Page 37 - 1926 February - To Dragma

200 TO DRAG MA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI

CHILD PROTECTION

T H E FIELD of social work f o r children is extensive and com-
plex. I n no other type of social work have more specialties
been developed. The child protective movement is a field full
of controversy. There are two very different conceptions of the
function of children's protective agencies. One group considers
the protective agency as purely an instrument f o r the enforce-
ment of law. This was the earliest interpretation of the move-
ment, which began about fifty years ago. Protective agencies in
this group take an active part in placing effective laws f o r the
protection of children on statute books, and become powerful
instruments for the enforcement of these laws. As a rule, these
protective societies do not concern themselves with the causes
which lead to tragedy in the child's life, or with the removal of
such causes. Such societies are primarily concerned with the
rescue of the child suffering f r o m brutal treatment. Cruelty to
children has been greatly reduced in the last fifty years. This
result is partly due to the activities of Societies f o r the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Children, and partly to the greater sensitive-
ness of the public. This year's report f r o m the Massachusetts
S. P. C. C. showed only six per cent of its cases dealt with bru-
tality. The second group of protective agencies have been devot-
ing most of their time to the preventive phases of the work.
M r . C. C. Carstens, Executive Director of the Child Welfare
League of America, says: "The trend of child protection is
toward an early recognition of menacing conditions and less and
less court action."

Society is made up of a group of individuals, each striving
to satisfy his own desires. I f each fellow could be entirely suc-
cessful in this struggle, this world would be a haven of bliss.
Unfortunately, the satisfaction of many of our desires would
mean the deprivation of our weaker brothers. I n the middle ages
the strongest physically were the only ones who could satisfy
their wants. This they did by seizing their neighbor's property,
his rights and his privileges.

I n the present stage of civilization, it is not the physically
strongest who wins. The man who is the happiest citizen is
the one who has learned to live in peace and harmony with his