The Survey, Volume 30, Number 2, Apr 12, 1913

In Short

This collection acts as a vital historical record, serving as a snapshot of the intense, multi-front campaign for social justice in 1913. It documents the aftermath of catastrophic midwestern floods, the fight for child labor laws, the reform of corrupt police systems, and the struggle to integrate immigrant populations. By preserving the discourse of contemporary reformers, educators, and social critics, it remains an essential window into the early twentieth-century American conscience, illustrating the shift from private charity toward state-managed, scientific, and institutionalized social welfare systems.

The Story

The narrative arc of this volume begins with a grim, administrative accounting of the Great Flood of 1913, which devastated large swaths of the American Midwest. The text tracks the transition from the immediate, chaotic search for survivors to the systematic, bureaucratic coordination of relief. Through the reports of Red Cross director Ernest P. Bicknell, the reader moves from the shock of the inundated landscape—where transportation is severed and thousands are homeless—to the deliberate, state-sponsored rehabilitation efforts. This section establishes the volume’s central theme: the necessity of centralized, professionalized intervention in the face of disaster.

From this crisis, the focus shifts to the broader, structural maladies of the American state. The narrative turns to the prison system, where reformers like Governor Foss lobby for the abolition of the county jail model in favor of state-run institutions that emphasize education and rehabilitation over mere confinement. The text documents a growing intolerance for systems built on political patronage, advocating instead for civil service standards and the classification of prisoners based on their potential for improvement.

The focus then widens to the social fabric of the city. Here, the struggle is against the "social evil"—commercialized vice—and the systemic corruption of urban police forces. The volume chronicles the efforts of vice commissions in New York and Chicago to establish "morals courts" and moral police, including the recruitment of women for these roles. This part of the discourse emphasizes that the protection of the young, especially those lured by commercial amusements, requires a sophisticated and proactive municipal apparatus.

The volume also engages with the immigrant experience, specifically through the lens of social settlements. Reformers argue that if these centers are to be effective, they must move beyond paternalistic attitudes and genuinely understand the cultural traditions of the people they serve. The narrative highlights the tragedy of the immigrant who, upon arrival, is exploited by employers, police, and even their own neighbors, finding themselves caught in a cycle of poverty and social alienation.

The final arc of the volume is the debate over the role of organized labor and the state. It features a fierce, intellectual exchange regarding workmen’s compensation, where the push for state-managed security clashes with the interests of private insurance firms. The text concludes with a look at the "ferment of social discontent," questioning whether the church and other traditional institutions can successfully adapt to the demands of modern democracy, or whether they will continue to offer mere "anodynes" to a populace that is increasingly finding its own voice.

How It Unfolds

The emergency response The volume opens with reports from flooded regions, detailing the urgent coordination between the Red Cross and state governors. It highlights the transition from chaos to a structured, scientific survey of human need.

The call for institutional reform The focus shifts to the prison system, arguing for the end of the county jail as an obsolete, patronage-driven relic. It details legislative efforts to introduce manual and mental education for inmates.

The moral crusade in cities The text examines the corruption of police forces linked to commercialized vice in urban centers. It proposes the creation of specialized morals courts to track perpetrators and protect vulnerable youth.

The settlement and the immigrant The narrative explores the cultural frictions between social workers and immigrant communities. It advocates for an approach that respects the traditions of the newcomer while helping them navigate a complex economic reality.

The debate on social justice The volume concludes with a series of heated exchanges regarding child labor, minimum wage laws, and workmen’s compensation. It captures the tension between private interest and the call for state-led social management.

The People

The volume features figures who bridge the gap between abstract policy and practical action. Ernest P. Bicknell stands out as the pragmatic face of disaster relief, focusing on the logistical reality of managing a massive, multi-state crisis. Governor Foss represents the political reformer, willing to dismantle established power structures to modernize the prison system. Professor Racca acts as a cultural mediator, urging social workers to move beyond their own biases to understand the needs of the immigrant poor. Professor Charles E. Merriam appears as a symbol of civic integrity, fighting for non-partisanship in municipal politics against the influence of the "business administration" machine. Samuel Allan Lattimore is presented as the ideal "citizen-scholar," a man of high scientific standards who used his expertise to secure public infrastructure like water systems, embodying the period’s faith in the virtuous, expert public servant.

In Its Own Voice

“It has been most difficult to get reliable information; wires are still down and transportation extremely difficult.”

(Writing from the flood-ravaged Midwest, the Red Cross director describes the immediate challenges of gathering data in the wake of the 1913 disaster.)

“The immigrant Italians feel that they are despised, which they often are, and so they congregate in villages, which makes matters worse, and they learn American conditions more slowly.”

(Professor Racca explains the social isolation and systemic mistreatment that immigrant communities faced in the United States.)

“The problem that immediately confronts the church is not to Christianize socialism, but first to socialize Christians, until their ideal principles shall be real and ruling principles.”

(The text argues that religious institutions must move beyond sentiment and engage with the economic realities of the modern era.)

What It's Really About

The central question is how a rapidly urbanizing, industrializing nation can translate the spirit of democracy into concrete social welfare. It explores the tension between individualistic, private charity and the emerging necessity of state-managed, systemic reform. The argument centers on the idea that "social problems"—be they flood relief, the treatment of the mentally ill, the regulation of child labor, or the suppression of commercialized vice—are not matters of individual morality, but the results of flawed institutional design. The text insists that the state must take an active role in "healing" and "invigorating" the social system, shifting the burden of care from the arbitrary and the religious to the professional, the scientific, and the public.

Why Read It Today

This volume is for the reader who wants to understand the foundational arguments of modern social policy. It is a dense, urgent, and often repetitive read, mirroring the frantic pace of the era’s reform movements. You will encounter the era’s blind spots, including its sometimes clinical, detached tone toward the "feeble-minded" and its occasionally paternalistic views on the immigrant, which remain uncomfortable to read today. Yet, the writing possesses a remarkable, unvarnished sincerity. It feels like stepping into a room full of people who are exhausted but absolutely convinced that they are mid-revolution. What stays with you is the sheer scope of their ambition; these writers did not just want to fix a city or pass a law—they wanted to reorganize the entire American social contract. For anyone interested in the history of the Red Cross, the origins of modern urban planning, or the early debates over the minimum wage, this volume provides the primary, unedited evidence of a society questioning itself. It is a challenging, necessary, and deeply humanizing look at how the American state first began to grapple with its responsibility toward its most vulnerable citizens.