In the Field of Service
By Dr. Maud Wilde
(Founder of Mothers' Educational Center, Los Angeles, Calif.)
Humanizing social service work has been the keynote of the women of Southern California. Long before the advent of suffrage there was a recognized need for many changes in governmental affairs, through which the masses of women and children could be benefited.
Legislative work embracing both the state laws and local ordinances received much thought and effort with the concomitant result of improved conditions.
Through the medium of the four large national organizations, the Federation of Women's Clubs, the Women's Christian Temperance Union, the Parent-Teachers Association, and the League of Woman Voters, there has been carried forward a continuous program of education and promotion of better things for the entire state. Notable amongst these which have found expression in actual service, was the establishment of a Mothers' Educational Center, the only one in America where mothers are instructed in the fine art of home making, where their babies receive supervision in growth, diet, habit formation and character building under a staff of highly trained physicians and educators.
The Maternity Cottage, which deals with the "Oldest Industry in the World," makes it possible for babies of married women, financially embarrassed, to receive scientific care at birth, thus giving them a right start in life.
The Music House Settlement gives the talented child the opportunity to develop his genius, that the world may be happier and he may earn his livelihood.
The Orthopaedic Hospital School is an institution where the crippled child may not only have his twisted body straightened, but receive an education while the rebuilding process is going on.
The Children's Hospital gives the children of the poor the same care and treatment which the more favored child receives in a high-priced institution.
These activities are but the landmarks along the way. Between them is a vast field in which every endeavor which will enhance the lives of little children and create a social equity to relieve want, waste, and ignorance is pursued with
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