It may be furnished by putting the
welfare teacher into the school; by making the street on which so many
girls find companionship as safe as possible; by driving professional
leaders of the unsuspecting and easily led from all places of recreation
and amusement; by helping parents, especially those parents, who,
themselves born across the sea are attempting to bring up daughters in
the new land, to see and understand the dangers; and by making it a real
crime to lead the easily led astray.
But this is not enough. Perhaps the greatest steps toward the
safe-guarding of the easily led were taken when the carefully supervised
public playground and the school gardens were started and the women
police were sent out into the streets of cities.
A strong, wise, sane woman who is neither a prude nor a crank can do
more toward preventing the first steps into forbidden ways than those
interested in great city problems have yet dreamed. The day will come
when these women will make the arm of the law an efficient friend of the
weak and unprotected girl and give all the positive, helpful agencies an
opportunity to strengthen her against temptation.
I shall never forget my visit that Sunday afternoon to a detention
school for delinquent girls. Over in the corner of the room where the
afternoon service was to be held was the piano, the orchestra, made up
of members of the school, was gathering.
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