Woman's work in municipalities

by Mary Ritter Beard

“Study groups are being organized to take up the questions of legislation, venereal disease, the efficiency and range of existing institutions, public opinion, feeble-mindedness and statistics.”

The definite proposals of the Juvenile Protective Association and of the Society for the Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality for proper care of children born out of wedlock include: better systems of records, a better system for the legal adoption of infants, provision for well-organized infants’ homes, better bastardy laws, and a system of probation for the mother of an illegitimate child during the first year of its life in order to secure proper nursing and care of the child.

The district nurse becomes again the most important agent in the real nurture of infants of this group through her supervision of all young mothers among the poor. Owing to the fact that the deserted mother must assume the burden of her own support and that of her child and therefore finds nursing the child extremely difficult if not, in fact, impossible, the whole question of mothers’ pensions comes to the fore in the discussion as to whether widows alone should be the recipients or whether any needy mother should share their benefits. While women do not stand as a unit for recognition of the unmarried mother where they do support home pensions, there is evidence of strong advocacy among women of her inclusion in the benefits of this legislation. At all events women are opening their eyes to the problem.

Pure Food

Being principally responsible for the food of the family as well as the children, women have joined with spirit in what is known as the pure food movement. In many a city, large and small, women’s associations have taken up the question of the proper food supply and by concerted efforts wrought marvelous results. An illustration of an active municipal campaign for pure food carried on by women is described in the American City for June, 1914, by Katherine G. Leonard, secretary of the Pure Food Committee of the Civic League of Grand Forks, North Dakota:

What has been accomplished by the Pure Food Committee of the Civic League of Grand Forks may be equaled or surpassed by any group of determined women in any small city. To be sure, it is somewhat easier to keep clean in a climate which has no excessive heat and moisture and with a population made up for the most part of Americans and Scandinavians. However, vigilance and education will more than make up for differences in climate, but efforts must be ceaseless if results are to be forthcoming.

When this committee was organized under the able leadership of Dr. May Sanders, chairman, the work was new to all, and methods had to be devised. The first step was a consultation with Prof. E. F. Ladd, State Pure Food Commissioner, who was of great assistance in suggesting just and reasonable methods of dealing with the subject of sanitary inspection of foods so that the interests of both merchant and consumer might be safeguarded.

A general educational campaign was inaugurated. The state pure food and drugs act was printed in folder form, and a copy, together with a personal letter calling attention to the provisions of the law and asking coöperation in its enforcement, was mailed to each of the 128 food merchants then doing business in the city. The portion of the law applying to a special class of stores or goods was red-lined when sent to a man selling that article. For example, sections relating to bakeries were red-lined when sent to bakers; those applying to groceries were marked for grocers. Ten days were given the merchants in which to clean house and prepare for state inspection.

The state inspection continued five days, of eight hours each, and the inspector was accompanied by Mrs. R. A. Sprague, who later became local officer. Each merchant was rated on a score card provided by the state commissioner for the purpose.

It became evident that the only way to secure sanitary inspection of food at intervals frequent enough to make the city food supply reasonably clean was to have a regular city official for the purpose. To that end a second petition was presented to the city council, with the result that an ordinance was passed providing for the office of food inspector. Mayor Murphy was fortunate in his choice of Mrs. R. A. Sprague, as she had proved her ability in the work of general inspector for the Civic League. The ordinance is an excellent instrument and answers many questions that arise in the work of inspection.