Official proceedings of the annual meeting: 1923

518 PUBLIC OPINION
an extent that human beings regard as unwarranted trespass upon their individual
rights. Organized freedom is necessary in a democracy, but the individuals in a democracy deeply resent having all their personal goings and comings charted for them. I
am not debating whether these movements severally or collectively are necessary, I am
merely stating that they have not been helpful in creating a public opinion favorable
to social work, for the public has quite innocently classified social work and all efforts
at reform as the same, or at least as belonging to the same, family.
If a public opinion is. to be created on social work, and, what is of greater importance, if a public opinion favorable to social work is to be created, social workers must
make of their work a profession with definite understandable objectives. They must
be co-operative in their efforts. They must be able to bring about a harmony of understanding. They must find a platform upon which all elements in the community can
stand-all religious, economic, social, and civic groups. The work of prevention,
recognized by all forward-looking social agencies as of greater importance than the old
and merely ameliorative methods of the past, must be accompanied by a constructive
social program that makes use of all the great forces that are molding our civilization;
a program sufficiently unified that the public can grasp its purposes, and just far enough
in advance of public thinking to be leading it; a program that makes better citizens of
all, irrespective of any status whatsoever; a program founded on the conviction that all
individuals in our modem community life must accept responsibility along with opportunity; a program that unifies the forces engaged in fighting disease and early death; a
program that builds up keen minds and sound bodies; a program that furnishes educational opportunities for all; a program that encourages and helps the church in its
efforts at replacing bad habits and vices by better human impulses and in its efforts at
adjusting the individual to society; a program that will help to make the laws and customs of the country restrictive only to the extent that public welfare requires; a program that will help to lift the load of poverty from the backs of the poor and will create
conditions that will offer the opportunity to each and every one to develop to his fullest
stature.
There has been too little planning in social work. Objectives have been too indefinite. Too much lost motion has resulted from over-specialized, over-departmentalized
social machinery; too much misinformation and confusion has resulted from many programs with little or no unification. I do not for one moment believe that a unified
program in social work is a panacea. I do firmly believe that by unifying our programs
we have a better chance to develop public opinion favorable to social work. The unified program, and may I go further, the joint execution of at least a part of the unified
program, is a necessary step if social work is to gain and maintain the confidence of the
public. Social work must have a plan, a plan that can be understood by the public.
Much of the ground work has been laid through the efforts of many unrelated agencies.
Still more ground work has been laid by the common belief that many human relationships are fundamentally wrong and that certain social maladjustments must be corrected without delay. The war and its consequences have impressed that fact upon the
mind of practically all. Here is a public opinion.
There is as yet no general agreement as to the way these maladjustments are to be
corrected. Some want to tear down the structure of civilization and build all over
again. Others believe that constructive changes can be made in our human relationships without destroying what is at present sound. One group believes the church