Minnesota Historical Society

A History of Family Service of Saint Paul, Formerly the Associated Charities of Saint Pauland the United Charities of Saint PaulReview by: Evadene Burris SwansonMinnesota History, Vol. 25, No. 4 (Dec., 1944), p. 377Published by: Minnesota Historical Society PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20162714 .

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1944 A HISTORY OF FAMILY SERVICE 377

vin's record of the suppression of half of the population, of women, is a

contribution to history. That struggle, like all records of heroism, will be forgotten by those who benefit from it, our young sisters who will

run planes, manage factories, captain ships. Mrs. Colvin's book will be a

reminder. It is a record of slavery and fetters to put with other records, and also of the dignity of human life asserting itself against them.

Meridel Le Sueur

A History of Family Service of Saint Paul, Formerly the Associated

Charities of Saint Paul and the United Charities of Saint Paul.

(St. Paul, Family Service of Saint Paul, 1944. 52 p.)

The accomplishments of fifty years of organized private charities in

the city of St. Paul are well summarized in a pamphlet prepared for the

anniversary of the founding of Associated Charities in 1892. The organi zation's name was changed to United Charities in 1914 and Family Service in 1935, on each occasion because community needs gave rise to

new developments in its program.

Many of the projects originated by this organization at various times

in its history proved their worth and were reorganized as independent units. The health program, particularly, was one of the fields where the

Family Service pioneered. Visiting nurses, visiting housekeepers, day nurseries, free medical dispensaries, and many other services now com

monplace in welfare activities of large cities were once sponsored by this

organization. For the social worker there is value in the emphasis on the

continuity of activity and aims in welfare work in the growth of a mod

ern American city. "There is hidden away in our files a great deal of

information as to social conditions in our community that should be

made available for use," according to the narrative.

Much of the material will still be hidden away in spite of this publi cation because of a serious omission annoying to students and librar

ians. The title page omits both the author's name and the date of

publication. Actually the author of the foreword, Miss Alice Brill, pre

pared the whole pamphlet. She includes interesting biographical data on

outstanding characters in social welfare who achieved early prominence

in St. Paul. Although most of the report is based on a study of the

organization's records, there is no precise statement on their present

location.

Evadene Burris Swanson

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