike spirit among our girls is excellent. Fair play, team work, loyalty to a cause, these are vir- tues well worth developing. Physical examinations, all kinds of land and water sports, park fetes, dancing and gymnasium work, above all, a systematic study of the physical needs of the girl, tend to make this or- ganization a great power for good in the girl's world. The New York Association of Women Workers is a state organization of working girls' clubs. It num- bers 41 clubs, 24 of these being in Greater New York. The membership is about 3,000. The clubs are recre- ational and educational, non-sectarian, self-governing and self supporting. The association maintains two houses at the seashore for its members, two summer camps, a Mutual Benefit Fund and Sunday afternoon teas, besides of course the usual club activities. Every two years, together with six other state associations, a convention is held where from three hundred to six ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS 93 hundred girls visit some interesting city, where, be- sides opportunities for sight seeing, club meetings and discussions of club problems and ideals are held. In the past two years the clubs have contributed to the association, besides their regular dues, almost $2,000 which of course they have earned themselves! In 1911-1912, with a remarkable social and financial backing, a new organization for girls was started under the name of the Vacation Savings Fund Association. The organization has grown at a tremendous speed. The members deposit weekly a certain portion of their earnings, receiving the money again when vacation time comes. The entertainments and excursions as well as the "Spug" movement of the holiday season call the public's attention to the society in a very definite way and its success has been remarkable. There is no doubt that it fills a real need. An interesting and somewhat unique organization has recently been started by the New York Probation and Protective Association to interest girls in helping other girls. This is known as the Girls' Protective Leagues. The members of the leagues are pledged to give their help along three lines: to assist in bettering moral conditions by lending their aid to the individual girl who is in danger, by furnishing data that will help the association in its war against vice and immorality and by reporting any immoral conditions of which they are cognisant; second, they are pledged to help along economic lines by making a study of present day prob- lems and by reporting bad conditions in places of work ; and third, they are pledged to assist in every way pos- sible in improving recreational conditions. There are now in Greater New York 23 leagues with a member- ship of over 1,400 girls. The leagues have headquar- 94 ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS ters where an employment bureau is open daily and where club-rooms with attractive reading matter, music, etc., are provided. But the main object of the leagues is never lost sight of and the regular monthly meetings are devoted to talks and discussions on topics which touch daily life. Every girl is given the op- portunity of hearing a course of sex-hygiene lectures and such topics are discussed as "How We Live," the "White Slave Traffic," "The Possibilities of Life" and "Promoting Efficiency." While this organization deals with the hard and often cruel facts of life, a fine note of idealism is struck in the underlying principle of service for others; and the response of the girls to this call for help from those less fortunate than them- selves shows the possibility of developing among work- ing girls a very beautiful spirit of helpfulness and co- operation. The Camp-Fire Girls was started in 1912. It is an organization, not for girls, but of girls, entirely sup- ported by the dues of its members. Its purpose is to make common every-day duties interesting and ro- mantic, and while it is not a religious organization in the accepted sense of the word, it calls for a definite standard from its members. In its seven groups of honors there are certain requirements and by no means easy ones, that test a girrs physical, mental and moral strength in a very real way and provide a definite goal as an incentive to effort. The watchwords are Work, Health and Love, for with adequate work, perfect health and hearts full of love, girls are well equipped. It is distinctly an adolescent movement. All other organizations make their appeal to girls sixteen and seventeen years and over; that this makes its appeal to the younger group is shown by the fact that in the ORGANIZATIONS FOR GIRLS 95 less than two years of its existence, over 70,000 girls have joined. The Women's Trade Union League has grown enormously in the last few years. During the nine years of the league's existence, the actual number of women in organizations affiliated with the league has increased from 8,000 to over 51,000. Gradually the feeling of loyalty and of group spirit is making its way among our working girls and the number who, because of their intense desire to help the less fortunate sister, have left good wages and have gone out on strike when the call has come, arouses one's enthusiasm and admira- tion. The unions are even more necessary for women than for men, not alone because of their use as weap- ons of defense but mainly and chiefly because woman yet lacks that social conscience which will make her an efficient and useful member of the community. Printed in the United States of America. 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