1916 May - To Dragma

192 TO DRAGMA OF ALPI/A OMICRON PI

We need them in our enterprises, as every big undertaking is backed by a
superior personality, a supreme personality. It is the foundation that holds
the structure. You owe it to the world to develop your personality to the
utmost; there is something no one else but you can give the world. We need
you and your personality.— The Angelos of Kappa Delta.

From the development of a high moral character and scholastic standing,
we pass to the development of a capacity for true friendship. Is there any-
thing sweeter and dearer to us than our friendships formed in college? It
is those friendships that mean most to us and that we are most likely to carry
with us through life. Never is it more truly effected than by the initiation
ceremony, and then we become not only true friends but real brothers or
sisters, each working for the good of the other. We then begin to realize
.what true loyal friendship really is. Very soon it grows to be a part of us,
and as it does we feel the necessity of extending it to those outside, and we
begin to formulate a bond of real human sympathy and love for all mankind.—
From "Do Fraternities Pay?" in Alpha Chi Delta.

But, is there not a true popularity? I think you will agree that there is,
and that to be truly popular is a great honor to anyone so fortunate. The
truly popular girl is the one who is closely enshrined in the hearts of her
friends; the girl whom folks like to have around, because of her pleasing per-
sonality; the girl who is unselfish and altruistic in her motives and actions;
the girl who does not seek distinction for herself and her talents, but who
serves others; the girl who is highly respected, honored and loved by all who
know her.— From "Popularity" in Alpha Chi Delta.

T h i s l i t t l e paragraph, which we glean f r o m the Phi Chi Quarterly,
and which has been copied already by many f r a t e r n i t y publications,
emphasizes and clarifies what the Editor has tried to say i n the
editorial on Our National Standing. I t is worthy of larger print,
a frame, and a place on the wall of the chapter room.

"Is the Fraternity worth while? Is anything in life worth while? Only
as we ourselves make it so. The thing that we put into life is the thing
life becomes to us, and just as surely does our Fraternity become the concrete
expression of our loyalty to its precepts, our purposeful efforts in its behalf.
Our Fraternity is what we as individuals, as Chapters, as national and inter-
national organizations, choose to make it. It is worth while only in so far
as we are worth while. It is worth while to us as individuals in proportion
as we give of our time and service, of ourselves, toward the realization in our
own lives of its ideals."—Delta Sigma Delta Desmos.

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To Dragma

of

Alpha Omicron Pi Fraternity

Btahl* o f (EnntPttta

Charity—A Poem 203

Volunteer Social Service Joanna C. Colcord, T 2 0 4

Report of the Scholarship) Committee 208

Wanted—A Mother Madeleine Z. Doty, N 2 0 9

National Panhellenic Congress 218

Business Manager's Report 223

A College Woman's Opportunity in a City Association 224

In Memoriam 230

The Social Center Anna E. Many, H 231

Spring—A Poem Joyce Cheney, T 2 3 2

The Mothers' Club and the Moving Picture Margaret Weeks, 2 2 3 3

Honor Rolls 234

Medical Social Service Florence Harvey, Y 2 3 7

The Committee on Employment Agnes L. Dickson, A 241

A Service for All Lucy Somerville, K 2 4 3

Song Beulah Rush, Z 2 4 4

The College Girl and the Rural Community Dorothy Webb, X ft 2 4 5

Playground Clubs Innes Morris, I I 251

The Service of the Women's Fraternities Sarah Pomeroy, I I B <I» 2 5 6

The Prevention of Unnecessary Blindness Charlotte Hall, T 2 6 0

Practical Social Service Work in Omicron Chapter 261

The Organized Community of Montevallo Virginia Withers, I I 2 6 3

The Girls' Friendly Society Alice Ivy, I I 2 6 5

The Service of Lincoln Alumna Jane L. Piper, Z 265

Announcements 267

Editorials 270

Chapter Letters:

Active 273

Alumna 303

The Fraternity World:

Exchanges 3°9

College and Fraternity Notes 3*3

DIRECTORY OF OFFICERS

FOUNDERS OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

Jessie Wallace Hughan, Alpha, '9S, 663 Quincy Street, Brooklyn, N . Y .
Helen St. Claire Mullan (Mrs. George V . ) , Alpha, '90, Andrew Avenue, Uni-

versity Heights, New York.
Stella Stern Perry (Mrs. George H . ) , Alpha, '98, 2243 Green Street, San

Francisco, Cal.
Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, Alpha, '98, 456 Broad Street, Bloomfield, N. J .

OFFICERS

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Grand President, Isabelle Henderson Stewart (Mrs. B. F . , J r . ) , Sierra City, Cal.
Grand Recording Secretary, Helen N . Henry, Whittier Hall, 1230 Amsterdam

Ave., New York City.
GTand Treasurer, Lillian Gertrude MacQuillin, 155 Angell St., Churchill

House, Providence, R. I .
Grand Vice-president, Jean Loomis Frame (Mrs. J . E . ) , 606 W. 122nd St.,

New York City.
Grand Historian, Stella Stern Perry (Mrs. George H . ) , 2243 Green St., San

Francisco, Cal.
Registrar, Marie Vick Swanson (Mrs. A. E . ) , 522 Church St., Evanston, 111.
Auditor, Helen Dickinson, 1646 Fair Oaks Ave., Pasadena, Cal.
Examining Officer, Linda Best Terry (Mrs. \ V . L . ) , 231 Avalon Place,

Memphis, Tenn.
Chairman Committee on New Chapters, Viola Clark Gray, 1527 So. 23rd St.,

Lincoln, Neb.
Editor-in-chief of To DRAGMA, Mary Ellen Chase, Bozeman, Montana.
Business Manager of To DRAGMA, Marguerite Pilsbury Schoppe (Mrs. W. F . ) ,

Bozeman, Montana.

PANHELLENIC CONGRESS
Delegate, Anna Estelle Many, 1325 Henry Clay Ave., New Orleans, L a .

EDITORIAL BOARD OF TO DRAGMA

Editor-in-chief, Mary Ellen Chase, Bozeman, Montana.
Business Manager, Marguerite Pilsbury Schoppe (Mrs. W. F . ) , Bozeman,

Montana.
Assistant Business Manager, Antoinette Treat Webb, 134 Cottage St., Nor-

wood, Mass.
Exchanges, Helen Charlotte Worster, Caribou, Maine.
Chapter Letters, Margaret June Kelley, 52 Essex St., Bangor, Maine.

ALUMN.E ASSISTANT EDITORS
Alpha—Inactive.
Pi—Alice Ivy, 1556 Calhoun St., New Orleans, L a .
Nu—Elinor Byrns, 27 Cedar St., New York, N . Y .
Omicron—Roberta Williams, 1510 Faust St., Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kappa—Nannie Vaden, 120 Cowarden Ave., Richmond, V a .
Zeta—Elsie Ford Piper, Wayne, Neb.
Sigma—Mrs. Ward B. Esterly, 244 Alvarado Road, Berkeley, Cal.
Theta—Irene McCIeod (Mrs. Le Roy), Browns Valley, Ind.

Delta—Mrs. Maurice J . Keating, 244 Weston St., Waltham, Mass.
Gamma—Elizabeth F . Hanley, Caribou, Maine.
Epsilon—Agnes Dobbins, 386 Classon Ave., Brooklyn, N . Y .
Rho—Mrs. Carolyn Piper Dorr, Berwyn, 111.
Lambda—Corinne Bullard, Porterville, Cal.
Iota—Mary Wills, Watseka, 111.
Tau—June Wimer, Elmore, Minn.
Chi—Ruby Davis, 17 3rd Ave., Gloversville, N . Y .
Upsilon—Vivian So Relle, 4740 14th Ave. N . E . , Seattle, Wash.

ALUMNAE ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGERS
Alpha—Inactive.
Pi—Mrs. George P. Whittington, Alexandria, L a .
Nu—Daisy Gaus, 497 Halsey St., Brooklyn, N . Y .
Omicron—Harriet Cone Greve, Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, Tenn.
Kappa—Frances Allen, 1012 Federal St., Lynchburg, V a .
Zeta—Mrs. B. O. Campbell, 1971 Sewell St., Lincoln, Neb.
Sigma—Emma F . Black, 2913 Fillmore St., San Francisco, Cal.
Theta—Ceilia Bates, Winchester, Ind.
Delta Annette McKnight, Billerica, Center, Mass.
Gamma—Alice Farnsworth Phillips (Mrs. G . A . ) , 11 Norfolk St., Bangor, Me.
Epsilon—Isabella Stone, 27 Lincoln St., Needham, Mass.
Rho—Elizabeth Hiestand, 1506 Fargo Ave., Chicago, 111.
Lambda—Frances Chandler, 623 Park View Ave., Los Angeles, Cal.
Iota—Annette Stephens Shute, 5818 Erie St., Austin Station, Chicago, 111.
Tau—Zora Robinson, Breckenridge, Minn.
Chi—Ethel Harris, Verona, N. Y .
Upsilon—Laura A. Hurd, 4626 21st Ave. N . E . , Seattle, Wash.

CHAPTER ROLL (Inactive)
Alpha—Barnard College, Columbia University, New York City.
P i — H . Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, New Orleans, L a .
Nu—New York University, New York City.
Omicron—University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Kappa—Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Lynchburg, Va.
Zeta—University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Neb.
Sigma—University of California, Berkeley, Cal.
Theta—De Pauw University, Greencastle, Ind.
Delta—Jackson College, Tufts College, Mass.
Gamma—University of Maine, Orono, Me.
Epsilon—Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y .
Rho—Northwestern University, Evanston, 111.
Lambda—Leland Stanford University, Palo Alto, Cal.
Iota—University of Illinois, Champaign, 111.
*au—-University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.

—Syracuse University, Syracuse, N . Y .
Upsilon—University of Washington, Seattle, Wash.
Nu Kappa—Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.
New York Alumnae—New York City.
San Francisco Alumna—San Francisco, Cal.
Providence Alumnae—Providence, R. I .
Boston Alumnre—Boston, Mass.
Los Angeles Alumna?—Los Angeles, Cal.
Lincoln Alumna?—Lincoln, Neb.
Chicago Alumnae—Chicago, 111.
Indianapolis Alumnae—Indianapolis, Ind.

ASSOCIATE EDITORS

ACTIVE CHAPTERS

Alpha—Inactive.
Pi—Solidelle Felicite Renshaw, 741 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, L a .
Nu—Mary 13. Peaks, 244 Waverly Place, New York City.
Omicron—Mary Dora Houston, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Kappa—Helen Hardy, College Park, Va.
Zeta—Edna Hathway, 1232 R St., Lincoln, Neb.
Sigma—Elaine Young, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, Cal.
Theta—Edna McClure, A 0 I I House, Greencastle, Ind.
Delta—Lydia Piper, Metcalf House, Jackson College, Medford, Mass.
Gamma—Leola Chapman, Balentine Hall, Orono, Me.
Epsilon—Viola B. Dengler, Sage College, Ithaca, N. Y .
Rho—'Louise Hoffman, Pearsons Hall, Evanston, 111.
Lambda—Constance Chandler, A 0 I I House, Stanford University, Cal.
Iota—Leota Mosier, Urbana, 111.
T a u — E l s a H . Steinmetz, 406 n t h Ave. S. E . , Minneapolis, Minn.
C h i — E m i l y A. Tarbell, 503 University Place, Syracuse, N . Y .
Upsilon—Ruth Fosdick, 4732 21st Ave. N . E . , Seattle, Wash.
N u Kappa—Erma Baker, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.

ALUMNA CHAPTERS

PRESIDENTS

New York—Edith Dietz, 217 W. 105th St., New York City.
San Francisco—Blanche Ahlers, 2300 Divisadero St., San Francisco, Cal.
Providence—Helen Meslen Eddy Rose (Mrs. A. D . ) 29 Fruit H i l l Ave.,

Providence, R. I .
Boston—Blanche Hooper, 125 Professors Row, Tufts College, Mass.
Lincoln—Jennie Piper, 1731 D St., Lincoln, Neb.
Los Angeles—May Chandler Goodan (Mrs. Roger), 2631 Meulo Ave., Los

Angeles, Cal.
Chicago—Elva Pease Pettigrew (Mrs. J . ) , 21 E . 155th St., Harvey, 111.
Indianapolis—Irene B. Newnam, 620 E . 13th St., Indianapolis, Ind.

CHAPTER SECRETARIES

ACTIVE CHAPTERS

Alpha—Inactive.
Pi—Clara W. Hall, 1231 Washington Ave., New Orleans, L a .
Nu—Jane Monroe, 144 West 104th St., New York City.
Omicron—Alice Calhoun, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Kappa—Helen Hardy, College Park, Va.
Zeta—Helen Wehrli, 1232 R St., Lincoln, Neb.
Sigma—Helen Clowes, 2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, C a l .
Theta—Beatrice Woodward, A 0 II House, Greencastle, Ind.
Delta—Helen Rowe, 20 Vine St., Winchester, Mass.
Gamma—Elizabeth Bright, Mt. Vernon House, Orono, Me.
Epsilon—Mary Albertson, Sage College, Ithaca, N. Y .
Rho—Alice Kolb, 555 Arlington Place, Chicago, 111.
Lambda—Alice Moore, A 0 I I House, Stanford University, Cal.
Iota—Opal Trost, 511 W . High St., Urbana, HI.
Tau—Vivian Watson, 406 n t h Ave. S. E . , Minneapolis, Minn.
Chi—Frances Carter, 503 LTniversity Place, Syracuse, N . Y .
Upsilon—Esther Knudson, 4732 21st Ave. N . E . , Seattle, Wash.
Nu Kappa—Lucinda Smith, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex.





To D R A G M A

VOL. X I MAY, 1916 No. 3

To D R A G M A is published at 450-454 Ahnaip Street, Menasha, Wis., by George
Banta, official printer to the fraternity. Entered at the post-office at Menasha,
Wis., as second-class matter, April 13, 1909, under the act of March 3, 1897.

To D R A G M A is published on the twenty-fifth of November, February, May
and September.

Subscription price, one dollar per year payable in advance; single copies
twenty-five cents.

Mary Ellen Chase, Editor-in-chief. Marguerite Pilsbury Schoppe, Business
Manager.

CHARITY

Her life is full of simple things each day;
She does the c o m m o n toil w i t h homely care,
A cloistered novice whom the world forgets,
A w i d o w i n whose cruse is oil to spare;
L i v i n g so f a i t h f u l l y that Death w i l l seem
Merely a shadow d o w n an endless dream.

For w h e n the call shall come, she w i l l not go
As one who waiteth: Graciously undimmed,
H e r flame-like s o u l w i l l leap u p at t h e l a s t
T o some old wonted task, some lamp untrimmed;
Or she w i l l hear a lonely child w h o cries,
A n d need t o c o m f o r t it before she dies.

M I R I A M C R I T T E N D E N C A R M A N in the March Scribners.

204 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

VOLUNTEER SOCIAL SERVICE

I t is, of course, true that college graduates are more and more
entering professions direct from college or graduate work, and that
the group of girls who return after college to their own home
towns and to the round of social activities which they l e f t there is
getting smaller. T o the g i r l who enters social work as a profession
this paper is not addressed. But social w o r k as an avocation is
worthy of careful consideration both f r o m the g i r l who takes up
teaching or some similar line of work, and f r o m the g i r l who returns
f r o m college to the comparative leisure of home life.

The young woman who has spent four strenuous years in the stimu-
l a t i n g and absorbing duties and pleasures of college l i f e o f t e n finds
herself after graduation with a "gone" feeling of having come to the
end of one phase of l i f e and of not knowing exactly what to t u r n to
next. I t may be that f o r f a m i l y reasons i t is unnecessary or inad-
visable f o r her to plan to f o l l o w a professional career. I t may be
that she plans to marry i n the course of a year or two, and hardly
knows how to fill up the interval meanwhile. T o the earnest young
woman, who has received the t r a i n i n g and mental discipline that
college offers, there must, of course, be a sense of noblesse oblige, of
something due from her by virtue of her training to the community
i n which she lives. T h e woman who marries and has the care of
a home, and the woman who undertakes professional work, have this
same obligation. B u t since only their leisure time can be invested
i n volunteer social work, there is less obligation upon them than
upon the girl with plenty of spare time.

I n addition to the mental unrest as to her own l i f e and f u t u r e plans
which often characterizes the year after college is over, there are
the difficulties of readjustment into an environment from which the
g i r l has been absent, or only present f o r brief intervals, d u r i n g f o u r
formative years. The little town that you come back to looks small,
the streets a bit dingy. Your course in practical sociology leads you
to question whether the picturesque shacks down by the railroad
tracks where the laborers' families live are as picturesque as they
used to seem. The concern with which you view the b i l l i a r d parlor
in which your young brother is getting to spend too much of his time,
is mixed with considerations of the protection which the community
should offer to a l l the boys of his age. T h e presence of a few cases
of typhoid a l l the time i n the "slum section" o f your l i t t l e town seems
to you now a significant social fact, where formerly it was simply
a condition to be accepted. B u t f o r a l l that you see the l i f e of your
community through different eyes and f o r a l l that you feel keenly

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 205

the duty which those members of the community owe, who have gone
out f r o m its gates and returned with wider knowledge and experi-
ence, you very likely do not see what your next step should be.

T h e first duty which a 'young college woman should feel toward
her community is thoroughly to study its social aspects. Is it a
city, town, or village? Its social problems will differ strikingly with
its size. H o w is the community organized to meet the problems of
health, of recreation, of correction, of education, of child labor, and
of poverty? Are the state laws and the city ordinances governing
the social aspects of the community l i f e well constructed and effi-
ciently enforced? I f not, what movements are already on foot to make
things better? Is there an active woman's club working intensively
at some of these problems? A r e the churches realizing their respon-
siihlity? Are there other organizations, local branches, perhaps, of
state or national agencies which would welcome the help of a college
trained townswoman? O r do local committees need to be formed to
work for better legislation or better enforcement of laws already
enacted? These questions cannot be answered through any personal
investigation which the g i r l i n question w i l l o r d i n a r i l y be i n a
position to make. A decision upon these points can only be reached
through inquiry and consultation with people already on the spot.

Is there an Associated Charities i n town? I f so, the secretary can
not only give the would-be volunteer plenty of opportunity for per-
sonal service, but can help her immensely i n c l a r i f y i n g her mind as to
the particular social needs to be worked f o r i n the particular com-
munity. Local clergymen, local physicians and lawyers, the principal
of the high school, are a l l people who w i l l have varying angles upon
the social problems, and who can contribute to an understanding of
the real situation. A t t e n d i n g a state conference of charities and cor-
rection is often an extremely illuminating experience for the socially
minded college graduate. Correspondence with state and national
organizations i n the absence of local committees representing them,
will be f o u n d to yield h e l p f u l and practical suggestions as w e l l as
mformation about the needs of your state or your community along
the particular line in which the agency is interested. A t the end of
this article w i l l be f o u n d the addresses of a f e w national organiza-
tions which welcome the cooperation of volunteer committees of state,
county, or even only city wide scope.

Perhaps, however, you are one of the people to whom large com-

munity problems make only a remote appeal, who want first of a l l
o gain familiarity with social conditions through actual contact with

e P e o p l e who are living under them. M y personal feeling is that
s is the normal way of taking up one's duties to society. T h e

206 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

young college woman is often accused w i t h some truth of being a
theorizer, and it is often difficult for her to do effective volunteer
work without a good deal of supervision from experienced people. I f
the town i n which you happen to live, therefore, has an Associated
Charities with competent trained workers in charge of its family
work, a simple apprenticeship in the volunteer social work of your
community would be to connect yourself first of all with the Associ-
ated Charities. Thus you w i l l be able to get some definite training
in f a m i l y case work and i n committee work, and to decide upon a
basis of actual experience with the lives o f poor people in your
community, what general program for social betterment you wish
to be instrumental in initiating or in carrying out.

I f no Associated Charities exists and yet the need of one see
apparent, the situation is a more difficult one. I t may be that yo
town itself is perfectly able to support a trained social cause worker
and to undertake the necessary work of an Associated Charities, i f
the interest of the better-to-do members of the community can be
aroused and directed to that end. I t may be that your town is
not able to support an Associated Charities, but that i f it joined with
two or three other small towns closely connected by trolley, one com-
petent worker could be engaged who would be able to cover the
several communities and to organize, with your help and that of your
friends, volunteer committees to help in the work. I f this local and
fundamental need appeals to you as that to be met first o f a l l ,
the first step after studying your community's assets and disabilities
as before suggested, should be to get i n touch by correspondence w i t '
Mr. F. H . McLean of the American Association for Organizin
Charity, and Miss M . E . Richmond of the Charity Organization
Department of the Russell Sage Foundation, both at 130 East 22nd
Street, New York. I t is often possible f o r the American Association
to send a representative to assist i n the organization of the local
private charities.*

•Some general and national agencies which may be communicated with »
the lack of social committees representing them are the National Association F
the Prevention of Tuberculosis, Dr. Charles J . Hatfield, Executive Secret
J05 East 22nd Street, New York ; National Child Labor Committee, Mr. O
R. Lovejoy, General Secretary, 105 East 22nd Street, New York; the Nation
Housing Association, Lawrence Veiller, Director, 105 East 22nd Street, N'
York; the American Association for Labor Legislation, John B. Andrews, Sect
tary, 131 East 23rd Street, New York; the Playground and Recreation Asso*-
tion of America, H . S. Braucher, Secretary, Metropolitan Building, 1 Madi
Avenue, New Y o r k ; the National Board of Censorship of Motion Pictu
William McGuire, J r . , Executive Secretary, 70 F i f t h Avenue, New Y o r k ;
Department of Surveys of the Russell Sage Foundation, Shelby Harris

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 207

I f the college-trained girl in general owes a duty of service to the
community i n which she lives, i t is even more true of A l p h a O m i c r o n
girls, who have undertaken a peculiar obligation with their vows.
This obligation cannot, I believe, be entirely discharged i f one's
social endeavors are too much scattered or too much concentrated;
i f a girl's whole energy is spent f o r the orphans of France to the
exclusion of neglected childhood at home: or equallv i f she expends
all her sympathy upon the family of her mother's washerwoman,
which may be a perfectly normal and independent f a m i l y , and which
at a l l events can only be harmed by beneficent intentions without
skill. T o the volunteer who is content to make small beginnings;
to learn, f r o m her own experience and f r o m that of others, to keep
the proportion true between the general and the specific, the theoreti-
cal and the actual; to walk humbly and helpfully with those whom
life has not favored—to her w i l l be granted satisfactions and spiritual
enrichments beyond what she can conceive i n the b e g i n n i n g ; and the
hope of advancing by ever so l i t t l e the cause of true democracy.

Director, 130 East 22nd Street, New York ; and the Department of Child-Help-
ing of the Russell Sage Foundation, Hastings H . Hart, Director.

The following are suggested as important for general reading along volun-
teer social lines:

1. The Survey. A weekly journal and the official organ of social work and
Wcial movements in this country. It should be taken by your local library.

2. The Good Neighbor, by M. E . Richmond (Lippincott).
3. The Spirit of Youth and the City Streets, by Jane Addams (MacMillan).
4- Beauty for Ashes, by Albion Fellows Bacon. (I)odd, Mead & Co.)
5- What a Social Worker Should Know About Her Own Community. A
pamphlet published by the Charity Organization Society Department of the
Russell Sage Foundation, and to be obtained from them for ten cents a copy.

J O A N N A C . COLCORD, r '06.

I do not know what life would lie Register.
Without the songs which come to me

Across the far blue hills,
Where souls are making holiday,
Or Pippa, passing on her way,

Her cup of pleasure spills,
And in the sunshine of the skies
I catch the gladness of their eyes

Upon the distant hills.
— Harriet Lake-Burch in The Christian

208 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

REPORT OF SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE

REPORT OF S C H O L A R S H I P C O M M I T T E E FOR F I R S T SEMESTER, 1915-16

The scholarship report f o r the first semester is necessarily incom-

plete owing to the failure of several chapters to send their reports

to the committee. N u is not represented, as the grades at the New

York University are given out only at the end of the year. The

same is true of Thcta. Lambda failed to report.

I t was thought best not to rate the chapters in the order of their

grades, since the various systems o f marking differ so greatly. We

found that most of the colleges grade by letters, A, 90-100; B, 80-90,

etc.; therefore, the corresponding numerical grades cannot be exact.

I n these cases, the reporting officer f o r each chapter could only give

an approximate average.

Average No. Hours Average Grade

Pi 17.2 *85

Omicron 15.66 83

Rho 15 78

Kappa 15 *88.9

Delta 15 * B - t o B

#Iota 16 86.19

Tau 15 *84

Epsilon 16.13 *77.59

Sigma 15.07 *86

Gamma 17.6 *86.48

Nu K a p P a j s t u d e ^ l l . 4 *B

Zeta 14.1 *79.4

#Upsilon 16 *84

Chi 16 *77.4

# Ranked first in relative scholastic standing of women's frater-

nities at University.

* Approximate.

Signed,

Mildred E. MacDonald (Mrs. W. T . ) , "
b
Isabelle Stone, L

Helen Foss Weeks. 0

O the smell of rain is lovely ^
And the feel of rain is good, H

And once I spent all morning Verses.
With rain in a wood!
Ken elm's

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 209

WANTED—A MOTHER

B Y MADELEINE Z. DOTV, N '02

Reprinted from Good Housekeeping for April

(Once upon a time a young woman took her law sheepskin as a license for her

to open an office and offer her services in getting people out of trouble. The

usual number of clients came to her, and she was satisfied until it occurred to

her that she was doing only what a man could do and probably do better. In

other words, her womanhood was counting for nothing. So she decided to turn

her attention and her energies in a direction where the fact that she was a

wcman and knew women would count. She chose prison reform. As a begin-

ning she served a voluntary week in prison and came out hating the prison

system with an intensity that fired her with unquenchable zeal. A few weeks

ago Warden Kirchwey of Sing Sing introduced her to a thousand convicts as

the best friend the man behind the bars ever had. Many of those convicts

knew her personally; she had won their confidence and held secrets of their

lives that no one else knew. To her they had admitted things that they had

lied to keep from judges and officers of the law. One of these things was that

the majority of all the inmates were "old" offenders, that two-thirds of them

had, as children, been in reformatories. This being true—and she verified the

stories—the best place to work for prison reform was seen to be in the institu-

tions which took young and essentially innocent boys and gave them criminal

tendencies. The beginning of this work was in this magazine last month.

Madeleine Z. Doty hopes by the grace of God and the help of the good women

of America to open the doors of reformatories, to break the connection between

them and the prisons. Will you join h e r ? — W I L L I A M F R E D E R I C K BIHELOW,

Editor of Good Housekeeping.)

On Christmas day i n the year 1902 snow was f a l l i n g in Indiana.
Soft, f u r r y flakes f e l l and stuck to the window-panes. A sad little
face was pressed against one that had a harsh iron grating i n f r o n t
°f i t . I t was a r e f o r m school, and the boy was a prisoner. Tears
crept down the pale cheeks. There was to be a Christmas dinner
and a Christmas-tree and a tiny box of candy f o r each boy in the
oig institution. But still the little heart ached. I f only there was
some one who cared, some one to whom lie belonged, some one to
love—even a tiny letter a l l his own, a letter with words like caresses!
" i s mother had died when he was seven, and his father had forgotten
" i m . I f he could have written, maybe daddy would have remem-
bered, but f o r six months his monthly letter had been stopped.
Little L . C. had been naughty. H e was only eleven and he was
lonely and desperate. H e watched the great, white flakes, and looked
0 u t at the clean, white world. He had spent four dreary, unhappy
^hristmases i n t n e ^r e o r m school. H e couldn't stand i t any longer.
He decided to run away.

This was in 1902 before L . C. had committed any crime.

210 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

Thirteen years later I found him i n the state prison at Auburn,
N e w York. T e n of the thirteen years since the day he ran away had
been spent in prison—fourteen Christmases out of twenty-four behind
prison bars! H e had been in prison i n Indiana, Ohio, Kansas, Cali-
f o r n i a , Michigan, New Hampshire, and New York. A f t e r each
imprisonment he had fled to another state, assumed a new name, and
when again arrested had been tried as a first offender. E i g h t offenses
and eight imprisonments, varying f r o m thirty days to two years, is
his record. Yet L . C. is a strong, clean-shaven, upstanding young
man. H i s blue eyes are clear and t h o u g h t f u l . H e wants to travel,
he wants to learn, and he wants to live.

" D i d you run away that Christmas night?" I asked.
"Yes, and got caught. A kid of eleven doesn't stand much chance."
"What happened then?" I inquired.
H e smiled queerly and hesitated, then came the tragic story. " I t ' s
a serious offense to t r y to escape. First there was the hickory sprig
until merciful unconsciousness brought relief. But that was nothing
to what followed. A shackle weighing fifteen pounds was put on
my right leg above the ankle. I wore this piece of 'jewelry' for
eight months. T h a t was considered a short time, but a scar on
my leg the size of a silver dollar and my l i m p when I walk testify
mutely to its effect. A boy wearing one of these things isn't allowed
to stand around. I had to carry bricks f r o m the press to the baking-
oven, a distance of seventy-five feet. Back and forth all day long
I went, and at night during play hour I stood on the chalk-line.
A f t e r I had worn my 'pet' f o r two months, blood-poisoning set i n
f r o m a sore i t had caused. I was in the hospital six weeks, but the
shackle wasn't removed. H a d I lost both legs, I suppose it would
have been put around an arm or my neck u n t i l the prescribed period
had elapsed. W h e n 1 got well, I had to make up the six weeks I
had spent in bed."

So that was w h y L . C. limped. I t seemed incredible, but the
limp and the scar were telling evidence. I looked at him. There
was no bitterness i n his eyes; instead he was looking at me eagerly.
" I want," he said, "to begin l i f e over. I ' m young—only twenty-
four—and I've been studying; I am reading Blackstone in my cell
every minute I can get. I've taught myself a l l I know. I realize that
education is my only way out. I have absolutely no relatives—no
one to help me. I've got to fight it out alone. They say M r . Ford
gives men a chance; I ' m going there when I get out, but I ' d like
to keep in touch with you and tell you how I get on."

T h e n came long letters f r o m L . C. Soon his whole story was
u n f o l d e d ; in its u n f o l d i n g he made shrewd comments. H e wrote:

TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICROX PI 211

"The systems in all reformatories f a l l short of their purpose, reforma-
tion. They try to reform by disciplinary training, which means con-
f o r m i n g to a set of rules and regulations. A boy who has com-
mitted t h e f t is sent to a r e f o r m school and given a set of rules to
abide by. B u t it doesn't f o l l o w that a boy of f r o m six to fifteen
years of age can r e f o r m himself morally by complying w i t h a set of
rules, such as, ' T h o u shalt not talk or laugh, except d u r i n g the eve-
ning hour on the playground.' Such rules hurt both man and boy
mentally, morally, and physically. I have served under nine different
sets of rules, and I have yet to find one that i f abided by f o r twenty
solid years would solve any one's l i f e problem. The rule against
talking made us sneaky. W e learned to talk with our fingers.

" T h e punishments f o r breaking rules i n the first reformatory were
as f o l l o w s : ( 1 ) A number of blows on the bare back w i t h either a
water-soaked hickory or an oil-soaked strap. When this method was
used, the v i c t i m was held by ' a l l f o u r s ' to avoid 'accidents.' ( 2 ) A
number of blows on the palm of the hand with a ruler. (3) The
one considered the worst of a l l consisted i n being put on the mute
system. A boy was forbidden to utter an audible sound f o r a period
varying f r o m thirty days to eight months. The only means of com-
munication was by writing on a piece of paper attached to a tablet
which hung about the neck. I have seen this method used by the
superintendent himself. There were many other forms of torture
such as h o l d i n g the arms i n the air f o r a certain period. W e were
often desperate. That was why I ran away. But I only got caught.
I t d i d no good to complain. There was no one to complain to. Our
letters to relatives were a farce. Each boy not punished was per-
mitted to write one letter a month. B u t he had to write on a blank
letter-form. Certain rules governed the correspondence. A boy
could make no reference to punishment or in any way mention the
treatment he received. Every letter had to begin, ' I am w e l l ; I hope
you are the same,' even though he lay half dead i n the hospital.
I f he wasn't able to write, the boy who wrote f o r h i m must say he was
well. Generally, a relative was not informed of a boy's illness u n t i l
all hope of recovery was past. Only one visit every three months
w a s permitted, and that was forfeited i f the boy had been punished."

Poor, lonely little kiddy of eleven with the shackled leg and hun-
gry heart! I f on that Christmas day so long ago there had been a
mother, or an adopted mother, some one to love you, would you
e v e r have reached a state prison? W o u l d you ever have become
what you now term so graphically "one of the drops i n the d i r t y
bucket of water"? Two-thirds of the men in state prisons have
been in children's institutions. Further, the records show that of this

212 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

two-thirds, f i f t y per cent come f r o m broken homes where either father
or the mother died before the child was fifteen. Hundreds of lonely
little children in institutions exist year after year, unkissed, unloved,
uncared for. The heart sickens without love, the soul grows hard,
evil enters—and society pays.

T h i s is what one man, a prisoner at present i n Sing Sing, writes

about the child's need of affection:

January 3, 1916.
" M y dear Miss D o t y : Since our talk I have been thinking deeply
over the work you are trying to perform. I t is magnificent to labor
f o r the boys and girls in the juvenile institutions, where they starve
for affection, and where they are surrounded by objects that never
have the least hint of a home.
" M y mother died when I was f o u r years o l d . I am told I loved
her very much f o r a wee k i d . M y father placed me in a home very
soon a f t e r her, death. I t was good i n its way, but lacked in affection.
We had a nurse and a head matron in charge. I never remembered
receiving a kiss f r o m either of these two in a l l my three or four
years' residence.
" A t the age of thirteen I was sentenced to a reformatory. I t was
a barn, a place f o r cattle, not f o r boys. We were allowed to write
one letter and receive one visit a month. T h e first month I must
have shed an ocean of tears. I would have given any treasure
I possessed to any one who would have written to me or come to
see me. The w o r l d was a horrible nightmare. I did not receive one
kind word, or one letter of love and sympathy f r o m any one. I be-
lieve the bitterness of those first months when I could not realize the
where and whyfore of things was more cruel and heartbreaking than
all my future misery, of which I can claim a lion's share. I know that
experience l e f t its scar upon my soul. There were many brutal
things that occurred which we kids never dared to t e l l any one because
we felt that the officials were against us, and we knew i f we informed
the higher officials of the institutions the superintendent would belittle
the matter, and the officer would get even w i t h us as soon as he found
out who had told.

"There was never a fatherly feeling among the officers f o r the
boys, let alone a motherly one. I t is surprising that any one of us
has retained any of the finer feelings after having passed through
these brutalizing institutions. I t is a wonder any of us could come
through the cold, u n f r i e n d l y atmosphere and still respond to the
feeling of kindness.

"Besides the cruelty of the officers, the older boys could do most
anything to the smaller kids. I m m o r a l i t y was and is common J°

TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 213

these places. H a d kids a mother or a sympathetic f r i e n d to confide
i n , they would steer clear of practices that certainly warp their lives.

"Small boys, especially, crave affection. They do not get it from
home, f o r they are not allowed to write and pour out their hearts;
they do not get it f r o m the officials; so they f a l l an easy prey to any
older boy who is kind, who w i l l give them a few sweetmeats. T h e n
the older boy, i f he is immoral, can do as he chooses. So the affection
needed is supplied, or rather bought, and the price is horrible. This
exists i n a l l asylums today, as i t always has, because of the lack of
affection.

T h e punishments in the reformatories i n 1903-04 were more severe
f o r boys f r o m five to eighteen years of age than they are i n state's
prison today f o r men. '[This man also made this statement to me
in Sing Sing Prison, February 1—Editor.] A dark cell, hard boards
at night, bread and water, and actual physical torture in the daytime,
was the mode of punishing l i t t l e tots and growing boys.

" I was whispering i n the chapel one evening just before service
began. A n officer came behind me and struck me so hard on the ear
that I could not hear f o r ten days. Even today I have trouble with
that ear. I cried myself to sleep with pain that night. They put me
in a dark cell the next time for whispering in the dining-hall. I
nearly went frantic. I t seemed I was hurried alive. T h i s is one of
the most inhuman things about juvenile institutions. A boy or g i r l
who's the least bit t i m i d should never be put into a dark cell and
left there. I t leaves an indelible mark upon his character. H e goes
through life with a sort of horrible fear of isolation.

" I believe every institution where boys are sent and l e f t unfriended,
and unloved, is a menace to the state. Permission to write and
explain injuries, fears, and troubles is the key-note to the situation.
The one recommendation I think o f at present is that a great deal
of attention should be paid to those first few months a boy is incar-
cerated. These are the hardest for him to understand and the lone-
liest period of a l l .

"Sincerely yours, H . E."
What a letter. I close my eyes and see a procession of sobbing,
children, children w i t h tear-stained cheeks, pleading eyes, and out-
stretched hands. I t is not to be borne.

I here are millions of women eager to serve and thousands of
motherless children i n institutions. T h e two must be brought
together. One letter a week to a lonely child would transform l i f e .
H a l f the prisons in the world would be emptied i f neglected and
delinquent children had a mother's love. But to make this possible,

214 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

silly institutional rules must be abolished. Mother and child and
adopted mother and c h i l d must be able to correspond freely and con-
fidentially. Some institutions w i l l object. They w i l l say i t hurts
discipline. But the discipline of public schools is not demoralized
because mother and child see and talk to each other. Children are
not bits of clay to be beaten into a mold. Each child is an entity.
Each child has a soul. Each child needs individual love.

T h i n k of the abondoned, nameless, and homeless children thrust
into asylums. I met such a one. H e was a convict without a name.

" W h o are you? Where do you come f r o m ? Those are the ques-
tions that haunt me," he said. H i s voice quivered; his hand shook.
" F r o m babyhood those questions have been flung at me. They
wrecked my l i f e . Y o u are the only person who has said it didn't
matter. Y o u say, Do something big, and then the question w i l l be,
What have you done? not, Who are you? G o d ! I f only that might
be. I never thought that way before, but maybe you're right. I ' l l
begin by helping you. I ' l l tell everything about my childhood."

T h e faded blue eyes looked into mine. H i s courage was a l l but
gone. H i s v i r i l i t y had been sapped. Drugs, bad habits, and disease
had l e f t their mark. H i s words were disconnected. Seething emotion
robbed h i m of speech. But little by little he hold his story. Later he
wrote it out. This is his letter:

" F r i e n d : You have consented to let me call you friend, and I
appreciate i t . I was so choked w i t h feeling this afternoon I couldn't
say what I wished.

" I wasn't born evil. E v i l was g r a f t e d on me. Let me speak
frankly. Twenty-seven years ago I was born in so-called cultured
and staid old Boston. B u t as f a r as I can remember I became con-
scious of existence around the age of seven. I n a place f o r destitute
children I first learned the meaning of the w o r d fear. There I was
taught to be suspicious of mankind. I n fact, it was there the seed
of evil was sown w i t h i n me. W h y ? W h y , i f there is a God, does he
let innocent children come into a world of sorrow and shame?

" I hate to think of the past, but I ' m doing it to shed a little light
on your work. Perhaps i f I do, I may be able to help give the down-
trodden what I should so have liked—someone somewhere who loved
me.

" I remember well the matrons i n charge of the asylum. I t 1 S
Saturday morning and bath day. The matron picks out two of the
older boys to help. I am always one of the helpers. The matron
is there f o r discipline. W e undress the tiny children. I n doing so
we must be c a r e f u l not to expose them. I f we do, there is a lash o(

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 215

the cane. Could anything be so utterly foolish on the part of matrons,
who think nothing of stripping a child naked and beating him. Such
actions give children bad thoughts. They become frightened i f a
matron looks at them. T h e fear they w i l l be beaten f o r something
they can not understand.

" R e l i g i o n we had always and then some. I have nothing to say
against religion. I t ' s a fine thing, but like everything else taken
to excess, i t is bound to put a crimp i n one somewhere. T h e y t r y to
drive religion into you by fear. As a matter of fact, what we begin to
fear, we begin to hate.

"When I was still very little, I was adopted by an undertaker.
That place was a nightmare. For a bad childish habit, I was pun-
ished by not being allowed to drink any water after three i n the
afternoon. You can imagine the craving of a little child for water.
I t taught me my first lesson i n scheming. I would wait u n t i l every
one was asleep, then I would get out on the back porch. There was
an old barrel which caught the rain-water drained f r o m the roof.
This dirty water I would drink to my heart's content and, believe me,
it tasted good. I t is little things like this helped make me what I
am today—a convict. 1 learned to be t r i c k y and cruel. I w o u l d go
into the barn and pick up the little kittens and put them i n the
horses' mangers or under their feet. I t seemed to be the only way
1 could satisfy my feeling of hate toward these people.

"One day some money was l e f t on the mantel and could not be
found. O f course I was accused. I told them I didn't take it. But
I was called a liar and a thief, and told that children such as I were
never any good. F r o m that day I felt the real meaning of the word
mother. I would sit and cry f o r hours f o r the mother I never knew.
I would ask where she was, and say I wanted her. B u t they only
laughed and mocked and said strange things I didn't understand. I t
was then those questions began to haunt me—who are you? Where
do you come f r o m ? I t was then I became careless about going to
the house. I f e l t I wasn't welcome. I slept where I c o u l d ; some-
times i n the woods, sometimes i n an o l d building. Eat ? G o d alone
knows where I ate. I n the daytime I would play with boys I had met
at public school i n the hope they would ask me to dinner or supper,
a n d when they did, that question would rise like a ghost i n the dark—
'Little boy, what is your mother's name? Where do you live?' I
suppose the children's mothers investigated and f o u n d out the t r u t h ,
because my playmates dropped off one by one u n t i l finally I had no
°ne to whom I could say hello.

216 TO DRA GMA OF A LPHA 0M1CR ON PI

" I t was about this time an agent came and took me, not to the
home, but to an industrial school. T h e superintendent seemed to be
k i n d . H e called me 'dear son,' and said I w o u l d have a fine time.
He took me into a tower and showed me what he called a b e a u t i f u l
place. A l l I could see was a lot of shops enclosing a small yard, and
a high wall which I learned afterwards was to prevent boys from
running away. M y first unpleasant experience was having a l l my
hair taken off. Soon afterward I was introduced to punishment.
T h i s consisted i n being stripped and beaten w i t h a rubber hose, with
enough force to make even a tiger yelp with pain.

" W h i l e I was there, I never saw or experienced any good, whole-
some education. I t was much like the asylum i n this respect. A l l
we were taught was religion, and, believe me, i t was a mockery to
faith.

"One day when the boys were sent to shovel snow f r o m the side-
walk I managed to escape. I went directly to the naval recruiting
station, passed the examination f o r enlistment, but again came up
those questions—Who are you? Where do you come f r o m ? I was
ashamed and framed up a plausible story. But it wouldn't do. I
didn't know what was to become of m e — I was an outcast. I went
f r o m place to place to get some k i n d of work. I was hungry and
had barely enough clothes to cover me. A t night I slept i n a
delivery-wagon in a barn.

" F i n a l l y I got a j o b in a cafe. I received six dollars a week and/
my suppers. I hired a room and lived, as I thought, like a prince
f o r nearly a year. I met a nice woman. She offered to help me, but
I didn't want to tell her the truth. I was ashamed. Time and again
I have gone to the home to try to find out the t r u t h . B u t the matrons
said a lot of things were better not known. They would never tell
me whether my folks were living or dead.

"One night in the cafe a young fellow came in and began talking

to me. Finally he asked me to go to a show. I jumped at the invita-

tion because I could not a f f o r d such pleasures. A f t e r the theater he

took me to supper. T h e next day he came to see me and took me to

lunch. H e bought me a whole new outfit. I began to feel the power

of money and good clothes. But eventually I realized what it all

meant Consequently, I determined to lose h i m . I left

my j o b and found a new one. But he followed me. I gave i n and

went with him. I t was the beginning of the end. M y crime wave

began and has been going ever since. I was down and out. My

health was shattered. I had nothing. I walked the streets a l l night.

Finally I stole an overcoat and sold it to buy food. I was arrested

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 217

and was put on probation. But I was as badly o f f as ever. Shortly
afterward I stole a French lens worth $150 and sold it for $ 1 . I was
sent to j a i l f o r three months. I d i d a lot of t h i n k i n g while there.
I thought o f m y past. I thought of the days as a l i t t l e child when
I prayed ( i t sounds like a j o k e ) w i t h tears in my eyes as only a f a i t h -
f u l child can pray. I begged God to help me in time of need, but
all in vain. I have gone hungry and sick in the very streets of plenty.
I have seen children w i t h their mothers e n j o y i n g themselves, while I
was lonesome. M y only friends have been my real enemies—human
leeches taking my l i f e away. I thought of the days as a c h i l d when
I had been refused water to drink. H o w I had been w r o n g f u l l y
accused of stealing. H o w I had been mocked because I cried f o r
my mother. I had learned the shallowness of humanity. Even the
hand of God seemed turned against me, and I swore i n that l i t t l e
cell I would not play into the hands of fate. No, I would take fate
into my own hands. I would hate a l l — I would lie and steal; I
would do everything against the laws of God and man. The things
I learned i n those melting-pots of crime came to my assistance. I
became c r a f t y and distrustful of every one. I made no f r i e n d s ; i f I
did, it was simply to rob them. T h e hate which had been burning
w i t h i n me a l l those years came out. Before the age of twenty I was
arrested f o r robbery on the high seas, grand larceny, forgery, and
burglary. I have been arrested a l l over the United States and
Canada, by both the federal and state authorities. N o doubt I am
receiving my just punishment, but then again, i f I had got my just
rights as a c h i l d , I w o u l d not have become a convict. I had no
mother's hand to guide me; I had no father's arm to protect me; I
had no home to go to with a mother's welcoming voice. I could not
make true friends, because I was unable to answer those two ques-
tions. I am a convict, because I do not know who I am or where
I came f r o m — a n d no one cares."

God have pity on us, f o r we know not what we do! Only such
a plea makes l i f e endurable after such a story. But now we can not
plead ignorance. I t rests upon us to break down the high walls,
the barred windows, and the relentless discipline of children's insti-
tutions. Past a l l obstacles, straight to the heart of the child we must
penetrate. W e women, mothers and potential mothers, must see that
not one helpless baby goes uncherished. Joy, love, and gladness,
these are the new notes to be brought into institutions. H o w much
affection does each child receive? is the fundamental question. Surely
the women of the United States w i l l answer this call and go ham-
mering at the doors of institutions, c r y i n g : " W e come to save babies
from becoming criminals. We come laden with love. N o child is to
go uncared f o r . A n unbroken rank of women waits ready to respond
to every call of, 'Wanted—A Mother.' "

218 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

NATIONAL PANHELLENIC CONGRESS

REPORT ON COOPERATIVE HOUSE MANAGEMENT AND HOUSE

CHAPERONAGE

Size of the Problem

Inquiries addressed to about seventy colleges and universities show
that cooperative house management is feasible i n f o r t y of the sixty
colleges f r o m which replies have been received. From a study of
Baird's Manual we are prepared to say that f i f t e e n or twenty colleges
and universities may be added to the f o r t y which we have investigated.

The forty colleges and universities reporting show:
1. 1041 organized student group residences, including clubs and

fraternities, managed by the group and providing board and
lodging.
2. 22,000 students resident therein.
3. A n annual expenditure f o r board and lodging of more than
$5,000,000.
By adding fifteen colleges, on the basis of the averages we have,
annual expenditures would be increased to about $7,000,000. O f this
amount $1,000,000 can be saved annually by cooperative house man-
agement. There is no questioning that the size of our problem i n -
vites thoughtfulness with a view to action.

Divisions of Cooperative House Management

Cooperative house management includes:
I . —House Maintenance, with its problems of,

1. Rent.
2. Building contracts.
3. Light.
4. Fuel.
5. Water.
6. Repairs.
7. Furnishings.
I t should be noted that by cooperation, only, can organized
student groups combat excessive rentals, and that the sound financial
condition of such groups, which the Cornell experiment shows
can be achieved, w i l l give the groups better position when entering
into building contracts.
I I . —Food supply and Catering, which includes:
1. Buying.
2. Storage.
3. Kitchen supervision.
4. H i r i n g and discharging of servants.

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 219

Essentials of Cooperative House Management

I . —Essentials of both House Maintenance and of Food Supply and
Catering, are:

1. Prompt collection of board and lodging charges.
2. Simple uniform accountancy.
3. M o n t h l y auditing.
4. Centralized administration.
5. E l i m i n a t i o n of waste.
I I . — A d d i t i o n a l essentials of Food Supply and Catering are:
1. Wholesome food.
2. Wholesale buying, which may include—

a. Direct f r o m the f a r m service.
b. Products of university agricultural farms.
c. Supplies f r o m university home economics depart-

ments.
3. E l i m i n a t i o n of waste. T h i s item is repeated to emphasize

kitchen supervision. Every student of institutional man-
agement knows that the successful manager is one who
"sits on the garbage can."
I n connection with wholesale buying, two factors are necessary
to secure its f u l l possibilities:
a. Quality.
b. Credit.

Organization

Organization of cooperative house management may be:
I. —Local.

1. By strictly commercial interests.
2. By group agreements.
3. B y Panhellenics.
I I . —National.
1. By strictly commercial interests.
2. B y an organization effected by national fraternities, with

provision for the admission of local fraternities and clubs.

Reco m m end ations
The committee recommends that a national organization, perhaps
a corporation, be effected by the fraternities, men's and women's, f o r
the purpose of adopting a system of cooperative house management
and establishing the same i n various colleges and universities.

T h i s plan is recommended because:

1. I t insures a r e t u r n of a l l savings to the organized student
groups, which would not result i f the matter is taken
over by strictly commercial interests.

220 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

2. I t secures u n i f o r m accountancy. I f cooperative manage-
ment is entrusted to strictly local interests there w i l l
be a variety of bookkeeping w i t h attendant difficulties
for national officers.

3. I t gains the f u l l possibilities of wholesale buying.
4. I t lessens the conflict w i t h entrenched retail associations

that, at present, harrass local cooperative efforts.
5. I t marks a positive contribution to a national ideal that

is fundamental to a nation's economic progress—thrift.

SUMMARY OF EMPHASIZED FEATURES OF COOPERATIVE EFFORTS TO

DATE

(Details of local cooperative efforts will appear in a supplementary
report.)

Cornell
M r . Wellar, of whose signal achievements at Cornell a l l fraternity
leaders know, emphasizes—

1. Prompt payment o f board and lodging charges.
2. Accountancy and auditing.
3. Wholesale buying with discounts.
4. Elimination of waste in

a. House maintenance.
b. Food supply and catering.
5. Centralized administration.

California

I.

Mr. Mallum and Mr. Green operated cooperative efforts at the
University of California, 1914-1915.

Mr. Mallum and Mr. Green emphasized:

1. Efficiency—
a. O n the part of house managers.
b. Touching collections.
c. I n keeping records.

2. Reduction of overhead charges.

II.
M r . Rehorn and M r . Reed are conducting a cooperative plan at
the University of California during the present year.
Mr. Rehorn and M r . Reed emphasize:

1. Prompt collection of board and lodging charges.
2. Accountancy.
3. Wholesale buying.
4. Centralized administration.

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 221

University of Missouri

A proposal from the University of Missouri, relating only to food

supply and catering, emphasize:

1. Prompt payment of board and lodging charges.
2. Wholesale buying.
3. U n i f o r m accountancy.

A cooperative effort at the University of Nebraska, 1914-1915.
provided only f o r discounts on retail purchasing. T h e same result
is this year sought, under quite a different plan, at Syracuse Uni-
versity.

Some cooperation has been attempted at Michigan and is being
urged at the University of Kansas. Chicago and Minnesota have,
also, been centers of agitation.

The Fellowship Plan of Chapter House Chaperonage

A study o f 110 chaperons i n twelve universities gives the f o l l o w -
results:

12 chaperons between the ages of 25-30.
4 chaperons between the ages o f 30-35.
8 chaperons between the ages o f 35-40.
12 chaperons between the ages o f 40-45.
28 chaperons between the ages of 45-50.
18 chaperons between the ages o f 50-55.
21 chaperons between the ages of 55-60.
6 chaperons between the ages of 60-65.

1 chaperon aged 70.

89 chaperons without academic training.

2 chaperons had attended girls' schools.

2 chaperons had college training but not degrees.

11 chaperons had Bachelor degrees.

1 chaperon was a graduate o f Boston Conservatory.
1 chaperon held the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
1 chaperon was a normal school graduate.

3 chaperons held degrees of some k i n d .
10 chaperons took college work f o r credit.
10 chaperons visited classes.

1 chaperon was a college instructor.

1 chaperon taught i n city schools.
1 chaperon sewed f o r the girls.
1 chaperon worked in the city.

5 chaperons acted as house managers.
81 chaperons did nothing.

222 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

T h e fellowship plan proposes supplanting these elderly, idle
chaperons by younger women who w i l l do graduate work or work
in a professional department of the university.

The size of the contribution to the cause of f i t t i n g women f o r
economic independence, which the fellowship-plan includes, is sug-
gested i n the fact that i f a l l women's fraternities adopted the plan,
two hundred f r a t e r n i t y houses would be open to i t .

T o the holder of the fellowship the plan offers home, with prob-
ably tuition, or traveling expenses, or a small stipend. T h e value of
the opportunity may be f a i r l y estimated at $400 annually f o r each
holder of a fellowship. I f 200 f r a t e r n i t y houses adopted the plan the
total annual value of the opportunities for graduate work or pro-
fessional t r a i n i n g w o u l d be $80,000, which equals 5 per cent on an
endowment of $1,600,000. A dean of women, commenting on this
phase of the proposal, said: " I f Carnegie were to set aside such a
sum f o r the education of women, the f a c t would be heralded over the
entire country."

T h e fellowship plan requires that house control be on the student
self-government basis, establishing personal responsibility for per-
sonal conduct in the place of the protection for indiscretion which
the old plan affords.

The fellowship plan, as being tried, proposes:
1. T h a t the resident fellowship scholar be at least twenty-five
years of age.
2. T h a t the maximum number of hours of university work be ten.
3. T h a t the resident fellowship-scholar have a semi-monthly con-
ference w i t h such university official as the university may designate,
on administrative problems.
The plan—
1. Makes magnificent contribution to the cause f o r larger voca-
tional opportunities for women.
2. Requires personal responsibility for personal conduct on the
part of each member of the group.
3. Creates a channel, through the proposed conferences, f o r in-
creasing the administrative efficiency of the university.

Mary C. Love Collins, X V.
Pauline Hagaman, A T.
Lulu Rued Webster, A <I>.
Eva Powell, K K Y.

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 223

BUSINESS MANAGER'S REPORT

Following is the standing of the chapter on the books of the Busi-
ness Manager of T o D R A G M A on M a y 1 :

PC h a ter No. Alumnce No. Subscribers Per cent

PE s l l o n 37 31 84.3
17 14 83 5
Upsilon
46 29 6 3 "
P°
22 12 54.5
Chl 12 6 50
91 43 46.1
Providence Alumna:

Gamma

Iota 44 20 45

gS i m a 98 43 43.9

Tau 26 11 42.8

Lambda 50 18 36

Pi 58 18 32

PA 1 ha 86 16 18.6

Theta 101 18 17.8

Zeta 121 21 17.3

Delta 122 21 17.2

Nu 53 9 16.9

P PK a a 81 14 16.7
46 4 8 7
Omicron

MARGUERITE PILSBURY SCHOPPE,

Business Manager.

Loveliest of trees, the cherry, now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Easter-tide.

2 2 4 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

A C O L L E G E WOMAN'S OPPORTUNITY I N A C I T Y
ASSOCIATION

(Printed at the request of the National Y. W. C. A.)

Any young woman with ideas and ideals wants to do something
that w i l l count f o r some k i n d o f good, and help this w o r l d and its
people along if it's only a crack ahead. A n d any girl with energy
wants to know that what she does do really gets somewhere. W e l l
do I remember the first time I broke into "settlement w o r k " as a l l
social work of any sort was called. They set me at counting cards
f o r a l i t t l e library of very grubby books, w h i c h some equally grubby
l i t t l e foreign children took out and i n . I couldn't see how that was
"settlement w o r k , " and especially could I not see that i t was doing
good to anybody and that i t was worth the half day and long street-
car ride in a l l sorts of weather it took to do i t . But that was just
about a l l the opening my eyes had got. I was looking through the
small end of the glasses only.

I f I had that j o b now! Each l i t t l e boy and g i r l w o u l d be a living
person w i t h a f a m i l y and a home behind h i m and a l i f e of infinite
possibilities ahead! T o get acquainted, to get them to like me, to be
something that would call out their genuine childish admiration, to
get invited to visit them or to play w i t h them just as beloved
"teacher" is—to share up on a l l the things I had as a matter of course
because I happened to be born into the particular home I was-—to
become a f r i e n d i n the truest sense of that splendid word—that was
an opportunity of a lifetime, only I really was too green to sense i t !
I f I had read only a little, i f I had taken the trouble to get ready f o r
it, to see what i t was people who knew actually d i d , to catch a g l i m -
mer o f what i t was a l l about—"things w ' u l d hev' ben d i f r u n t " f o r me
and perhaps f o r those boys and girls too! There lies the pity of un-
seen opportunities, of untaken chances. W h a t you lose you lose f o r
the other people! But I know quite well that had any one shown me
where my work could count, I would have stuck.

" T o know is to care, and to care is to work, and to w o r k is to
sacrifice." Yes and I would add to that, to care and know is to work
joyously w i t h sacrifice! I do not believe one can permanently care
unless one knows. I f you don't know the problem wherewith you
w o u l d deal, the misery the existence of them makes for people because
they are allowed to remain in the "problem" shelf, it's odds against
you that whatever you are set doing w i l l f a i l to have any meaning ana
so any importance f o r you. A n d it won't be long before you w i l l
decide that you really weren't "built for a philanthropic career" after
all.

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 225

There is so much to do that any person w i t h h a l f a brain, i f only
she has a whole heart, who goes at her stunt progressively can be ser-
viceable. I f she approaches i t w i t h the determination of a l l the time
learning more about the b i g things underneath, whatever she does w i l l
count. The realm of opportunity f o r social helping in our big
national housekeeping is broad. A n d yet there is no particular f o r m
of efforts, organization of efforts i f you will, which offers itself to a
college woman more universally, i n so many different spots i n so
many different communities, except it be the school, the libraries,
or the church, as the Y o u n g Women's Christian Association. I t is
always to be f o u n d back home. I n big cities or small ones, i n towns
and now also i n the country itself, is some f o r m of this national Chris-
tian organization. I f you don't find i t there, you can get i t there.
That is the beauty of its being a national one.

The city variety of a Young Women's Christian Association is a
highly organized, many-sided kind of a proposition. I t is safe to
say that no one unassisted can get to the bottom o f a l l that a city
Association actually does i n a year of visits to "the b u i l d i n g . " You
have to sit down w i t h somebody who knows and invite her to open
up and just tell you what is going on and what it's all about. A n d at
that you'll require an extra session. I t wasn't my idea in this short
article to try to describe one either. But I do want to describe some
of the places where this Association i n a city uses college women who
have the determination to "stick." A n d to tell you that the work and
influence radiating f r o m it is worthy of a l l you can put into i t , and
that college women are needed.

For there is membership. Membership: W h a t is there i n that?
VQ be a member and an intelligent one takes quite a bit of anybody's
time, because the organization is meant to be a democracy and to be
run by as w e l l as f o r its members. N o w where i t actually isn't, i t is
because the members aren't being members at a l l . O n l y "bargain
hunter" members, as one man put i t of this sort of an organization.
Pay your dollar and see what you can get f o r it is no sort of principle
for growing a democracy on. As a matter of fact this organization
stands f o r some pretty clear-cut sharply significant ideals, and a mem-
ber who is being a member has a road ahead to travel as w e l l as work
at hand to do.

I f you are ready to invest your time concentratedly for a money
wage in return, the Young Women's Christian Association offers posi-
tions with salaries attached f o r about every bent of interest that
touches the l i f e of girls and women, and almost every type of mind,
provided only the m i n d is capable of making good on its own type.
The one universal requirement is that the interest must be essentially

226 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

human and the mind capable of thinking straight. Mental honesty,
the will to face things and facts and conditions as they are, and
genuine love of people as people, make you good stuff for a posi-
tion. Executive of a big industrial organization, leader of a demo-
cratic one, club secretary, industrial work, religious work, employ-
ment and vocational guidance, immigration and foreign community
work, girls' worker, community worker, teacher of a l l sorts of sub-
jects, gymnasium and play director, house manager, business manager,
student secretary, country community secretary—, the list length-
ens and lengthens, and covers positions stationed in all sorts of com-
munities, and positions of traveling staffs of the eleven national field
committees, and the headquarter's staff. Anybody anywhere can
find out about all this by writing to the national board headquarters
which is known from coast to coast as "600 Lexington." That means
600 Lexington Avenue, New York City. Right now there are some
eighteen hundred women of college education and its equivalent who
are proud to belong to the "Employed Officers' Association" of this
Young Women's Christian Association. They are continually step-
ping off into matrimony, however, and pursuing their work as com-
mittee members and board members, so there is lots of room. More
workers are needed every year because the organization is multiplying
itself at an astonishing rate.

But it's the people who cannot or won't, the "won't" being put in
by the family, invest their time and abilities in work that earns an
income, to whom this article is especially addressed. For workers
who will work and forgetting they are "volunteers" will go at their
jobs with the loyalty of "regulars," there is always demand.

To be a member of a committee, which is responsible, say for the
plans which promote the splendid clubs and federations of clubs,
which young women of industry are running, and sit and hear what
some fine energetic young woman no older than yourself is doing
through them, is not so much fun to be sure, as yourself being that
young woman and doing that work. But as a committee member you
have the chance to show your power for team work in helping on
that secretary and that work to the utmost. Work on a committee of
any sort is not to be sniffed at. There is a college woman who is
chairman of the industrial department in a big mining town. She
has made a survey of the economic conditions of her city, has studied
the industrial problems from the girls' own standpoint and in doing
it has become an authority on social problems of that region. Another
girl is chairman in a big western city. Through the work in indus-
trial clubs she began to discover that there was a huge chunk of the
population which nobody knew anything about, and which everyone,

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 227

city officials, churches and social workers, completely ignored. She
started with her committee to find out some facts. She found that
foreign people had been coming to the city in a steady and increas-
ing stream for some five years back. Before she knew it she became
so deeply interested that she set out to make a scientific study of the
situation. The result is going to be work in foreign communities by
the Young Women's Christian Association, city night schools open
for foreigners, Italian, Polish, Hungarian books in the public libra-
ries, and a series of lectures in a school for social workers.

Now it must be remembered that we are all working for exactly the
same things—better people, better life for people, fairer opportuni-
ties at every point which means better work, better conditions of work,
better pay for work, better houses, better schools, better churches,
I better cities, better government! And it means justice, real democ-
racy in work as well as in government, and more of the kind of reli-
gion which acts as the power current which irresistibly draws men
and women to the Best and keeps them true to the Best.

And there are many different ways by which one may work for this
end as there are people with ideas. One way is to fight against
abuses, to stamp out injustices, to win the force of law to compel men
to stop doing that which is crushing out souls of other men. Another
is to produce facts which compel attention to the sure results in
human lives of conditions which are now permitted to prevail.
Another is "educational," which means to everlastingly spread abroad
the idea that things are wrong and can be righted. Ideas are dynamic
in themselves. I f people can only be exposed to a great idea, some-
thing happens to them which they can't help. That is one reason why
the more study of the Bible, whatever your faith or lack of any may
be, does things to people. I t exposes you to the greatest ideas that ever
got started down the centuries. And still another way is to work
amongst people themselves. I t is my belief that none of the other
ways are effectual i f they get far from people themselves. And on the
other hand, this working with and amongst people themselves is
very limited unless the other big collective, "social" ways are to go
with it.

But some people possess special aptitude for working at the big
collective problems and others for working with and for people direct.
The fascinating thing about working in a settlement and a city
Young Women's Christian Association is that one has every chance
to know and work amongst people. To be the leader of a club is
Worth a college education. A club of girls whose outlook on life is
different from your own because their opportunities have been less

228 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

opens the chance to give back all that you have had which they have
not. The giving won't be all on your side, however, Far from i t !
Or a leader of a younger girls' club. School girls, high school girls,
young girls just out at work because their folks cannot afford to let
them go on in school, offers the right club leader work which is as
truly creative as if she had been asked to paint a picture.

Suppose, however, that you are the kind of person who believes
she couldn't possibly manage to any good result a group of bubbly
or wild young girls, or a club of clear-headed outspoken young women
who take pride in the fact that they earn their own living in shop or
factory and are interested in the great labor movement and may con-
sider you with some pity or else with envy, because you "do nothing,"
as it seems to them. Then you can join the group of members whom
the Association is now increasingly depending on for friendly visit-
ing. Everybody knows what it means to strange or lonely girls to
have some person who "belongs" to the place, take the trouble to
come and make a friendly call.

One southern city has a big employment agency. Their members
pledge themselves to report at a certain hour each week. And they,
under direction, investigate in the same way a regular state investi-
gator would and make reports on regular schedules which are becom-
ing of immeasurable value to the various social agencies in the city.
Also another group of people who have the "friendly" gift are con-
tinually calling on girls at their boarding houses and also in their
own homes. Another city in the east has sectioned off their entire
town and have it so planned that every girl will have received a call
by the end of the year. The point of much of the calling is simply
that the Association is really meant for everybody to use and com-
paratively few women actually understand that. But a great deal of
real need for companionship and protection and "big sistering" has
been discovered by this quiet visiting.

Any person with a talent in music, in "speaking," in dramatics, in
getting up parties, in leading study classes, either in one of the artis-
tically written Bible courses of which there are so many in print
today, or in problems of the day in our own country or in any other
corner of the globe, or in parliamentary procedure, or in any of a host
of things which college women have at their finger ends, will be
whisked into a job before she has a chance to explain that she really
couldn't manage a club.

And then there are the "piece work" jobs, which vary from simp J
minding the telephone and playing hostess to all comers in the ^l o D
to attending a court hearing where some girl is concerned and it n e e f l S
to be shown to the "gentlemen of the jury" that somebody ^c a r et
or dashing off in a taxi to get somebody to a hospital, or meet som

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 229

body at a train, or to help get a marriage license! The "piece workers"
provide a most important force to the busy staff of "regulars." You
pledge yourself to report for duty at a certain hour of a certain day,
and to stick at it for an agreed length of time, and you keep that
appointment as you do an expensive music lesson or a specialized
dentist who is going to charge you for every minute you don't show
up! And the secretaries see that you are kept busy all right.

But this is only half. I t is truly a wonderful thing that the way
to attract the real sort of American girl is to show her what she
can do to help. She doesn't come half so quickly i f you only show her
what she gets out of it. Yet I've got to, because the story isn't half
outlined i f I don't. A college woman gets a whole lot, whether she
gives very much or not. Sometimes it seems as i f a college girl
could get more than others, because the Association is so strongly
tinctured with the flavor of college life. There is the same sort of
spirit. Girls who have not been able to go to college find there the
echo of what they have missed. Athletics, joyous spirit of rivalry
in games, club spirit which is the little sister of the college spirit,
circuses, plays, f u n of all sorts that you create and run yourself, the
luxury of managing things for yourself of which college is so f u l l
and not every girl finds at home when she gets back there. She
promptly gets managed and doesn't realize what it is that makes her
unhappy. The chance for steady, continuous mental growth which is
the thing beyond all else which gives the zest to college experience,
and the subtle but sure spiritual growth without which a life, no matter
now comfortable and well-amused, is bound to get greyer and to grow
flat and stale.

And then there is one other thing and it is this: the majority of
men and women who go to college step out of comparatively well-
guarded lives into another circumscribed and rather rarified atmos-
phere which is college. A l l the classroom and library education they
can absorb can not make up the experience of stepping clear out
from their up-bringing environment into worlds wholly different.
Too many college people go through life believing that as go the col-
lege men and women, so must go the world. Today that belief is
being challenged. After college one's mental energies must continue
at tension—or all the screws imperceptibly loosen up. Nobody
stands still. To get into contact with other kinds of people, with
other conditions of life, with other "levels" of thought, than our own
!s the surest way of pursuing one's education into life. A city Young
Women's Christian Association can be the "commons" wherein girls
and women of all different environments can rub elbows in crowds, and
through work and play together learn to know one another. To really
'now other worlds than your own, is what it is to be educated.

TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA 0 MICRON PI

IN MEMORIAM
GLADYS W H I T A K E R M c C R A C K E N , 0 '10

DIED MARCH 20, 1916

I know not where His islands l i f t
Their fronded palms in air,

I only know I cannot d r i f t
Beyond His love and care.
—Whittier.

TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 231

T H E SOCIAL CENTER

A modern school building and a force of three or four workers is
all that is necessary to start, equip, and run this form of Social Ser-
vice Work.

Wherever there is a school in a community which needs good clean
amusement, a Social Center is an ideal way to furnish it. The boys
and girls may need it, either because their lives are dull and gray,
devoid of pleasure and pleasant companionship, or because they now
indulge in the wrong sort of gaiety, or spend their evenings, espe-
cially Saturday nights, loitering around bar rooms and on street
corners. Such communities are certain to exist in cities, and almost
as surely in towns in country districts. I t makes no difference where
the locality is i f there is a school or other suitable building.

Of the eight Social Centers in New Orleans, I am only able to
speak from actual experience of the one under the management of
the Newcomb Alumnae Association. The school board has given us
the use, on Sunday nights, of two large halls and two classrooms
in one of their modern buildings. The halls, upstairs and down, are
used for dancing; one of the classrooms for the checking of
hats and the other as the program and magazine room. ( I t would, i f
possible, be better to have the program and magazine rooms separate.)
This school is situated in a rather poor neighborhood, and we admit
only those of fourteen years and over, who live within the school dis-
trict. I t is absolutely necessary to issue membership cards, and admit
none without such a card.

The evening is divided into two parts, from 8 to 8 :30 the program,
and from 8:30 to 10:00 dancing. I n most cases the various organi-
zations of Newcomb have given the programs which consist of music,
story-telling, recitations, short talks, and the like. After this short
entertainment, there is a rush for the halls. I t needs small discern-
ment to perceive that however interesting the program may have been,
it can not equal dancing in popularity. The average attendance is
about one hundred and thirty and most of these, even the mothers,
either dance or watch. The magazine room is but sparsely filled.

The financial part of this work is, of course, an important matter.
Our expenses are comparatively small and are met by a very simple
plan. Eacli boy checks his hat for five cents, and in a few cases a
girl her wraps. This is not compulsory, so i f a boy is too poor, he
can wear a cap and put it in his pocket. The school board gives us
free the building and light (heat is not needed) and pays the
portress an extra fee for her work. The band, five dollars a night, is
practically our only expense, and although the hat box does not

232 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

cover this amount, it could and should be raised to ten cents i f there
is no other fund from which to draw.

Our purpose in this work has been to give programs, which will
interest and help, to furnish magazines that will benefit, to teach and
supervise the dancing in order to make it a wholesome and healthful
exercise—in short to give to a community which needs it the right
sort of pleasure.

I t is our hope that i f such an opportunity lies within your reach
that you will grasp it, for you will soon be well repaid by the results.
Do not let an unresponsive school board discourage you, but rather
urge this body to write Jane Addams or to the school boards in other
cities allowing Social Centers, and they will be convinced. For
encouragement lay your plans before the Mothers' Club, i f there is
one, and see what hearty cooperation they will give you. This is only
a bare outline of the work, but to anyone who considers even start-
ing a Center, I will most gladly furnish any further details, and help
in whatever way I can.

A N N A E. M A N Y , U '07.

SPRING

Your troubles like the snow
Are melted down to half;
And where you meant a smile
Comes bubbling forth a laugh.

The widespread canvas, Earth,
By nature is o'erspilled
With dashes of wild green
And brown of fields new-tilled.

You're young again ! You're free!
The wrinkles are not there.
And everything you have
Is something you would share.

JOYCE CHENEY, r '19.

Now of my threescore years and ten
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy years a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 233

THE MOTHERS' CLUB AND T H E MOVING PICTURE

The Mothers' Club movement has grown to be a very widespread
one in the United States. This is as it should be, for it affords the
mother and teacher such an excellent opportunity for cooperation
in matters concerning the mental and physical welfare of the child.
Where no organization of this sort exists, there certainly is a field
for a very practical service.

Here in Berkeley the clubs connected with the various schools often
have very different aims. One has taken upon itself the care of a
family in very poor circumstances. Others have undertaken to pro-
vide recreation in the schools by such amusements as is afforded by
the phonograph, or by the popular balopticon. I n fact, the scope of
the field is unlimited. But in all of them a common underlying
motive is found in the welfare of the child.

The moving picture presents a new problem, which demands the
cooperation of the mothers. Moving picture theatres grow up over
night, and thrive almost at one's very doorstep where the child must
pass daily. Naturally they attract him. Many of the pictures shown
are lurid in the extreme, while others, though very fine artistically,
cannot be appreciated by the child. The child of grammar school
age is really too undeveloped to receive any assthetic enjoyment from
the photoplays that are produced for their elders. How often does
the moving picture man consider any but these elders?

One of the Mothers' Clubs discussed the "movie" question and
decided that there must be pictures essentially for children; but what
they were, or how they could get them, they did not know. The man-
ager of the theatre in the district was invited to the next meeting. He
gladly came. Now we have a Saturday matinee every week especially
for children. From time to time he requests recommendations of pic-
tures which the club would like to have shown.

These matinees have not only the cooperation of club and manager,
but of children from all over Berkeley. I wish that you might see for
yourselves the children's appreciation of a "movie" suited to their
years. A t both performances every seat is filled. To see the little
tots standing in long lines for their tickets is proof of this enjoy-
ment. The pictures shown are very often picturizations of the old
favorite. Alice in Wonderland. Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz,
The Patchwork Girl of Oz, and Rumpelstiltskin are among these.
I n connection with the play the Pathe Weekly and a good travel
picture are shown. Thus clean amusement and education go hand
in hand.

234 TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

To make these matinees most effective, the child should not be
allowed to see the productions previously referred to as undesirable.
As one visit a week to the "movies" is quite enough for any child,
the satisfactory solution seems to be to restrict him to this special
matinee. Cooperation of the mothers, managers, and children will
make this so popular that the task w i l l be easy.

, MARGARET WEEKS, 2 '15.

HONOR ROLLS
1. Grand Secretary
2. Registrar
3. Editor

GRAND SECRETARY

December Report January Report February Report

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On time = those mailed before the tenth of the month.
Prompt = those received before the seventh of the month.

TO PRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 235
REGISTRAR

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DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 237

MEDICAL SOCIAL SERVICE

When Dr. Richard Cabot started in 1905 in the Massachusetts
General Hospital of Boston, a Social Service department, he opened
a vast field of endeavor not only to the women trained in the pro-
fession of nursing, but also to the volunteer social worker. The ideal
social worker is the woman who can give both time and money. But
the money, however freely it is given, does not relieve the giver of
the responsibility of seeing that it is properly expended. Therein
lies the opportunity for the girl or woman, who does not have to
earn her livelihood, to become a strong factor in making her com-
munity a more livable place for the sick and unfortunate mem-
bers.

The girl who wishes to do social work does not need to hesitate
because she is untrained. Most of the women who are today at the
head of social service movements started as untrained volunteers.
Although schools have been established and colleges are offering
courses in this work, it will be a long time before there will be enough
trained workers to supply the demand, or to do the vast amount of
work to be found in every city or town in the United States. The
volunteer needs courage, patience, unlimited sympathy, tact, common
sense, a sincere desire to help, and, most important of all, that some-
thing which someone has called the "human touch." With these
qualifications and a determination to let nothing dampen her enthu-
siasm, she may become a social worker and a factor for boundless
good in her community.

I am especially interested in volunteer medicine social service.
Nearly every town has a hospital of some description that would
gladly welcome someone to do the follow-up work on their dis-
charged charity cases. The hospital has three forms of discharges—
'discharged dead," "discharged relieved," "discharged cured." When
the doctor signs any of these forms, his duty is done. What becomes
°f the patient discharged, cured or relieved? What becomes of the
wife whose husband, or the children whose mother is "discharged
dead"?

I t was the case of a baby "discharged cured" that led Dr. Cabot
to organize the Social Service Department at the Massachusetts Gen-
eral Hospital. The baby, ten months old, was suffering from stomach
trouble. I n five weeks it was returned to its mother cured. The
mother having received no instructions regarding its care or pend-
ing sure, being ignorant concerning the proper food for babies, gave
|t anything and everything it cried for. I n a few weeks she brought
" back to the hospital in the same condition. This was repeated

238 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

several times before the importance of the connection between the
baby at home and the baby in the hospital was realized. Babies, as a
rule, do not need medicine. They need proper food, cleanliness, and
good care, and it is the medical social worker, who goes into the
homes and teaches the ignorant but eager mother what to do and
what not to do to keep her baby well. We know of many diseases
that can be cured by hygiene and a knowledge of the value of fresh
air and sunshine. I t is the work of the medical volunteer to teach
these people the simple rules of proper living. When a man, woman
or child is discharged from a hospital, i f they are charity patients,
the social worker goes into the home, gains the confidence of the
family, learns their economic condition and manner of living. I n these
last two she very often finds the fundamental reason for the patient's
seemingly unnecessary retarded recovery. A patient in a hospital
isn't simply a medical case. He is a human being with outside respon-
sibilities that often bear directly on the chance of recovery. I t is
the duty of the medical social worker to talk with him, to learn his
home conditions, to know there are several children and a f r a i l wife
on the verge of motherhood, who are dependent upon him, and whose
privations make him nearly frantic with anxiety. I t is her duty to
investigate the case of the woman who worries constantly about the
children left at home, to find out that the mother is the only source of
income, and to subsequently arrange for the children's care during
the mother's illness. The anxiety removed, the mother gets well.
The credit of her recovery belongs as much to the social worker as
to the doctor or hospital.

Tuberculosis, which exists to a certain extent in every community,
offers a big opportunity for preventive social work. I n this disease,
as in no other possibly, the economic necessity for instruction in
proper living conditions is apparent. Given good food, freedom
from financial worry, and healthful living conditions, and the average
early cases can be sufficiently arrested in two years to allow the
patients to become self-supporting. That they find work under con-
ditions that will not cause a return of the symptoms of active tuber-
culosis, is the responsibility of the social worker. I n every town
a few public-spirited women could form an anti-tuberculosis society,
start a tuberculosis camp, and give much needed instruction on the
care of tubercular patients and the personal hygiene necessary far
their recovery. They could see that a means of support is provided
for the family of the wage earner, who is in the acute stages of the
disease, and that the family is not being exposed to a similar infec
tion because the patient has not been fully instructed about the p r e "

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 239

cautions necessary for the prevention of the spread of the disease.
They could find people who would gladly donate money, clothes,
and food for needy tubercular families. I n this field alone there is
unlimited work and opportunity for a warranted expenditure of
money.

What to do with the girl who faces motherhood without a hus-
band, is a problem found everywhere. To the hospital she will be a
case to be discharged after the baby is born. To the social worker
these girls offer a big chance for real, human, Christian service. They
are not, as a rule, degraded girls. They need sympathy and under-
standing and someone to stand behind them through their ordeal,
and beside them later when they have to face a critical world and find
support for themselves and their babies. How many of the tragedies,
of unwedded mothers might be prevented i f the social worker could
reach this type of weak-willed, and often untaught, girl through the
medium of a girls' club or a church society that does its work all
seven days of the week.

The boy and girl who grow up practically on the street, unused
to discipline of any kind and absolutely ignorant of the principles
of clean living and clean thinking, unmoral rather than immoral, who
be and steal and swear with no idea of wrong-doing especially need
the social worker. They are criminals and fallen women in the mak-
ing. She can reach them through boys' clubs, little mothers' clubs
and various other organizations. But reach them she can and must,
if she is to help them to be intelligent, useful citizens. Very often
sickness in the family furnishes her with an excuse to visit the home,
and get into personal contact with the particular boy or girl she
wishes to help. The public school teacher who knows her children
out of school as well as in, has an opportunity that few other girls
nave to do medical social work. I f John can't get his work done satis-
factorily, it may be because his breakfast was coffee and bread, his
dinner tea and crackers and a pickle, and his supper equally nourish-
ing- I f he comes to school dirty, it may be he has a sick mother at
home and no one to make him presentable. When the teacher
calls on the family to find out just why he does poor work or comes
to school in an unpresentable condition, she finds the cause behind it
Uft is sickness, and may become a primary factor in procuring a
Remedy for the sick mother or proper food for the underfed chil-
dren.

Social work done by the volunteer brings better results i f it is
0rganized. The girl who is anxious to do this type of work should

e r her services to some hospital, charity organization, visiting
nurses' association, or mothers' club. I f these do not exist in

240 TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI t

her town, she might start an organization for social service purposes. -t
She needs for the work some knowledge of the general social prob- t
lems that are apt to confront her, and the methods of handling them. [
I n nearly every public library there are books on social service. The t
prospective social worker will find the following of value: The S
Field of Social Service, edited by Philip Davis; The Family and n
Social Work, by Edward Devine; Social Service and the Art of
Healing, by Richard Cabot, and Social Work in Hospitals, by Ida ;
Cunnon. The Survey, which is published in New York, and devoted
to social service problems, would be of special help and interest. i
c
To the college girl settlement work offers an opportunity to apply B
her theories of life to practical living. Many settlement houses p
have scholarships for resident students that include participation in
the work as part of their requirements. Here she learns to rub th
elbows with her neighbors from all over the world, to become truly w
democratic. Coming from a well-to-do home, she finds out for the B
first time that people do starve to death, that children die from neg- e
lect and cruelty, and that sin and its horrible consequences are °
everywhere. She reconstructs her ideals and theories to meet these j
new conditions, and her resultant broader vision and deeper under- (
standing are her reward. W
«
The settlement house offers the best training for volunteer workers. A
Under its guidance the girl develops her sense of values, her po
common sense, her tact and her ability, to deal with the situation in S
hand. She gets out of it for herself what she puts into it. I t is not lS i
a calling to enter for amusement, to pass the time away, or to gain
experience. The fundamental requirement is that of unselfish ser-
vice. When she gives this, she finds that like the quality of mercy
it is twice blessed, " I t blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

FLORENCE HARVEY, r '09,

Supervisor of Hygiene in the Schools of
Colorado Springs,

And since for seeing things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodland will I go,
To see the cherry hung with snow.

—From The Shropshire Lad, by W. B. Yeats.

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 241

T H E C O M M I T T E E ON E M P L O Y M E N T OF T H E

BARNARD ALUMN.E ASSOCIATION

The committee on employment of the Barnard College Alumme
Association was organized about seven years ago for the purpose of
finding employment for Barnard graduates. I n the beginning, all
the work of this committee was carried on from the home of its chair-
man. I t was realized at an early date, however, that its appointment
work could be carried on much more successfully at Barnard. The
committee conferred with the dean, and since 1 9 1 1 all appointment
work has been ably done by the college secretary, Miss Doty, who
reports on placements to the committee.

. I was appointed chairman in the spring of 1912. Since that time,
the committee has had four objects in view in its work. One, to adver-
tise the employment office and so secure positions for the girls; a
second, to keep itself informed on the vocational affairs of the day;
a third, to point out to the undergraduates the various fields of
work open to college women; and a fourth, to do what it can to aid
the student to decide which field she would like to enter upon gradua-
tion.

[' I n carrying out its first plan, five hundred circular letters adver-
tising the employment office have been sent out each spring to the
Schools, publishing houses and laboratories in New York City and the
near-by suburbs of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

In carrying out its second plan, the committee tries to keep itself
informed as to what is being done vocationally by the Woman's Edu-
cational and Industrial Union of Boston, by the Intercollegiate
Bureau of New York, and by the employment bureaus of the more
prominent of the women's colleges.

In carrying out its third plan, that of endeavoring to point out to
the student body some of the various fields of work open to college
women, the committee has published from time to time articles in the
Barnard Bulletin, the weekly college paper, each one written by an
expert in his or her profession. These include, besides several articles
°n social work, letters on the following subjects:

Medical Art as a Profession for Women, by Prof. Max Brddel
(Johns Hopkins); Public Health Nursing, by Lillian D. W a l d ;
Women in Journalism, by Eva Elsie von Bauer, woman editor of
«*w York Sun; The Lure of Interior Decoration as a Profession, by
Amy Ferris, a successful New York decorator; Woman as a Social
orker, by J. Prentice Murphy, of the Boston Children's A i d
Society; Women in the Publishing House, by R. W . Burdett of
lver, Burdett & Co., Publishers; Medicine as a Profession for

242 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

Women, by Dr. Anna von Sholly; Art as a Profession for Women,
by Irene Weir, Head of A r t Dep't of Ethical Culture School;
Landscape Gardening as a Profession for College Women, by Beatrice
Jones Farrand; Opening for College Women as Attendance Officers,
by George H . Chatfield, Assistant Director of Bureau of Attend-
ance of the Dep't of Education of New York City; The Work
of Visiting Teachers, by Harriet Johnson, Supervisor of Visiting
Teachers of the Dep't of Education of New York City; Opportunity
for the College Woman in the New York High Schools, by Helen
Louise Cohen; Nursing as a Profession for College Women, by Miss
Nutting, head of the Dep't of Nursery and Health, Teachers' Col-
lege; Dietetics as a Profession, by Miss Gunther, Teachers' College.
Architecture as a Profession for Women, by Fay Kellogg; Law as a
Profession for Women, by Susan Burdett; Bacteriology as a Profes-
sion for Women, by Josephine Pratt.

A l l these articles have been collected and placed in a scrapbook
and are i n the secretary's office for reference. We also endeavor to
keep in the secretary's office for reference catalogues of all the pro-
fessional and technical schools, pamphlets in regard to civil service
positions, and some other vocational literature. Every spring the
committee has invited the students to a talk on "Present Vocational
Opportunities" given by a representative of the Intercollegiate
Bureau of Occupations of New York. Miss Cummings, the man-
ager, has spoken twice, and Miss Snow, the research secretary, has
spoken twice. A t the close of these meetings, tea is served in the
undergraduate study, and the girls have the opportunity to meet the
speakers personally. Last year we held a second meeting at which
Dr. Gertrude Walker, of the Woman's Medical College of Pennsyl-
vania, spoke on Medicine as a Profession for Women.

In carrying out its fourth plan—that of endeavoring to aid the stu-
dent to decide what field of work she would like to enter upon
graduation—the committee has a list of vocational councillors, women
who have succeeded in their vocations, and who are willing to advise
with students thinking of entering the same vocation. A student may
make an appointment to consult with any of these councillors upon
application to me or Miss Doty.

This year a greater interest in vocations for women has been dis-
played by the undergraduate body than heretofore, and there is * n
undergraduate committee on vocations. This committee has co6pef'
ated with the Alumna; Employment Committee, and has been publish-
ing a vocational column in the Bulletin.

For the year October, 1 9 1 4 to October, 1915 there were two hun-

dred and seventy-five requests for recommendations received in t h e

TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 243

Employment Office, and one hundred and fifty-two appointments
made. These requests for recommendation included a dean, teachers,
tutors, governesses, secretaries, clerks, social workers, mothers'
helpers, examination proctors, editorial assistant, educational staff
of telephone company, saleswomen, laboratory assistant, camp coun-
selor, library assistant, bill collector and houseworker.

The present problem of the committee is to find more employment
for undergraduates as well as graduates than it has up to date, and to
endeavor to be of more vocational assistance.

AGNES L. DICKSON, A '99.

A SERVICE FOR ALL

We cannot all go down to the slums of our cities, or out among
the secluded mountaineers; nor can we all sail away to distant mission
fields, but deep in the hearts of all of us, wherever we may be, is the
desire to have a share in the unfolding of Love, and of Truth, and
of Friendship. What can we do?

Once last summer there was a group of ladies and girls sitting in
the park of a mountain resort. They had just returned from the
postoffice and were discussing their mail. One of the girls had
received a larger number of letters than any of the others, and a
lady remarked to her:

"You must be very popular, Eunice, but why is it that all your
letters seem to be from men? Haven't you any girl friends?"

"No, I haven't. I used to have some but I found they didn't pay.
They only get you into trouble."

It is hard to conceive of a girl of this age saying anything like
that; it is worse to think that her statement must have been based
upon experience. This girl was no philosopher, no student of soci-
ology. She didn't realize what a sweeping condemnation of women
8he was making, when she asserted they were incapable of friend-
8hip; but she was self-supporting, and reckoned life in terms of
profit and loss. She had tried friendship with girls and had lost.
Like a well-trained business woman, she had not again risked her
capital.

There is the answer to our question. What can we do? We should
leave college filled with the love and comradeship of our fraternity
"fe, and prove to the world that women can be loyal and true.

LUCY R. SOMERVILLE, K '16.