Regional Oral His Tory of £Ice University of California the Bancroft

Regional Oral History Of £ice University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California

Amy Steinhar t Braden

CHILD mLFARE AND COMMUNITY SERVICE

An Interview Conducted by Edna Tartaul Daniel

Berkeley 1965 A11 uses of this manus~ri'~tare covered by an agre9r&t between the ~egentsof the University of California and Amy Steinhart Braden, dated 20 August 1964. The maau- script is thereby mmde available for research purposes, All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to the General Library of the University of California at Berkeley, lo part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permissicn of the University Librarian-of the University of California at Berkeley. PREFACE

Amy Steinhart Braden has been active in social welfara activities since her graduation' from the University of Cali- . . fornia in 1900. From a start in vo~unteerwork, Miss Stein- hart advanced to full-time professional work as one of the first three children's agents for the.State. Board of Control, a position she was appointed to by John Francis Reylan in ~. .

1913. She became Chief children's Agent in 1915, and in : .. , , 1925 executive secretary of the nevly-creaked State Depart- ment of Public Welfare, a position she filled until 1930. ~uringthose years as a state appointee she was partitularly . . influential in working out the Standards for id to Needy Children grants , and for supervision of orphanages and other institutions for children. In 1924 Amy Steinhart mrried Robert Braden, a member of the State Board .of Control and a close friend of Governor Friend Richardson. A change in state administration in 1930 caused Mrs. Braden to leave state service, as did her husband, but, she continued to work as a volunteer in numerous social welfare group~s...... The work of Hrs,'Braden came to 'the attention of 'tho ~e~iinalCultural History Proj.ct through other taped iderviews related to social welfare services, .amowwhich are recordings with Lawrence Amstein, Dr. Langley Porter, . Mrs. Simon Lubin, and a series on the California Council for the ~lind. Because of her long and effective involvement in the development of California welfare services, particularly those for children, she v9s asked to recount her experiences in these fields on tape. Following the inter-

vievs, Mrs. Braden went over the transcript, which had been typed from them, checked names and events, and edited out- a few'anecdotesshe felt were tow personal to the people . . involved, The following manuscript is the 'result. . This interview is part of a series of tape recorded autobiographies conducted by the Regional Cultural History Project of the University of California at Berkeley with individuals who have contributed significantly to the life. of their time. The Project is under the administtative . . supervision of Mr. Julian G. ~ichei,Assistant University Librarian, and the Bancroft Sub-committee of the Library Committee of the Academic Senate at Berkeley.

Vi'lla Klug Barn Head ~egionalCultural History Project General Library . .

University of ~aliforniaat B'erkeley ' . 30 November 1964 . . Born in 1879., in San Francisco, into a comfortably situated family with charitable activities tightly hit 'to her home life, Amy stiinhart Bradan absorbed the patterns of thought and action surrounding her early years and car-

- - ried them beyond the family to the work she followed. Amy's

\ mother, while devoting herself unstintiagly to the needs of the family, sewed for poor orphans ahd patronized the small neighborhood vending operations of-needy heads of families. Her father, William Steinhart, not only financed the mergence of needy relatives from .abroad, he was one of the founders . of the Eureka ~enevolentSociety of San Francisco which became the Jewish Family Service Agency.

Amy, though, was the first member of the family to take on a paid, professional commitment in social welfare. While she vas vorking as a volunteer in the South Park Settlement, the San Francisco Girlsm Club, and the Juvenile Court, aha was thinking an8 reading herself into an ever-widening consideration of social velfere problems and was well prepared L - for her work in Sacramento. Her reports of aotivity in chi& . . .. .- drensm a.id programs indic&te a freely-ranging mind in sewh'. . : of knowledge about the cause of human poverty, sickness; and - -- - distress. Her attack vas never theoretical; it was based on observation and study. Her programming grew in response to abundantly apparent needs which were clearly interpreted to. the legislature. Mrs. Braden vas intervieved in-the course of seven ses- oions in her apartment at 1950 Clay Street in San ~rancisco during 'bpril, Hay, and Ju~eof 1960. Excerpts from an addi- . tional interview conducted in.June 1964 by Willa hum, head of tho Regional Cultural History Project, have been woven into fasily reminiscences, From a straight-backed, rather low chair, Xrs. Braden conversed enthusiastically,about the sequence of events in her social velfare experiences ranging from early settlement vork to present efforts to ease inter-racial compunity problems. A small person, vith lively eyes,. she vas friendly and easy in her manner. Alvays in clothes of uimple cut and quiet, becoming oolor, she reflected the serene and orderly background of her apartment. Edna Tartaul Daniel

Intervievet ' ,Regional Cultural His tom Project 1 General Library i University of California at Berkeley )- . . 1 20 August 1964- YOUTHFUL MEMORIES

CHJULITABXE WORK

Girls Club Siaters' and Brother's Charitable Work Juvenile court 65 Trips to Chica~oand .New York.. 1902 slld 1906 I . .. . . 69 \ SAN FRANCISCO FIRE'AND EARTHQUARE, 1906 75 I Personal Recollections 75 ( Disas ter Relief . . The Graft Prosecution 89 ENTRY INTO A PA ID PIZOFESSIONAL CAREERCHZLDREE'S - - AGENT FOR THE STATE BOARD OF CONTROL, 1913-1915 97 . . I .. CHIEF CHILDREN'S AGENT, 19151924 129 I Personnex ' . 129 Jnstitutione 135

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, -

. . ...

Other Aotivitira of the children'; Aaentg . ,. . 157. Taxpayer O~~osition

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE mPARTMEHT OF SOCIA5 WEWARB, 1925 170 Robert Braden 170 Combinim the Departments 177 The '~radensMarry, 1924. and Travel. 1930 189 VOLUNTEER WORK 196 Training Sqlvation.Arnw Workers 196 Children's Protective Society and Other Children's Serviceo Ado~tionAgencies Day Care Centers 231 -- Comunity Chest 234 Minority Group Problems 237

Final Commentst On.Im~rovin~.Jails, Women and Social Le~islation. and S.ocialized Mediaine 254 PARTIAL INDEX 258

. . . -t . . . - ...... -...... I...... - ...... -.i ...... 2 . .,...... I ....__...... , ...... '. . > ...... - . . . . : ...... -.. . . ,, Braden: of W.&I. Steinhart at 3 and 5 ~*tter~Streit. I I reraember being taken down there on Sunday morning I .. , when I was a child and being very impreas.ed with the . . - -- I huge iron doors which he had to unbolt. We always went I to fetch the mail at the post office in those days, We. I. .... -.-.-..-..... went' into this large, enormously high-ceilinged building . and, of course, I was a little bit terrified, but with

my father with me I felt safe. That was a-regular Sunday morning excursion, to go down to the store. I Daniel: This was a store vhich distributed merchadise? 1~raden: It was a wholesale house, yea. .. tDzniel: ldas it the gold rush attraction which brought him here? . .- iI3redt.n: Yes, I feel very sure it was. In those days, he told what I us, there were. they called "steamer day" in vh'ch . . there was a lookout from Telegraph Hill which sighted I T the steamers th.at were coming in. That ms one way they had of getting their mail in the early days here in San Francisco. So, he was a real pioneer, but to be a member of the Order of Pioneers you had to have been here in 1849. He was a member of the Vigilance Commit- tee and he told many interesting stories about the I-- experience of those days, ...... -.. ' ......

. .

. b-ft Lihrsv 1 , ...... - . . ezrthquake.

It was a mining town, but a mining town that seemed to

with considerable ambition maiz the fatal mistake of . having a party the,same night that the leader of the . this stor; :with great interest. I don' t think she was, . . , ..

invited to either party. Anpvay, she told these . . stories of how the poor woman sat and nobody came to her party; everybody went to the other party.

What other kinds of,stories did'she tell you? ' :

I imagine it was not a1,together an easy life. She was . . qu'ite a good pianist. She had a stock weltz that she played on all occasions end a stock march. She brought quantities of bound volumes of music with her. I remem-

ber ' especially the Chopin weltzes and the popular operas

I of the day. she was in great demand .to play the wedding march at weddings. We children danced every night-- Did she play for people who were having dancing parties? No, just to amuse and entertain them. I have a feeling thkt she had had more cultural opportunities than a grest many of the people that cve here. My father was very proud of that. She was pretty proud of it herself. In due course *bey brought my grandmother to live with us, my mother's mother, after she was widowed. 4

Can you remember her? . Very well indeed! I remern3er--one of the recollections . .

. . .

me. but it was an interesting rime. aiel: Was your grandmother a very lively person?

."-. .. -.,r,,,,---.- : - :;--?.-?*9?v ..: .;r?T--.--?T.. ~ . '%. . . . . -- .- ...... - . . .-. - -.--...... ' ' ' . . . . . --- 7 -...... ,- .. . . ,: :...... '. . -. - ...... i " . . ' .-.... , ...... ,, . . . ra2en: And we children spoke german just as naturally .ais :we I . :. . - did English...... : Did you before she came to live .with you?

. . Oh, I don' t remember any time that she didn t live vi th . . : . . . . us. She cane probably long before I was born. ': :[ :. . ' . . . . ------sniel: So you had a bilingual rearing,

: We s2oke German and we alvays. had a French maid to whom . .

we spoke French. Our parents were very ambitious for .

us and we had any cultural opportunities. , . .

aniel: Where was your \houkse?) ,, rzden; At 1090 Post S-treet near Polk. A frame house in a large garden. When my father had built this house--it was. some time before my arrival in this sphere--he was considsred pretty inconsiderate for moving his vife . . so far away from her friends. .There was no easy trans- portation from Povell Street, sniel: How long before you were born didhe build the house? raden: I was born there in 1879. It must have been--we had lived there thirty-five years at the time of the earth- . . quake in 1906--18711 Good heavens! . .

One, of . my very early recollections .iswalking . . down from' Post and Polk along Polk to .what was then

, . known as Fort Mason. My brother and I we;e under the . .

. .

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to some neighbors who also lived in a house with a

Dinsmore books were later on. [~aughter]

1 &neh 1ib.m~ ~c-.bw.:~*~--:.~-T-. -y. -- -7.w- .- . .... PI-. , .... - ... --- ...... +. .;r . . 4 1.d . . 11.:. .

...... I3 . r- . . -. Eraden: and really played until the time I ,went to college when . .:,...... ; . : ' 1;'- ... r.1 , , I dropped it, ...... t.. ;:. . . ' Daniel: With whom did you study?

k , . Braden: Mr. Rosewald, who was quite a famous violin , teacher,. .: I.' .,... :.. 3 . - paniel: was he part of a local orchestral groud, or was there one? ;q

: Brzden: No, there were just skll groups in school and orchestras '

.privately organized. He was the foremost violin teacher ,

.' - and his wife was a very well-known. . singer,' the chief soprano in the choir of Temple Emanu-31. I might say that he told me that-I had 'considerable talent but not enough a2plication. Each me of us learned to play ... .I. . some instrument. At .the famous birthday parties of my

grandmother our piano teacher,appeared with a group to ' serenade the mest of honor.. We had 'two pianos. There

were eight-handed pieces with two'cousins ,md two sisters performing. We had a Steinhart' orchestra. One sister . played the piano, another the violin, and my brother played the flute. I played second violin. It always ended up in a free-for-all because somebody played a sour note and each one accused the other.6ne of having played the sour note. ... . miel: Who was the leader? Did one person take the role? raden: The pianist was supposed to be the leader, but it never

...... -. i . - ." .....; , ......

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3 .I."c*%13..,, 1 ----,v5w... .- .. > .:, .v=Re?-----.T.--r sr5.w -.---- .-- .. , . . ------... -. !...... - ...... &- 'L......

...... - ' ., .. .. : . . .. , .. . -. -. . . 12 ...... - ...... : ...... ' ...... i...... - ...... , ...... : . . . . . worked out to full eveniigls kntertainmen. . t. 1t&d.d . . p' .. up with mother playing the ?iano for us and .our dinci&, gi . . We had an unfurnished living room. The old houses in 1.951 San Francisco had very high ceilings and folding doors- .. . . , bz that could. be pulled to open. The front room was just i-'r kept for the grand piano, it.wasn*t furnished. There

. .,fi-I .z we danced and had our parties. i*. ilaniel: It was a sort of ballroom? - A . . ,.' ' Sraden: Yes, that1s right-rather a pretentious name for it,

The old houses were itlteresting. ' - . 1.. . . Daniel: You were such a musical family, did you go to the opera? .. raden: No, until I had grown up I didn't know that there were . . . . any other operas besides Fa~liacciand Caval1,iero Rusti- -czna since we were taken to matinees; but the older mem- hers went at night so their repertoire was not so limited. There was a German theater which 'played every'bunday night. All the best German dramas, Goethe and Schiller. My father always had sezts for that, and he took one of the older daughters with him. I imagine they were

pretty well presented. ' I nsver went to those, I wasn't old enough. miel:. Did you have a sitting room? raden: Yes, next to the parlor, but as a matter of fact we really sat in the dining room more then anywhere else.

. .

I . . . . . '--eft :;b,.,l

--wc-~.' 'F~rc;.~:--r.-w-r-* .> ., ..~-1-7--~..--.m~~~~~~~-,--fa-.-.----,.-. ! Srsden: We gathered around the dining room table at night and ' did our homework for school. My father sat.at the end -

of the table playing solitaire, my mother .read or . . sewed. That sounds very comforteble and pleasant. Yes, I had a thoroughly happy childhood. What w2s the first'school that you vent to?

I went to a kindergarten at Madame Ziska's school on . Post near Larkin. My oldest sister had gone from Post and Leavenworth Street to Madame Ziska's which-wis at that time in South Park, a very fashionable section of San Francisco. How did she get there? I suppose'she went in.a street chr. Later all of'us

went to Madame .Ziskags ' school and cpntinued there when it came to be Miss Lake's school. My brother was the only member of the family who vent to. a public school. He went to Clement grammar school. But first he started at Urban School, a private school. In fact, I think very few children of our family friends went ..- to public school. Miss Lake's carried you through high school? Yes .- . . c: . . . . a very attractive person, a friend of my sister's, But we all had to wait until Eirdie Fair arrived before we

that. Very proud to have the jznitor come over and also that. they served creamed oysters. That was the ing for all of us,

. .

, . . . -.

' live down.

knuo!~1ibr.v

----rr--m- . .- - .- I 16 ...... 4. . . ;-...... aden: and fifteen when I Baw somebody riding a bicycle. . in the- ' .' . . park in bloomsis how horrifiad I was. It happened' to -. be somebody I knev. niel: Then it wasnvt Miss Lake who developed these ideas? It was a pattern of the day. What about school clothes? We all wore white pinafore aprons over our dresses. The aprons were completely covering, but very attrac- .. . tive with winged shouldirs. They came to the hem of your dress. YGU hod school dresses which you wore-to . school and you wore your apron also to and from school. You wore cotton dresses in the summer? . . . - - .-- -- I don't remember many cotton dresses. I think we only had cotton dresses when we went to the country. What were they then? Wool dresses. I remember-. a ripcord wool dress that I had with a brilliant red front which was my pride and joy. My mother made a good many of my dresse.~. There were so few ready-to-wear ciothes in those days. that everybody bought 3-ardage. Where did you buy it? You must .have gone with her sometimes to choose things.

Oh, very often. We went to D. Samuel's Lace House. . . That was the best shop for buying laces of every kind...... And we went to the old White ~ouseand to OIConrior and-: Moffatt's [which later became 1-lacy's, San ~rancisco]. I remember particularly--I hzve a very vivid recol- ---

lettion--we, ' didn' t have any' Christmas celebration 'in our

house, we didn't observe ~hrintdss,I& we;e brought up _- to be not altogether orthodox, but to he aware of our

Jewish background. We kept a mil8 form of Kosher, My father hzd been brought up in a very strictly orthodox family. On the other hand, my mother was brought up in -a faaily that was not in tie least bit orthodox. After she married my father she conformed to all the custcm~ B which he had learned in his youth in Germany, For ! instance, we had a regular Seder service in our home. 14 1 re~elobervery well on the D;ay of Atonemsnt that he walked to the synagogue and never carried any money. so . On that day we waited in the evening--I rexne~ber

clearly walking up and,down. . Post Street -until the .. . I ..-,.:. :first star came out--because he wouldn't break his i.$ fast until the star had come out. , We children fasted. 'i $.oiel: Did you go to synagogue each Saturday? y lraden: We went to Sabbath school on Saturd8.y where we learned I1 . .

. . .. 18 . . ... I ......

rezd Hebrew, and on Sunday we vent to Learn Eibl=......

. . . . history. . . you goions enough to learn .~ebrewreally?. graden: We learned to be able to read the prayers, later I

. . fs:~ studied Hebrew in college. .' -. . . . F:? . To what 'extent hed you any feeling of being in a group that was different?

:Erzden: The only time I really felt it was at ~hristruastime- . . 4 when my closest friend told me about all h~rChristmas t presents. Tnen I v~uldmagnify the fact that we had . hung up our stockings and had had an orange and an .' . . . . a?ple and an anise seed cake, Cultures and religions and every espect of human behaviour have melted together in San Francisco,

But we had 8 pretty well separated social life. We went to parties given by Jewish people with very few exceptions. zniel: You chose to circulate socially in the Jewish culture, ordid it just happen? raden: It just happened that my closest friend in school was : not Jewish. She end I went all through school and .. all through college and I was very happy because she - .- wasn' t allowed to do anything that I wzs not allowed *. . .

. .

h-r-,a 1:h -3 F 9 '"7 ... : - .....--. . .-<. :.: --~.~.r.*~~,~~m~~~,T:P~C. . . . ,-.". .- . . , ...... ' . . .

from Jewish friendships. . .

aksemblies. This is some years later. And one of the Saturday- newspapers that picked up gossip wrote a

to do well in school. We were expected to get medals. In those days ,they gave medals.

.- .

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-.A ..-.-y.-w- : ?.wn ..- , .. -. . . . Tm. .-- ...--A -.- -- .... . ---- .-...- . . -- ...... And nobody risisted? ...... - . . .. , - . -...... Oh, no, not. at all. , . -.

What about Saturday? Mornini;s you went to Sabbath. school.'. In the aftern~onwe went out to visit our young friends. There were certain things we just didn't do on Saturdays. We never sewed on ~aturdays;we didn't pick flowers on . - Saturdays. But we had a happy time. And Sundays? maden: We went to Sunday school and very often my-,father came

and fetched us there. I remember also going out to . . 'ii'ood~ards gardens [~alenciastreet]. ,niel: What were Woodwards gardens like? &-w den: It was a glzyground. There were animals and a merry- go-round, It was a very gay place. And I remember, . . too, when I was quite a young child going to the old Stone Dairy which was at San Bt'mo -- not Borden's Dairy. We went out in a funny little old street car that jogged along with horses and were met gt the terminus of the street car by a wagon that was covered with white canvas. We spent the afternoon wi th the Stones, they 'were family friends. .We drank warm milk

that had just been taken from the cow and we picked . violets. It was a very exciting day for us. mother as an active person at any time, but she probably

ith lace tabs. Way down in my neart I was a

- bowl filled with goldfish znd she had pictures.and pic-

was the name of one of them.

. . remember it vividly.

also had a glass conservatory which connected vith' the sitting room and we had quatities of flowers which we

tea roses and pansies.

A French gardener came. Nobody in the family, oh no. We had quantities of fuchsias. f remember years later ti ti when I was in college one of my friends always asking me for .some of the fuchsias. That was the first time . . I realized 'that fuchsias were beautiful flowers. There was a camellia bush that bloomed very regularly. i &el: Your grandmother,subscribed to a garden magazine,-- C ...... ' . .. i . . . . . -. .:. . . 4 . . -......

...... ' . .:'. raden: . ,Oh yes, but I don't know If that &igazid6. wa's devotsd .'' ...... us;. S' entirely t.o gardens. I donft thfnk if...... - . We had 8 great many very fine sets of ~erman' books which either my mother of my father must have brought from Germany, a set of Coethe and a set of ;q Schiller and a set of Heine. As a matter of' fact, all . . our books seem to hsve been in sets. We had a set of . . 1 Sir valter Scott, of George Elliot and of Bulwer-Lytton I Of course all of those burned in the B and Dickens. jd fire after the earthquake. And my father, I remember with great pride, had brought over a fine set of Shakespeare. He knew his Shakespeare. . . You must have read s great deal by yourself when you were small' children. A very great deal. I think that ~ustas soon as I could read I started .to. What did you first read? You must have been reading' beyond your years.

I rather doubt it. I think I read children.'~books, ' Little Lord Fauntleroy, The Little Princess. And,

of course, as soon as we could rezd Elsie Dinsmore we . devoured Elsie Dinsmore. We wept and wept over Elsie Dinsmore. I'm sure I read the Oliver Optics and the . .

the very beginning.

fuss over me. . She also married when she was between twenty and twenty-one. Great festivities. There was ... - L I. , - ...... I..- L ------j 25

den: attendant at each wedding and my brother was a ring bearer in a broadcloth suit with lace ruffles. A good many of the clothes in those days were made - by an order of Catholic Sisters whc were at the corner of Gough and Geary, Sisters of Charity. niel: The ones with the great big white hats? aEen: Yes, white wings. They had quite 'a big establishment and they mde beautiful lingerie, beautiful underwe&. Of course, the fashionable dressmaker of the day -- this is really =cient California San Frzncisco history -- was Madaae Baer, who had an establishment at the corner of Franklin and Geary and employed oh, sometimes as many as sixty people. She was the person who made the most beautiful wedding dresses. iel: This kind of thing presupposed plenty of money. en: Yell, of course, but think of the difference in price. I'm very stire that my mother, w;;o had a new dress every year, never paid more than $85 for her best dress. el: but it was very hard to come by 885. Braden: Oh, not in those days. I renember our bills from the D. Samuel's Lace House, for instance, bills of 8215 and $300 because all of the materials were bought there. d We were talking about Christmas; we didn't celebrate

, 113i i

hook Library ? that. We had asecond maid and a cook. The poor old

. .

......

was a child we never had anything less than or -' ...... , chops foy lunch. And for, dinner theri wes a soup &d ' . ' . solid meat and pis or something solid for dessert.. No wonder we're hefty, We had a coal stove, the coal was kept in the

cellar, and the poor old cooks had to haul. . scuttles. filled with coal up these steep steps probably two and three times a day, And if we wanted hot water for baths there.had to be a fire in the stove to heat up the boiler...... The maid took care of the house. She ,did the sweeping and dusting and waiting on table. The waiting, .a .I 1. I should add, was not formal, 'i Dzniel: And you had a French gardener. Were the gardeners

' 3 .,> usually French? -$ Braden: I never knew a gardener who wasn' t French. There's one ! u' a poor old mLm who is still working next' door here whom I j I remember from the old days. Die: This was before the age of Chinese house servants? 4 araden: No, there were a good many Chinese house servants at . 1 that time tcio, but ,we-.never happened to have one, but just before the earthquake we had one who became a family retainer. . . g. . 9 0. . . , . . .. 9,; . .' z ..I.. +r 3 a! ., , . . a:. 9 . . .a+r U) . rt u) Q) a. 4.i e . . 4. 'rl

- U). .k Sr $ a4% 0 .

niel: Were you allowed to be around?

......

. . --.. --.. 4* --1 ! 11 30

of ~lychildhood. The school to which we went had wexhibi- I/3radenr tionsn once a year in the old Pletropolitan Temple on Jesse Street, The graduates read essays, somebody who had talent 1 ' . sang or some played the piano, These were the graduating A 93 excercises of Madame Ziska's school and the Steinhart girls f I were always dressed up in their best. We had a cerriege I i ,5 to take us to the hall and to briw us home. ! 4 Daniel: Did you always have a carriage or did you just engage 1 this? ; Zrarien: Just engaged it from the old Michelson livery stable on . i Geary Street. We knew a few people who hzd carriages, I but they were just the ultra rich people. After the' exhibition my father took us to the Naison DoreB, a t I restaurant on Kearney Street. And I can almost taste the pistzchio icecream which they served. You could get real foad there too, but we had ice cream and cake, I don't remember going there other times, This one was x a great occasion for us, Daniel: Was it a big place?

, Braden: In those days I thought it vas big, but I don't believe

! it was. < And then, of course, we had su&er vacation after that, We went to some nearby resort. My mother always

I invited a couple of cousins along and we took a maid

I i -.-.d ---.a- *...... - i- -!..-..--- a -

. . '4. ...' . ... _, . ..: 31 . .1:. . .

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aniel: Santa Cruz maybe? Braden: We went to Santa Cruz one year, come to think of it, and stayed in the old Pope house., And then two years we spent in Mill l3alley when Mill Valley was just discovered. People hcd never heard of Mill Valley before then; it

. . ' was a sort of old German settlement up to that time. 1.

think by that time my two older sisters were married.------.---.

,II -a Once we spent two years in San Rafael atMrs. creggis 4 4 bozrding house. d - . - - . --._ . '3aniel: Was the Hotel Rafael in existence? '! :3raden: This was before the days of the Hotel Rafael. And as I 1 I look back it seemed to me -- of course the bills i were pretty high by the time. the whole family was 3 i taken care of -- but the rates were not high. They . > ran about $10 a week per person. -.i ? '~aniel: You tended to do this rather than to rent a house? ' ' jaraden: We never.thought of that because my mother was a little 1 . . ! i bit weary of house&eeping. You see, in the old days

you didn't telephone for your food, you went. , to mzrket ' every day. J

'. 1 >.

...... -..*.I)). , .A,. , TT . .- -- ... . . -*--..,. .-. . -. - . . needy widow who set up a business and you had to patron- 3 -$ i ize her. The people along Larkin Street weredl eaning a very meagre lidih~odand they had to be patronized. if i i For instance, there was one woman who started a fruit store who had four or five unruly children. , We bought all our fruit and vegetables from her. "Ill1 have 2% worth of lrixed fruit." That was atwelve-inch

basket filled with fruit which was enough for the fanily . , . . for a couple of meals. Mixed, delicious, beautiful fruit, as I remember it. If company dropped in for' lunch you ran around the corner and picked up something at the delicatessen, caviar or smoked salmon. Twenty- five cents worth at the most., You were given a cookie for your trouble. I don1t know that we ever went to a downtom place for fooe. My father h2d provisions sent home., We had .. .: ... . .

...... :2 . . .. . '- -. . . '

But of the old-time shops, Simon brothers out on

corner of O'Farrell and Larkin. And 1 can remember

Rica coffee roasted but not krolmd for one dollar. We, hzd a coffee mill. That was one of. the jobs. that the cook had, to grind the coffee. Ve had a sort of sys-' tematic plan of everyday living. Soup was made with real soup bone three times a week. niel: Did the cook bake all of.your bread?

iel: What about your milk? aden: The milk originally was brought around in cans. niel: Did you drink milk as children?

aden: I don t remember ' that we ever drank milk to any extent. Gettind tack to school -- Wy. two older sisters graduated from Madame Ziskals. There was an article in the Araonaut newspaper which . . in describir,~this school said that there was better training in the social graces than in the three R's, The Armnaut wrote that many alumni learned to count on their fingers, and f renlenber goiug to visit my sister in Chicago and here she was, counting oit on

-.- ____-___-- h3r fingers! Then the Ar~onautinterpretation was accurate, Yes. Yany of the girls who vent -to that school-became social leaders and married very brilliantly. That seeaed to be their main purpose. Whzt wzs a mother's number one choice of a husband for her daughter? k man who could take care of her. .A good mn. How was the young lady launched? In our hose at the parties for zuy granthother's birthday, and frequent Friday evening parties. There wsre two big social clubs which had dances. These &re Concordia and Verein, - aid men .and woaen belong to the~eclubs?

.. , - , . .

the comunity. But I don't rezmn3er a great m y of ..... - . . . . A ...... , ...... , .. !2 ...... , ......

father died.

your sisters...

'II i 7 ' .. .

in previous years hed not been college graduates. I

girls have c~ushes. And I was the only girl in our group

tedcher who was a graduate of An3 Arbor. It was she, .

me that I should go to college. We bad hdd Latin from

up to that time.

opened for your sisters......

. . .. -

...... ' - 38 . ,I. ', . . ._ . '...... 5 . . girls .liked so much: . When I found I couldn't- go to Vassar, 1 decided that 1 wi~sgoing tc stanford University because I had, a cousin who was in the second class at Stanford. stahford University had just' been started. And then - that year my father died and'I felt thst I shouldn't leave home, and so I decided to go to the University of California. That was something ~f a strusgle because

- - ' we had the idea that the best people didn't go..to 'the "- University of Califcrnia. I crossed the Bay every day,

I never lived at college. . - . . ... - -. - _ _ -. .- -. -. here did the girls live at that time?. here were boarding houses in Berkeley. hut about college life? was very unhappy there for my first' six months. I was a very little fish in a 'big pond, where I had been a very big fish in a little pond.in the private school.

I was so incons?icuous at t3e University, and I had taken a dislike to a girl with whom I was crossing the Eay. I wzs thrown with her because we had a mutual friend from Miss Lake's school who was a yesr ahead of me. She introduced us to one another, and we decided

. .

.- ...... -- . . . rr ~~ .. . - - . .--' --- ...... -.- ,.-- --* -.-..----.-- - - - . . . . .

six months we changed our ideas about one another, I . .

' crossed the Bay every day with her-and in that . .

Daniel: How old were you? . .

older at that time.

3raZen: I thowht the capus was very beautiful.

Syla whom I admired very much, I later took English

wanted.to speak about Rudyard Kipling before he died.

sion. I took my Latin with Clifton Pric5, and later .

......

English with Professor Thomas Sanford.

most of then from the Bay Area?

Duliel: Yhzt did you do about money? Did you have an allowance?

a little girl I remenber my father stzrting me on an ::J a1:owance. It surprised me very,.much. I must have . . .q been twelve years old when i was given an allowance of i 25# a week, and th~tseemed a vast sum. Dbniel: This was all yours. You didn't hzve t'o account for it'

in any way? 30, I didnl t have to account for it. But as the years went by -- none of us had an allowance. When we rieeded money we asked for it, You went to your mother if you aeeded fares... - l ~ ~ . /j 41 -'I araden: Yeso Daniel: Your clothes were charged? -1,;paden: Entirely, yes. Die: Then there wasn't a great need for money. r; . Sraden: NO, as a matter of fact, there wasn' t. 2 '~sziel: Suppose you wanted some extra money? ; -1:3rzden: I asked my mother for ito 4 I remember at one stage, which was a little later, I spent some weeks in Carmel and I ; wanted to buy a waterfront lot there which I could have i bought for $600. But my mother didn't approve of it. : i That was breaking away a little too much from the family, I r' i so she refused it. C . . , ilaniel: You had lunch money when you were on the campus? I

a 3raden: I took my lunch with me every day. Lunch was packed up ! for me and taken along. Daniel: This was generally done? 3raden: Oh, yes.

.I -.I I newt claimed any financial independence. I paid for my commutation ticket at the first of the month . . and zsked my mothe* for the money for it, and a small extra allowance. But things were so cheap in those days. We all wore the same kind of shoes, Sorosis shoes that cost five dollars a pair. I remember getting one hat . .

between five Bfid seven dollars.

the girls all wore shirtw~istsand skirts and very high

waist.

... . .-.-:7.- . *-. .- . -,--9-*..- ---??-----...... -.,...... , F4-v, , - , . . , . . 7 - . -- a . . . . . I .amiel: There were milliners1 shops and you probably had your hats, '- -1 -1 made? $ tl 3raden: Yes, except for some thzt we bought, a special make that i was very popular, a stiff, felt hat. In the winter it 3i hsd a big quill emerging. ? ; I Jsniel: Did it have a brim? Yes, it had a brim. i : Daniel: Wzs this imported or American-made? I It was American, ready-made. Our best hats were made to

order. There was a very famous milliner or, Sutter - -

Street, I-Iaria Stacom. 1 can rerrember when we had a junior class party, I had a dress mde to order by a -- . - dressnaker who had made clothes for my older sister.

It was a gray cash~eredress, very tightly belted in. That was the most beautiful dress I ever had, to my way of thinking. It had a tra,in. I was' something of a sensation when I appeared in it. Daniel: What was high style, Paris? - saden: Yes. Even New York vas very fashionable too. But this dressmaker wasvery popular. She Uas a Frenchwoman and very fashionable. Daniel: Were the most fashionable dressmakers French? Sraden: No. . , . . ., . Csniel: You spoke of Madame Baer. . . Braden: Madame Baer was not French. She was of German descent,

and an artist really,, but I never, had a dress from. .. Madame Baer, It seems to me she went out of business

. : before I was giown up. Caniel: Did you wear waist and skirt for you welfare activitiee: after your.college days were over? Zraden: Yes, we did. Daniel: Or perhaps a suit? i3raden: Yes, we wore suits quite a grezt deal. 3aniel: Did you share college ex_oeriemces with your family much? '.. . ..- Srkden: I lived in a world of my own. Bxcept that 'my faniily, my mother especially, was always very hospitable to my friends. I often invited them to our house and we had a great many parties in the garden. She always~lcomed thea; I wzs very proud of her. What about campus .activities? I was put on the stzff of the Blue and Gold in my junior year, but there was an upheaval, and I never knew what ha?pened, but the editor-in-chief was asked to resign. So we all had to resign with him. An entirely new group was appointed. a hat was a great disappoint- . . ~entto me; it would have been fun to have been on the . .

. , . .

there was going , -. ' -

. .

When I vent to college the junior men wore grey

3raden: No, just the juniors and seniors. There was a great

. .

-I--- ?--:------PC_ ' *r---: --T-.-.--'--?: - .-.YT-;.:? m;.q~-----.nv .-7- . . . .I . . . 'lo re it ves importent because it was the' first tim6 - . -. that I cue face to face with anti-Semitism. . . Weren*t there ~ewishhouses? :r Dzniel: No. There were just three sororities on the campus at : that time. And this very great friend of mine, with vhom 1,had gone all through school, was rushed for all tnree, and I was left out. MaySe that had something to do with my unhappiness, Daniel: Did she join one of them? Brzden: Yes* Out of a private school she was considered very i desirable. She felt very sorry about it; it w~sunfor- tunate. Dzniel: When did the Jewish houses start? araden: They are coslparatively recent. Mow they've broken down the lines, haven't they, over at the University? Daniel: I don't how. I've never belonged to a social sorority. What did your family friends and relatives think of your adventures in Berkeley? Sraden: They thought I was very enterprising, very, to go to college. Daniel: Did the girls at college have a pleasant relationship with the men in their various classes?

s . - :-. - -7- - - . - + . , -TyT--7C.. -.-- ......

. . ' ...... -

.. : . .

There was not the "going steadyw,in tkat day.' If a...'girl . wore 'a man's fraternity pin then you knew she' was engaged . . j to him. r; r; i Daniel: Ths women were good students? . . Moderately so. I don't consider that I was a very good student. . . ' Daniel: In the particular group in wl-lich you circulated were < there Phi Betas? Braden: We didn't have Phi Betz Kappa, then. I think, that started about 1901. There wasn't even a selection of the out-

. . standing students in the class. You just graduated. Daniel: What about women graduate students?

haden: . We had a tremendous admiration for these people that went on and got higher degrees. Czniel: Were there any special feelings of the faculty against women students? . . Bradent If there was I was not aware of it* In fact, I can

remember Professor Syle, our English teacher, the ad- . miration he expressed for my friend Alice Duffy. Daniel: None of them felt that taxpayers' money was wasted... Brzden: I never was carsciaus of that. I took a seminar with Professor Gayley, a Robert Browning seminar, and there 48 . .

was a delightful atmosphere there, an inspiring exchange of ideas. Daniel: Did you take work related to your settlement interests?

, Braden: No, there were no courses in social welfaaqe in those days. I am sure I would have taken them if there had

Daniel: Vhen you were comuting to Berkeley, how did you get to the ferry, by horsecar?

Braden: Many a day I walked from Post and Polk to the ferries. It wds good exercise. If I was up ezrly enough. Other------

wise, f took a cableczr at the corner of Sutter and Yolk, which wes a trensfer point, and went as far as Montgomery - - and Sutter at which point the dummy, so-called, was detached from the car and horses were at tachsd to the streetcar. It went its way merrily down Market Street. We didn't think it vnusual in those days to see horse- cars. We became very well ac~uaintedwith conductors and motormen, who took a great interest in young girls stzrting out in life. [~aughter] Daniel: Vhat time did you go? Braden: I hlrd one eight-thirty class in mathematics, which meant th~tI caught a seven-thirty ferry boat. Although usually the boats ran only once an hour, at peak timee pu ? $ i f 49

, i :

;raden: they left every helf-hour. In order to be in my class . at eight-thirty, I left home at about ten minutes before ! , seven. I had to do that only one term. In Berkeley we left the train at Center Street and i Shattuck and walked up to the campus. I remember so well the beautiful old ~e~onteOaks which were one of the features of the campus. After all, the campus was ' I in thase days very country. Horth Hall, South Hall, and the Library were about the extent of the University buildings. The first buildins I remember going up was I 1. East Hall. Other than that, it was bcautifd trees, beautiful views. Dzriel: How many courses did you take and how large were your classes? 3raden: I took the maximum number I coul2, which was sixteen hours, a week. I signed up for English, and Latin. We were exsected to take some science courses and fortunately I took a course in geology with Professor Joseph

I LeConte. .And one of my beautiful remembrances is his birthday, w.?en his students paid tribute to him. There was a long desk inside the hall to wliich people brought plants and flowers, and there was always a speech by Professor LeConte. I can hear his voice to this day,

. . , . . And as I look bats on my memories oS the university my'

course in geo.l.o@y is one that has stayed with me. .-

: 3aniel: Vas it the context of the course, or his feeling about the material which so impressed you? .-. . jrzden: I think it was his feeling zbout the material. This. was my first and only glimpse at geology. I remember. , the day that we tried to have him tell us about earth-

quakes. Probably we were anticigatin~what .was going to ,tlzp?en to us in 1906. [~a~hter]And he said, nTherets no thecry of earthquakes, there's no way of predicting them, they just happen. It isn't a matter of warn wezther or cold weather." But now we hzve learned abcut.faults and we.knov a great deal nore.

But here was the great authority on geology, probzbly the foremost of his day, with no theory. I had to. take one more course in science, I think I took it in my sophomore year. And that was with Professor Willis Jepson. That was a very interestins course in which he brought out new ideas alnost relating botany to psychology, telling us th;t plznts could remember because, as he said, they know that they're to grow the next day: It was'avery novel idea to us. He was

4 'I 52

arzden: daughter of one of the people who owned one of the'great Spanish grants in Monterey. The adobe house which their f family built is still in Monterep. She spoke excellent

a Castilian Spanish. Dalisl: You really hzd considerable linguistic background.

3raden: Yes. My major was in Znglish and Latin. And I took quite a bit of French which I enjoyed very much because that tied in with my early training and background. I am sorry to say that I didn't take any history. I did- n't take any economics, which wodld have been a great help to me in later years. But it just didn't occur to me that I would ever enter the field of social work.

, 'Daniel: Were you going to collese with some future work in mind? haden: I was just rounding out the education thdt I had had, that was all.

- CiSIEITABLE WORK

What sort of future did you envision for yo;rself? I always felt that soie day I was going to devote myself . . to so-called "charities. * Why ? I don't bow. I was interested in helping my fellow man, I suppose.

When did you get this idea? . -- I think I beg~to feel that in college more than I 'had before. It was a natural thing, just as uy mother had certain .activities; -she went to a sewing society once a month to sew for orphans. There's this, too, that my fzther was a very generous, charitzble person. He brought over any number of relatives from Geramy. They did not live in our.home, but they came to dinner every night for many years. Did they seem pleased to be here? No, I can't say thst they were, without exception. Were you aware of the reasons for their coming here? . . .. - ...... - ...... ' . .. . He had edme himself, he was comfortable, hefelt his -. . , ...... , :. ' . . . . responsibility to hi8 ielatives. My dothe; brought her :

' mother and her sister, ~d the when the time came that my cousins were orphans she took three girls into our home. It was just taken for granted that that was the natural thing to do. Seing your brother's keeper was built into your conscious- ness at an early age. Also it was the natural tning for the people in our group to devote some time to some form'of charity in those days. bly father was one of the founders of the Sureka 6enevolent Association which later becerne the Jewish Pwily Welfare Agency. And you did call it "charity?" Oh, yes, we didn't hesitate to call it "charity." I volunteered ay services for a number of years. Gradu- ally I realized. that I wa3ted to carry on on a full- time basis, Had you done something.of this sort before you went to the Universi ty? No . uth Park Settlement. , I went there onceevery week and took charge of their

to the library to borrow

ed in tile library. South Park is now out of existence. I am inclined to t in San Francisco. ~d been trained at on the usual

ad been a very aristocratic neighborhood.

-.----? -. . . ,*CC . .,-'..m".Z-,-7 . -. . . : ....'. . . , --:-- >-- - . . ' Brzden: It's just off Third Street. - Rincon Kill atid Sou= ?ark were fashionable parts of San Franc.isco. And, as I

7 said ezrlier, Madarne Ziska's school started in So~a -

Park. Then the neighborhood deteriorated. ' .

4 Daniel: Who lived there mostly? Eraden: You mean after it deteriorated? People who worked in the factories around there. Mr. Braden, my husbmd, when he arrived in San Francisco with a wife znd three snall children had a dreadful time finding some phce to live. He worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad, . . which had its headquarters nearby. Finally he foilad a place in South Park that would take in him and his' family, and t!ley lived there for sozle time. Now it's all torn down, there's nothing left of the old houses.

Dzaiel: Was the library very extensive?

3raden: I don1t ' think it was very large. I have the iapression that it was kept for children because the books tirzt we issued were all children's books. That's hov I became interested in some of the families. These children came and told us their probleas. Dtiniel: What kind of problms' would these children bring? 3rsden: They caae from homes which had considerable poverty and , 57

. . , . Sraden: unemployment. I remember one fesily in particulars . 1- sensed that there was some difficulty end so I became acqaainted with then and did whzt little I could to help them out.

I Daniels This was personal.

Braden: Oh yes, purely. And then, because of my activity there, I was asked to come on the board of directors of the San Frencisco Girls Club.

Girls Club

Daniel: Where was, the Girls Club? 3rzden: The first Girls Club was on a little alley called Clara Street between Howard a?d Folsoz, and Seventh and Eighth. It was a very personal affair. Miss Ray Wolfson was in charge of it. She had been a very active worker in the Columbia Park Boys Ciub. She had gone to college to take some special courses and in my senior year I met her. She had conceived the idea of starting a club for girls compzrable with the Boys Club. Daniel: What went on at the Columbia Boys Club? - I think its activities were pretty much the same as they are to this day. .Gathering in groups of boys, . interesting them in music, in the arts, giving them recreational activities. Miss Wolfson stayed oa Clara Street for'a year or two and then managed to raise enough money to move to,a building on Cap? Street. Rather interestingly, the building to which she moved had been brought around the Horn in early days. That was the first Girls Club. It grew and grew and grew. What were the activities? The sme sort of thing that the.Boys Club did. Recrea- tion, and an intrcdaction to the arts. She gathered around her a very interesting group of peoplz. Ralph Stackpcle was one of the teachers, ar.d Mr. Will Wilke, who was the chief' engraver at ~hreve's, Joe Raphael, who was quite a fanous painter. All were very much interested. That became my life. Daniel: Were any of the other women students whom you knew on the canpus going into social welfare? What about your best friend? Ibly best friend, Alice Duffy, some.years later became a . . .

. .

very modest homes. They made the Girls Club their social life. 3aniel: You felt these girls didn't .have any other chance for

Daniel: . What would have happened if they hadn't had the club?

but through the Girls Club influence they vere zbla

3r recreation.

It was a person to person thing. I: am sorry to say

..;.--<--.: % --- 7 . . -.F*.7.?Y.-\- .-. , -; -7- - . . . w-cC.-'- . : . wi--m-^? , . : ...... , . . . .- . . - srl3en: that ultimztely I outgrew this a_~proach,For the .time . . . . > . being, I wzs trenendously interaot& and I formed cer- .. . . tain friendships andassociations which I have kept

through all these - years. 2zniel: Bow long did your work continue in the Girls Club? 2.rzden: That continued on through the years. The years that I was in Sacramento I continued my name on the board of

directors. '

Sisters1 and roth her's Charitable work

Dsiel: Did your sisters do anything like whet you were dbing? srsEen:- The two sisters just ahead of me becme soci~lworkers. My oldest sister narried very young and vent to live in Chicago, She was very active during the First World Vzr -- in fact, she wzs knokn as the "Potato Chip Queen" because she established selling potato chips on street corners, They raised a great deal of mgney by that. The second sister was not in social work, and the third sister, Rose Steinhsrt, who was on the koard of 7.. % .. _. I.. r . . a .. , *- . .,...... _. .. .: . . . ..-. .. .. - '.. . - ......

f , . .! I , .61 : ......

. . Sraden: the Occidental. Kindergarten, became ths first medical . ' . socizl -worker at' University of ~elifornia.Hospital. . .

i)zniel: Yhat was her training for this? , .

" Sraden: Just volunteer service. She had' volunteered at Stanford Hospital and when there was an opening at the University

of California she go't the aapointment. It happened' thzt ' recently I was at the University Hospital for a little siege, and the doctors still talk lyrically of the wonderful work that she did, how she would step in when there was a difficult case and they didn't have the funds with which to operate and she would always find money for .them. The oldar nurses came in to tell me about her. f t was very touching. Deniel: This wzs a paid p~sition? 3raden: Yes. 3aiel: Did she take that job before you took yours:? . . 3rzden: 110, she took it after I took ~iline. I was the pioneer.' Then the next sister, Yilda, became the president of tbe sin Francisco Fruit and Flower Hission, which had stzrted in 2s an organization to take cheer to house- bomd patients, and by degrees she developed the first free clinic in San Francisco and ~ersuadedan excellent

. . . .

. . . . L&'* ---

'of men to volunteer their services. She had people like Dr. Regineld Knight Smith and Dr. Edward Glazer, and a famous doctor who went on to the Mzyo Clinic. These men all worked very conscientiously and unselfishly.

' Daniel: And there uere no other free clinics? Sreden: I'm under the impression there were not, excegt maybe at San Francisco Hospital; This goes back a great many years, before I was working. I think I was probably still in college. She was only two years older than I was. Then, after the war came, she volunteered with the 3ed Cross and was appointed to a regular position there and had a traveling job visiting hospitals -- New Mexico.

As soon as the war was over Ger position wasn't needed, and so she retired. Dsniel: Did either of your sisters marry -- Hilda and Rose? Braden: No, they didn't. Daniel: Did Hilda Steinhart remain a voluntary worker? Zraden: Yes. She had some recognition from the Red Cross -- a medal for the years of service she had given them. She worked for the World Affairs Council, translating

for them. She spoke French and German and some Italian. . - That was fairly recent. And then she became ill, -

-7-CP------.-> ---7)L(Sr-.--- - ,cff-v*-m'w-: -*-.- .--- . .. 63 . . .. , ...... ' ...... Then came niy brother Jesse,' the of the family. [ughter] He graduated from the bniversi ty. He was Carnot l*!edalist and he was a speaker at Charter Day. Whzt was his major? I suppose economics. He went right into law school. . , That was settled the day he was born, that he was going to be a lawyer. Then he became deputy city attorney. Just the other day he showed me panphlets from the. California Iiistorical Society that told of a famous case hs won for the city and county of San FraLcisco -- Iietch Hetchy. It said, ''A then unknown lawyer . . named Jesse Steinhart. [~au~hter] He went into the city ottorney's office and stayed there through the time of the earthquake, znd then he set up his own office. Been there ever siace, Has he taken part in public welfare boards at all? Oh, he's been very active. He was president of Mt. Zion Hospital at one time, and he's been president of the American Jewish Committee. Then he became a Regent of the University -- he's been very active. So we have all h~dcertain activities. I think our lives would hzve seemed pretty useless if we hadn't 8 i . . I ~radeni done something of this soit. ' ~nd'amon~our frieqds . : there were very few wh6 didn' t have some activities other than their social life. I - Daniel: You didn't do this for money? 1 I Braden: That never occurred to us, any of us.

Daniel: How long was your activity , in the South ~ark'settlement.

. Braden: I would say it must have been at least three years, Daniel: From about 1900 to1903 .you did work with the settlement. What else did you do besides this? Braden: Oh, I was just a your12 butterfly -- not very gay, but I w2s just going to parties and h~vinga social life which was t.he accepted pattern with the people whom I . . knew. I hzd a coming-.out party fn the old Century Club whichwas on Sutter Street, an old frame building which was a popular place in which to,have parties, but they were done with great elegance. You had to hnve a - caterer come in to take charge of the refreshments. This was an evening party. There was a combination afterfioon tea for fanily friends; I remember my faaily havinr; a big tea at one the, I'think it must have been when I was in college, a big formal tea at which you received and had elaborate refreshments and had all the faaily friends. Thrt was in our home.. Yhen wss the dancing garty? It was later, after .I came out of college.

Dzniel: Was this generally the age? - •

z,.-dA Asn: Yes. You made your debut.---- Dzniel: but this was at a later age than it is nov. Oh, decidedly so. In those days you didn't debut until . you were at least twenty or twenty-one. Then you were supposed to be a sophisticated young lady. Up to that tine I hadn't had boy friends.

Juvenile Court

Dsniel: Did your social work activity lead to s~methingmore ccoplicated? Eraden: Well, along with the Girls Club work I was doing some volunteer work in the juvenile court. Rom having

I become interested in the i>roblerns vhich X saw in the Girls Club I decided thzt 1 war-ted to do something that was really official, anC so I offered ay services to the juvenile court, D~nielr How well developed was the juvenile court? . . 3raden: It was veiy well estzblisbed when I went there. They . were all paid people, but they weren't 811 trained people,

I think a good many of them.got 'in sirvice training," - ' . . if I may use thzt term, 3saiel: Were there poor practices in.personne1 appointment? 3raden: I don't tinink so, except when now and then the juvenile .court might hzve been made a political catch-all, as happens in every organizatior.. But on the whole, I think' they were appointed and selected by the chief probation off ice-r, Daniel: Whzt was your first work there? Srzden: I just asked if I could be of service, and the chief probation officer, 14s. Joseph Astredo, accepted me. iie allowed me to work on their statistics. Daniel: Were there other volunteers?

7,2;aden: Yes, how many I doc't know. Ultimately I did some visiting for the juvenile court, still on a voluntary basis. It was my introduction to the Aid to Xeedy Children program because in those days all needy children had to be comitted thrcugh the juvenile court. And so I learr2d what; an orphan was, what a half-orphan was,

. . what sn zbardoned child was, ...... _......

Janiel: What id was this? .

. Sraden: It was state end county money.

, with the volunteers?

with ne and tziight me a great deal, -'

5raden: I sn inclined to think so. I becane trenendously interested in sose of the faailies I visited. I found in my small way I could do s.sme rehzbilitation. Find- ing jobs for pople, etc.

in certain individuals.

3id the other people doing volunteer work do the sat3 kind of thing? Sradsn: I imagine so. 3sniel: But you didn't share your experiences.

Trips to Chicago and New York. 1902 and 1906

I should like to hear about your trips to Chicago and I j Bew York. Was New York a very exciting place? ) i and I Braden: Oh, very. theater opera. 1 went by. train by myself -- no, I think I must hzve trsveled East with somebody because I know my mother wouldn't hzve approved of my going alone. And I remember coming home with a friend. I waited there until she was coming home. Daniel: yere any of your eastern relatives doing the same kind of t'iing which you were doing here? Sraden: I don't think there were any social service activities. I had met a friend in New York whcse sister was interested in social welfare. She was a teacher. We talked things over. My. first visit there included no activities outside of purely social. Very gay. Daniel: How long did you stay there?

' haden: I must have been away for at least six months. Daniel: Did you go exploring in any of your welfare interests? Braden: Yes, I visited Hull House.

Daniel: Had you visited Hull House before? . . . : Braden: This was 'my first visit. This was my first trip East.. . I * I went to Hull House and I saw some of the social services. 4 Daniel: Did you explore other welfare se.rvices?--

3r3den: Xot more than to the extent that f had friends who were . interested in welfare work' and they took me about to see some of the agencies. But that was about all. After the earthquake I went East asain, in 1906. kt that time I visited Henry Street and Miss Waldvs settlement. I remember I did go to see those because the head of the Girls Club had been very much interested, and I met Miss Lillian Wald and some of the people interested in the settlement movesent addid go over to Hull House and visit there, just to see it, but

not to go into any stady. On that trip, the second, . decided thst I would like very much to do something aore professional thm I had done. I kappened to kn0.w in San Francisco a woman who was a factory welfare worker. k factory welfare worker- was a pers,on who hzd an established positior? in the factory, employed by the

factory, and was the social worker.' . It hzpgened that when I.went East soneone, Miss

Wolfson probably, told me to get in touch with her ......

thropic people.

that time, and I was offered the job as welfare worker.

-. 2 .- . ' e.y -'- .,-.c------7- . -:a . C- C----. . - 'CC*'. .. v:.-r;.-3-=. ... --.r----3. .. . - .-% - ..i- e-'arn?mlr?-~--- Y - . . Whzt were you wanting to do? I was wqnting to do something that was more comprehensive,

more constructive. I found that there was a factory . . , . welfare worker here in San Francisco. She was a2pointed by the city, and she went about and inspected factories and pointed out sanitary deficiencies, hazards of any kind. She was a union labor woman who had been a factory worker herself. She had been in office for a year or two by the 'time I had met her. 1 Daniel: Was she the first one? graden: Yes. So I spent some weeks going about with her. Zmiel: Whzt did she look for besides sanitation problems? -~riigen: Safety. But mostly swri tation. And suddenly, word went out that her posi:tion was I , . to be abolished. She agpealed to me to LAOWwhat could do about it.

Daniel: Save the job, ' you mean? Brzden: Yes. I happened to be s member of the League of Women Voters, so I asked to appear before the League and I made an impassioned plea to preserve this job. I remevber now that I mentioned the condition of toilets. - ...... , . .. . - , ...... , .. : ......

.. .

factory yourself? came home with

decided thzt was not the field in which I wanted to work,

ou continued

juvenile court? Sraden: No* 3miel: Did you take on any other thing? 1 : 3rzden: purposes. And I think I took the Girls Club on as my major interest. ~aniel: How much time did you spend there? I ' 1 Erzden: Oh, a very great 'deal of time. . I

I Duliel: Did .you go every day? 6rsBen: No, I didntt go every day. I went at least two after- noons a week and usually an evening a week. But that in I a way w2s really part of my social life because I met a

great many interesting people. We used to do a great , deal of what we call wjunking.n That wss going out and looking for antiques. A few of the people in that neighborhood had saved a few of their possessions and were selling them. 1 'lour social welfzre interests apparently developed from your own interest ar.d enviroment rather t!,an from some external experience. Zrzden: I should add that later, during the First World War, I was sent by the governor [~te~bens]to see irhat was being done in the field of child welfare, and I spent a week in Hull IIouse, which was really.quite an exper-

ience, sitting down to breakfast every morning with . Jane Addams aqd Julia Lathrop and' the Abbotts and Miss Breckenridge. I got' great inspiration from them, SAM FRANCISCO FIRE AND EARTHQUAICE,

Personal Recollections

, Daaiel: Let's go back to before your 1906 trip ~ast.' What do you remember of the San Francisco earthquake? Braden: You want my impres'sions from my social service experience during the earthquake mostly, don't you?

Daniel: I think it vould be valuable to have your personal . experiences. Brzden: If you go through a crisis of that kind you don't forget it completely. It leaves a scar. Recently somebody gave me a copy of that book And the Earth -Shook, and I imediately returned it. I don't look at movies about the earthquake. I suppose I'm an unnecessarily nervous person; At the time, curiously enough, I wasn't terrified. We looked at one another and said, "Well, we've been through one of the great disasters of the world, probably," not realizing how few lives opera, and acrowded opera hause.

Then came the earthquake..

Bradent I was in bed at 1090 Post Street. I think I must have Breden: been very sleepy because I: renembir.ny sister coming to. . i ...... the door and knocking and saying, "Get up! We've had a: dreadful earihquake . . - - --- Daniel: You don't remember feeling it? Braden: I must have felt it but I was sleepy. Fortunately, there I were two doors to my room. One door was j&ed so that -

! I couldn't open it, and I was able to go out the 0the.r door. There I found my family. There was a very tall chimney in back of us, a famous chimney of the Sutter Street carhouse. My father had fought against the building of this huge chimney in a residence district, and it was known as "Steinhart's ;4onument." Quite a few of the bricks came down on our house. In addition, there had been a very 'large apartment house built next to us, and the tank from that apartment house slid over onto our roof so that our downstairs living' room . was pretty well flooded. There seemed nothing for us to do but to leave the house. We went across the street to some neighbors for a few minutes, and then we went up the block to some

other neighbors who were old friends. Their house ,

had not been damaged. We stayed there only a short , . .,... ."...... i . :. .. ' , . ' . ,' . ~rsdeni time' because we didn't' want to impose upon them. My . . . . .,. 1 ; brother was able to find a carriage from. a. livery stable . which was just a block away from us, Hichelson's livery stable, the stable which we had employed on such occasions as the school exhibitions to which we went;.and . when my older 'sisters went to parties.. We went to the Presidio, and the commanding officer was sorry but he couldn't take us in because they were expecting so many injured people and they were there to establish an emergency hospital camp. As it turned out it was never necessary because there vere comparatively few people injured. We went to some friends who very generously took us in for the night, and I can remember very well all of us sitting up all night while the buildings in San , Francisco were being bombed.. And there were frequent j ' ear thpuakes continu'ing, rather mild shocks, but we > seemed accustomed to them. As we sat up through the . .. night, we could see the flames and the smoke from the fire.

I The next morning I remember sitting out on the.

; . front steps and wondering what we vere going to do next because of course we thought we were all ruined,

that everything we owned was wiped out. 'we were plarining.

all sorts of ways of earning a livelihood. We stayed - . there two days and then my brother managed to get an express wagon, went into the house, found our faithful. collie dog, who had an injured paw and who had .left the house with us originally but had run back qnd.was standing guard in the house. My brother collected a few dresser drawers with' a few possessions in them and two very treasured family paintings of my grandfather and grandmother which hs piled into the truck and came out and calied for us. We picked up some old friends who had a young baby and all of us started for the home of friends in Menlo Park. I remember distinctly the picture of. people fleeing San Francisco.. It looked as though the entire city would be burned out. I remember passing some of the girls ;ho had gone to the Girls Club and wishing I could pick them up, but there wasn't room for anyone else in our horse-drawn truck. We stopped at the Millbrae Dairy where they gave as a drink of milk, and nothing-ever tasted better. Then we went on our way down to Men10 Park where our

C ' ~raden: relatives had a large home. And I have a vivid picture . . of our friend coming out and saying, "Oh, you're all , . .. welcome. come in." She was able to take care of us and she made us very comfortable. We hsd practically only the clothes on our backs. We stayed with her a' full week. I remember the fir.st stew that we had that she prepared for us, a genuine feast, a lamb stew. She . . managed to get plenty of provisions for us; by that I I : time things were pretty well under control, although it was difficult to go back into ~an'Franciscobecause they didn't welcome people. But by the end of the week my sister and I dec'ided I- I- we mustn't take advantage of our friend, and the only I place for us to go was Berkeley. We went up' to San Francisco by trein and went from Third and Townsend to the Ferry Building in a dray truck -- a truck that had just sticks as its sides -- across the cobblestones, and the streets were very uneven due to the earthquake,

of course. We went past all the buildings that had , burnt down and finally landed at the Ferry Building I where there were masses of people waiting for boats. There was a lot of movement then for a long time. . . A great deal. I think I should mention the horrible . rumors that we encountered on our way out to the friends the first night. We stopped at the home of some friends at California and Franklin Streets and they greeted us with, "Well, this was mild comgared to what happened in Chicago. There was a tidal wave there and there's very little left of Chicago. " Having a sister there,. that 1 ? wasn't very pleasing news to us. ! 3mi el: But this kind of thing could be corrected. ------. ------.. - - - - .- . - Oh yes, it was readily corrected, but I think it's the kind of tiling that's inevitable in time of disaster.

3oniel: Were there tales about other-places 5-n California just --- at that initial stage? There were tales. It happened, I heard later, that there was an excursion' in Mexico of which my future husband. was the guide and he was told t'nat Berkeley had been swallowed up by a tidal wave. Then all this week we T heard reports of hideous epidemics of typhoid,fever and smallpox, and we heard stores of babies being born on the front lawn without any medical assistance. There wag the usual spate of tales. 3aniel: Did you have knowledge day by day when you were in Menlo

I I Park? - .

and family welcome at our home." It gave a list ol. people whom they were ready to welcone,. Ye finally were able to find a house in Berkeley and we settled

Daniel: Ths whole family, or just you and your sisters?

I remember my sympathy for my mother who had to sleep on a couch, but we had a very comfortable and interest-

experiences.

all cooking on stoves which were out on the sidewalk. They were not allowed to have fires in the,house. There were interesting tales of makeshifts that people discovered and seemed to enjoy. I ,' Daniel: Meanwhile, your house had been burned. I. : araden: Our house was completely'burned the second day. The i ! fire had moved up as far as Franklin Street and we were i . . I I

. . . C ;t......

Soon after the earthquake my sister came ted on going back to the site of the d dug around there and found a few. er that had belonged to the fGly,

father which we had always used in our Seder service.

It was gold and there had always been a joke betveen my .. mother and father about it, My father teasingly told.

a silver cup that had , been goldplated, and lo and behold, when it was found

little silver dish found too. Those .things we treasured very much in after years. It seems to me that was about . all that we found, except that the bathtub was intact and was found on the property. As a child we had had

installed an enamel bathtub,,so we felt we were real aristocrats wher that was found on the lot* her's. place of business? time. He had died in 18950 MY of the family*

c- . .. . -.- -.--- 2- - .-- ---' "r; "-- -.------r.--..--rr- -.---r.--..?-;rr.-..-- .-..".., -.--.l----,-- -17--- -- . . r. \ ...... i ....-. . . . , ...... ;_. . ..>) ...... :...... ':. . . ,. . .

brothers was on Fillmore Street, People needed clothing,

araden: One incidetlt which I suppose was typical of a great manp people -- our Sister in Chicago imediately sent us' boxes of clothing. They were blue and white checked aprons; she felt that we would be in.such reduced- ..-,--. . - 1

i . . I 8

Braden : circumstances that we wouldn't want or need anything better than that. We had many 'letters, offers of

. . assistance from relatives from everywhere.

1 At first the relief work was in charge of a local committee with Miss Katherine Felton heading it up.

Daniel: Excuse me a moment. The very first comittee comprised . of f ifv citizens was brought together by the mayor, I

I understand, and this was disbanded and the financial committee continued under the direction of James D. Phelan. 1. braden: It was a very large, representative comittee. The senior Mr. Dohrmann figured very much on thst comittee. The outside world was exceedingly generous. Boston sent a huge sum of money which channeled through my husband, Mr. Braden; they had known him through the Southern Pacific connection. Then the Red Cross took over the relief work. Daniel: It gave relief to individuals? Sraden: Yes, and there were relief camps estab1ishe.d. It was at this point that I offered my services to the camp at 1650 Potrero, which was probably the largest of the reJief camps.

Daniel: This was while you still were. living in Berkeley? How . . ... long were you over there? 'gradens I'presume I had been over there two or three weeks. , Daniel: Within the aonth then. I.. . ,&aden: Yes. My sister Hilda was on the central cornittee with

! - Father Hannigan and Mr. khelan.

i ; Daniel : I don't know anything about the eamp. Braden: They were just camps donated by the army and set up, and it was camp living of a very simple, makeshift, emergency nature. Daniel: How many caseworkers were there in your camp? ------.- Braden: I should say there were about six of us. Daniel: What kinds of relief and how much did you handle?

Braden : It was ldrgely in kind, with some money? .- - . - - .- Dani e1: Did you have access to supplies of food and clothing? Eraden: Yes, all through Red Cross. lianiel: How long was relief forthcoming? Did you heve a time limit? 9rzdcn: No. We kept it on.as long as people we.re in camp. Of course the whole trend was to ge't them out of ,camp and into permanent housing. i 1 Dzniel: This was a transient camp? Braden: Yes, but it lasted quite a long time before things could be adjusted. Interestingly enough, the Italian quarter .. ;. :. . a :Braden: , was the first section of San ~ranciscoto rebuild . . . because the Italians had been very thrift); and they had money in the banks. Just as soon as the banks

81 opened and they could get the money out they started 1 t to build on the hills around Lombard, Francisco, Powell, Stockton and so on. One thing I remember very well about the earthqualrg I' days was that the Wells Fargo Bank vas established in the horn2 of Mr. E.S. Heller on Jackson Street. I : reaember one of the well-known bankers standing In line. They bad to stand in line to get their tickets for provisions, and' the monumental statement that he : made to some men standing next to him, "Well, now we're I all equals, aren't we?" The banks continued in private homes for a long time. !hey had been closed the first t days and then they opened in homes. Daniel: Do you remember the availability of supplies in camps? iraden: Staple groceries and that sort of. thing were rushed in pretty quickly. ,Daniel: As camp life went on day by day were there many families , . arriving and departing? 9 i I I:- araden: I think the turnover was not very great. Did you have storehouses?

1 . . ! .: . .- I " .87 .' ? . .- . . .. . i . . 3 3raden: of resources' to start with. ' Daniel: - You were drawn there because you hSd worked there with the Girls Club, Braden: I suppose that was it, except that I happened to have 9 a friend who worked there and'so I followed her. The i wonan who came out to take charge of the camp was a New York social worker who was very well trained. She was the Red Cross person designated to 'take charge, 1i Miss Maria Fis.her, and we inmediately began the usual 1i casework procedures. I Dzniel: You mentioned this as your first casework training. Braden: Yes. In the juvenile court I had done mostly office work, statistical work, except when I was 'ent out on certain exceptional cases of truancy, So I had some eqerience, but with ~issish her it was the genuine . article, Daniel: There were caseworkers in the staff of the juvenile court at that time, Braden: %ere were a certain number but not a grea.t many, They were mostly people who had an interest in boys and girls. . . 1: Daniel: Hoir long were you in that camp? IBrzden: The earthquake was in April, and 1 think I must have ' araden: stayed in that camp from three to four months. And I think it continued for some time after that, but it

4 i was soon after that that I went East to visit my sister. Daniel: What about the general management of welfare services? Did you have the impression at ths time that they were

- being handled effectively?

I Braden: Yes, we thought that they were being very effectively handled, considering tile wide spread nature of the I disaster because a great part of the city had been ! laid waste. It was not only the fire that had started I with the original earthquake, but it was the other fire that was started early in.the morning by a woman- i i who felt that she must fry some eggs for her husband for his breakfast, and started'an independent fire

. . that laid waste the Haight-Hays District. '

Daniel: This is the famous "ham and eggs" fire. Braden: That's it, yes. That fire started from some distance out and met the other fire downtown. One of the calamities of the situation was that the fire chief was killed. Be was said to be an expert in dynamiting, so the dynzmiting was done on a piecemeal plan rather than to dynamite e wide area. 'As a result 'the flames ... , ...... I ..' .;r;':; " ...... , ....: ... ->

. . !

I i 89 I :. . I 9 . . . : arnden: leaped from one street to another street &id.the d-e -. 1 . . . . I I . was much greater than it might o thsrwise have been. i

I . .

, . . .The Graft Prosecution I; Daniel: What is your recollection of city government during ' the earthquake activity? ,' Eraden: We thought that we had a mayor -who seemed to be 'taking !

charge and appointing people tocarry out his plans. .------.- -.. " :4 1 Daniel: He seemed effective? . . i Brzden: Yes. . . . - . - Daniel: Was this before your feeling of . .distrust in the regime? 'i Braden: I think there was a latent feeling of distrust, but of course it didn't come to light until the explosion ! of the graft prosecution which was dramatic in the . . . - extreme. . . . Daniel: What do you remember of all the people involved? 3raden: @fcourse we hew Mr. Ruef and we took for granted that he was a nboss.n I think in political life we were accustomed to the. idea of having bosses. i We seemed to feel that a boss was a sine qua non of political life. We took for granted that he operated I ? . i

. . > ......

! ...... , ......

. .

I . . 1 . . . . :. .. I go .,:.. I . .. . i .. f . L 1 . .. . ?

'@aden: ' behind the scenes. Just how the &and& exploded, I

don' t remember. .. el: Well, the incident in this whole situation was an'honeet < . district attorney named Mr. lzngdon who brought togethir . . a grand jury, . - 3raden: Yes. Then from day to day we lived from drama to drama,

the drowning in the Bay of the chief of police who was . . out in a launch, and everybody raised their eyebrows and felt that this was part of the exposd, although

' it may have had nothing whatsoever to do with it; and . . the sh29ting of Mr. Francis He'ney in court; and the emergence of Mr. Rudolph Spreckels as a reform leader in San Francisco. There nevsr was any occasion where

there was such a division.among people. The feeling ' was so high that you either were for the graft prose-

! cution or you were against the graft prosecution. 3aniel: How could you be against the graft prosecution? I Sraden: I think some people felt it might hit their pockets a little bit or even hit their reputations, so they were

i frightened. The Cabots never talked to the Indges at. that time. Daniel: You said you were aware of Mr. Ruef.as a personality.

...... i ......

5?...-1. ... .- r -- , --.'. .--... ;..*--.-..-. . .------.5 -...re ---- ..-- .-..-,,*- -.----*-.-* - .--.-----....-. -~-~,.-~~..*-~~.~..*.:-*-.--.- . . with a large practice. He had acquired a great deal of property in the Italian quarter. He had two sisters and like all people of his kind he was very good to his family, very generous to them. But there was never any doubt of his being convicted. He went to San Quentin and served a tern there, I know people who went over' there doing social work and they said that he never lost his social aplomb, that he was the host over there, ! greeted them and made them feel welcome, He came out -- I don't think he was ruined financially by his . connection. I think he still kept his building on Columbus Avenue, D~liel: What about papers? Which paper did you take then? Sraden: I'm sure we took the Chronicle and an ev-g paper, but I'm not sure how much support there was for the I

graft prosecution by the papers. I seem to.-have. . the impreskion that the Exeminer supported the prosecution. i i

'iI . ' ' 'i ? Bradent Ye all felt as though we were living on a keg of dyna- I. mite. We didnl t know whit was going to happen next and i i t . . to whom it was doing to happen. It was a very exciting ' time to live in. ?

3aniel: When did you move back to San Francisco? . .

Braden: We ,went to Berkeley at the end of April and stayed , through the vacation period which was May, June and July. We came back to San Francisco about August, and ' ! we took a house on Scott Street between Pacific Avenue -. ! 3 and Broadway. It had survived the earthquake and it was a very charming and comfortable house,. We lived i there for four years. Daniel: Who was in the family by now? 3rzden: IIy mother and the married sister whose husband had died, who caEe to live with us, and then my other two sisters

I and my brother and myself. We lived there the time of the Bull Moose campaign. My brother was a bull-mooser. He went to the convention in Chicago and plezded with me to become a fellov bull- But I was not a Teddy Roosevelt enthusiast. i j mooser. 'i . .. . Daniel: What didnl t ' you like about Roosevelt? * braden: An aggressiveness in which I didn't heve'too much faith. 5 j ? i j

I . .

was too mrh public display which wasn't backed up by

anything to you? Braden: Yes. They meant progress in our thinking on social matters, which to me was,the important thing. I was heart and soul for the Progressive measures that were put into effect, vorkmen's compensation, minimum wage. I believe very sticlyly in the inmigation &d housing

Southern Pacific lobby. $ Braden: Oh, ,yes. Daniel: Were you aware of the Southern Pacific as a dominant 1 force? Very aware, because one of the political slogans of the Progressive czslpaign in California was "Break down that political mhchine and do away with the boss who lives at the corner of Scott an2 Broadway." I can still'hear the political speeches being made. .I had. been brought up to feel that thiimachine was corrupt 'i ? I

! Braden: and it must be done sway with. Daniel: Were you enthusiastic about Hiram Johnson?

. braden: Yes. I thought he was a great public servant. He made ! a wonderful speech. Occasionally 1 went down when there

1 were committee meetings called in his office when I was in Sacramento and then I would hear reports also that were brought up by people who had been in his office and who were greatly .impressed. 1 Ganiel: What kind of hearings did he have in his office? Sraden: I remember a 'hearing on vivisection, and the woman who brought her beautiful white dog up to the hearings. She made a plea, explained how she herself was so devoted to her dog that she washed him herself every night. I remember hearing Governor Johnson say, "Madam, don't you weep for the fleas that you kill every night?" He was a man of very great wit and humor. Daniel: Coming back to .your activities, what else was afoot? Braden: There was a magazine, The Survex, to which I subscribed. . I read that carefully. It was.&ellent and Paul

; Kellogg, the editor, was a really inspiring person.

Daniel: Were you a suffragist? w ' Braden: Not a militant one, just .an arguing one. After I -was out of college usan an B. Anthony and Anna Shaw were out . -

! i . - ... *...... Y 95 '. - - . .: __ - . ' . . I i . . . - i . .

Braden: here, and Charlotte stetson -- the great suffrage . ' .

leaders. We went regularly to hear them and I was ' .

. . completely converted by them, .

Daniel: Were most of the girls in your group interested in this . kind of thing, or were you peculiar in this respect? The girls with whom I went to suffrage meetings vent just as a matter of curiosity, I don't think it was . a matter of conviction at all. But I was pretty well converted. Slowly I was being interested in liberal causes. I was very interested in the Webbs and the Fabians. Did. someone suggest you read them? No, I think it vas part of becoming liberal and reading everything I could. You'll find a great many books on "Why I Am A ~ocialist,"by Morris Hillquit.. .I think probably they are outmoded now. What we have accepted now as ordinary doctrine was then radical, 1)can remember a phase when I read Emma ~oidman. And I vas a regular subscriber to' the Child Welfare League of America later and they always sent out a great deal of literature. Then the ~lingerlmdbook was a sort -. of Bible for all of us, we all read it. Of course I read

BraBen: I suppose I had thought of it from the time that I went 11

L.8 . ,. East zr,d worked in the Pilgrim Laundry, and then I came :!. back and decided that the time had come. I wasn't getting my' younger. Dmiel: How old were you?

' : Braden: I took my job in 191). We can work out the arithmetic on that. Caniel: You were born in 1879. You were 34 years old. Wasn't I1 ycur mother nervous because you werea't mzrried? 3rzden: She never made me feel it. You see, the two older sisters had married very young, 2nd then the two next sisters had not married, and I didn't think f would i ! ever marry. I was perfectly satisfied not to. i i I decided that I wvlted to do this work on a professional basis. I thought a long time about it. 4 I I .. 1 '...... -.. i . . _... . 98 . . 1 . . >

araden: It was as much an innovation in qr family as going

, . . to college. was. ' , i : I was the first one in my family' to go to college end I was the first one to suggest that i I wanted a job for money,

', Daniel: ' This was disturbing?

Zraden: It disturbed my mother very much. . In fact, she wept a little bit about it. 3aniel: What did she object to? 3raden: She felt it was a little bit of a disgrace that she wasn't takine care of me. Itwas rather a reflection on the family. I remember very well the reaction I got I I. fron friends of the family who felt that I was doing a I very. unfair thing, taking bread out of the mouth of some poor girl who needed a job. 2zniel: Where did you go and what did you do to get a job? jraden: I spoke to Mr. Astredo, the chief probation officer with whom I was working, and explained that I really wanted a position. He told me of three positions that had been created by Governor Johnson, and suggested that I apply for one of them. He said he would recom- mend me. So I innediately proceeded to do so. hiel: These jobs weren't in the wind?.You just heard about ......

for one because she wasn't known outside of her imediate

I . . . . , ...... _ . , . .._'...... -. . . .. ' . . '.

... .

'Onward, Christian Soldiers,' even you night be won

Sraden: Yes, they were. ,I don't know at what point I becme a

a registered Democrat pow. Daniel: Did your brother continue to be active in politics? 1 Braden: Yes. He's always been very active end interested in

I '. ;

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. . -

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'.--.-.- ..... --*I . - --,--.----.: ---.-" --.------.------.-- .-- --.--*...- -.. -.,-..-- - *-. -* ., ..- . . .- . . , .

politics, and I think he's been very influential. He has a very close relationship with the Chief .Justice. . He's still a Republican? . - Yes, but sometimes he votes right. Did you discuss politics much in your family? My sister Rose became bvery active in the Progressive Party with Mrs. Phil Eancroft. She and Eina -croft became very close friends. They spent days down at the Bull Moose headquarters, and I can still see them walk- . . ing down Scott Street, then standing in front of our house while dinner was waiting, arguing. They were in

agreement zbout everything, though. 'Inever W&S a Bull Mooser, I wasn't a T.R. enthusiast. Did you discuss social welfare problems in the family? Not a great deal. There was a sort of attitude that that was one of the things you didn't talk about. I think I'm one of 'the social workers that has.talked less about socizl work than almost anyone. I stayed very close to my job and I was very interested fn it. I think that's one of the criticisms you can make about social workers, that sometimes they become a little too single- track. They don' t have 'enough outside intertsts.

. .. . .

102

., Sraden: I kept all sorts of outside interests. iIsiel: Getting back to children's agents, the choice was pretty arbitrary? Zraden: yes, it was. Finally I cawht up with Mr, John Francis Neylan, who was chairman of the Board of Control. Daniel: Caught up how, where? 3raden: Here in San Francisco, I tried and tried and tried and couldn't get an appointment with him; finally I did, Daniel: He had office hours in the city? Braden: Yes, And 'I figured it was my persistence that helped most of all, When I met him he painted a very dark picture of what the position enteiled, constant travel, never being at home with your family, and a very rugged life on the whole. I think he did that to scare off sone of the women who had a?plied for the position -d who wouldn't have been willing to leave San Francisco, When I asked him whether by and large my headquarters

probably we'll never send you to San Francisco because we'll send the people who are new in this territory." I didn't give him an immediate "yesn became I was too disturbed at the thought of leaving home, leaving

--.. .-. --* .- -Y.- .-.---. . .-..-- -.a- rr. r- -r- - -;f-~\- -P-..c).------*T -c-.-c~,-Tc.- --TL -- I ' ;den: No, my two sisters were, After my father's death they '. took over completely, There was just the feeling thet I didn't want to leave hone. f remember very well finallv having had a telephone call from Mr, Neylan from Sacra- nento asking me to come up and talk thi~sover with the Board of Control, that they were consid5ring ny appointment, and would I like to come up and talk to him. I went up to Sacramento. I have a very vivid r.ecol- lection of sitting in the room with the Board of Control. . I renember Mr. John Francis Neylan and Mr. Clyde L. Seavey offering me this position, I was arguing the pros an2 cons, 2nd they were mostly cons. Suddenly a reporter froa the Sacramento cae in and said, vfHave . you zny news today?" And Mr. Neylan turned to me and said to ne, "Have we news, Niss Steinhart?" And I said, "Oh yes, I suppose you have." And I remember his saying, - ...... ' ...... -. .. , ...... - :. . . ., .....

. . - 1 . . 104 , ...... 6...... &aden: "That's a very gracious way of accepting one of the' best . . ! '! I positions the Governor has to offer a woman at tnis time." . That evening I went down to a house party in 'rfalnut b ! . . Creek, and I was torn with very conflicting emotions, i . . deiighted to feel that I had an oppartunity ahead.of ,.

, ne of doing some interesting work, adyet very sad at . , . . I1 .! 1 the thought' of- breaking away from hoae as I thought I . I would have to. Within a week I moved up to Sacramento 1 and there met my colleagues, the tvo women a2pointed the i - . same time I was. ! 3aniel: ~eforegetting on with your work at Sacramento, let's stop for a moment and consider Mr. Neylan. . i 3rzden: I know that Jack Neylan was interviewed by your Project. He was an awfully interesting person. My brother was on the Board of Fiegents at the University, and he led the fight against the loyalty oath, appointed there by Earl Warren. So he and Jack Xeylan were like this

-. . cat odds] all the time. And of course 1 had a lot of interesting experienoes with Jack Neylan when he was my chief. He came in a rip-snorting reformer. He was a reporter on the San Francisco Exminer. 8 :! He cam9ait;ned with Hiram ~ohnson-- that's when he met

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,3raden: ' his wife. She's a lovely person. . . , . ; My experience$ with him[laughing] -- I was sort...... of a sap politically. day 'and . . . He cane to me one told , me the Civil Service Commission wanted to put us under civil service,. we had had such good luck in.getting good people for the department. I said, "Oh, let's ~otdo thzt, Mr. Neylan. Let's use our own judgment." He said, "Well, you neet with' civil 'service this after-

noon and tell them so." And I cane in and made my ( ..- ...... speech. The point was that he was.et suordsl points' with the chairman of.the commission and he didn't want us -to go under civil service [laughing], but he used me as the foil. That must have been about 1915, when I. I was made chief children's agent. I hiel: Letts get back to yaw first experiences in Sacranento. Aad you met your fellow worker's before you arrived? zraden: l!o. All three of us were engaged at the same time. It was in August of 1913 that the appointments were mde. I Daniel: iIow did acyone arrive at that magic number of three? aradent I haven' t =y idea. I& was taken for granted at that time that three children's agents would be enough to

I . cover the activities affecting' dependent children of

the state. Ph.D. degrse in economics at the University of Cali- .. fornia and she had excellent recobendations from men in the East like Mr. Prentiss Murphy of 30ston with whom she had worked: and Mr. C.C. Carstens, head of Ij the Child Welfare League of America, an outstanding figure. The other person was Mrs. Clara D. Baker, who had , been the acting, superintendent and president of what I? was considered the best orphanage in California, the Ii 1: Los Angeles Children's Home. It was the most enlight- I: ened orphanage with the most progressive point of view li as to the care of children, something of an innovation 1; in California. California had been dedicated for many years to the idea that needy, dependent children should be cared for in orphznages. This idea was changing, 1 and it was under ths guidance of such people as Miss 1; Katherine Felton and Dr. Jessica Peixotto that a program . of foster hone care of children had been started. In

it I got to know Prentiss Murphy, the great pioneer in the f.ield of child welfare; Mr. Eurphy was as generous as he could be with his tine and had me meet the people who were interested in our field of work when I was in Boston. [A.s.B.]

t ...-. -..7 - -- .Y - -.. ------. -,-- ..* ..- -- - -.r 7.--rr--,------.- ---. ------..--A+--. .*-r--.aZ.-~-'~ any case, Mrs. Baker came with an understanding of the . . . needs of institutional care for children. - We came into the state service facing a long list of institutions' for the care .of needy children. Strange

to relate, they were verr largely orphans or half- ' orphan children, whereas in the present day children in institutions are not in those categories. This proves conclusively how well we have worked out a plan for home care for children, which from the very beginning of our taking office was one of the.ideas which was uppermost in our minds. The first weeks in Sacramento were very interesting, I would say almost ins2iring. We were all fired with great enthusiasm forour work. J:.,r.iel: Was your Sacrzmento agencyealled the children's depart- men t? Srzden: No, we were just known as children's agents of the State Board of Control. Our s.tarting salary was .$175 a month I

bias the highestsalary which had been paid that i which at i time to any social worker in California. A great many ? i . . people thought it was outrageous. In addition to that ? ? 2 we had traveling expenses. i

f !

i ...... 108...... ,

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Daniel: How much were your 'living costs? ...... ' araden.: The first few months Miss Mafthews and I usually took . . , .

an apartment for brief times. . Then when I became the 'chief children's agent I established myself. in the st.

Regis Hotel. Of course, traveling and living were. . so much cheaper in those days. I dontt think I ever paid more than $35 a month for a very comfortable room and bath. Later on I had a little apartment; I think I

paid $85 for a cherming apartuen t, sleeping ' tars, ' living room, kitchen and bath.

' Dzni el: But you had to eat out when you were at the hotel. Yes, but we had an excellent dinner at a hotel at the corner of 10th and K streets for 50L. Whenever we were in Sacramento we went there for dinner. Break- fast we usually had in the c8feteri.a and. breakfast probably cost us 35# or so, 'On the road we had living expenses. Dzniel: What wzs your per diem allowance? Eraden: It was $3.50 which I dontt think I ever spent, :Dzniel: How much were hotel room and bath? . ..

' r 3raden: We were limited to $3.00 a night. It was 83.50 for . . meals and $3.00 for a room. Once I went into Delmonte

. Hotel 2nd -asked for the , commercial rate and got it. By that time it was raised to $5.00 per diem, But we iog

...... always mmaged to liveswithin our allowance, ', ...... Probebly you co~ldget weekly rates? Yes, but we never stayed in many places long bec~use our activities covered such a wide range in every county, How did you get around, in cars? No, we dih't have cars,. 'If necessary we hired buggies, automobiles. I remember going to the top of a mountain in Snnoma County in a horse and buggy driven. by a woman. We stayed in all sorts of queer places, very simple countryhotels, with very little sanitation. But it was en joyable and interes,ting. How did you start your work? Our first job was to set up a file index. Believe it or not, there was no card index. The activity of the old Eozrd of Examiners and the State 9orrd of Control had been purely one of auditing the claims which the . . counties filed every six months, claims for reimburse- ment, for money that had been paid out by the counties for children who were eligible for state aid. Did the stzte auditor determine the validity of these claims? He was supposed to do so. Thej established eligibility which meant that with every application that was filed 3raden: there had to come a proof of death of a parent. That , : established eli5ibility. Then there was some form of 1 - I statement in regard to the means of the fauily, but that was very inadequate, very sketchy. I can remember , I that the applications were kept in a long drawer with an elastic around each county groirp. If you wanted to find out about some particular case in the course of b time you pulled out the county and piled through this 1 group of documents held together with an elastic, until - - you found th5 case. There was 'one auditor in the Board of Control whose special job was to audit claims. And all he did was take out the ~3plicationand check it against the claim. He checked the ages of the children and if he found they had rezched the age of 14 then they would no longer be eligible for state aid. 3sniel: There was no field work?

I 3raden: No field work whatsoever. Daniel: An orphanage made claims through the county? No, not necessarily. Many orphar.ages made direct claims in those days. Individuals had to make claims tbrough county auditors. Besides your file index, you also developed uniform ...... , . .

3raden: Ye worked that out with our accounting department and

time of our appclintment they .were the only p~oplewho . .

county auditors' confererice I went with fear and trem-

were not with the county auditors but with social workers.

3raden: The State lioard of Charities &d Corrections licensed . them 2nd in due course had the right of visiting, but

very hard to maintain. While it was largely an advisory

... . - ._.-.-_ . .-, ----..--C-i-. 0-..- - -'--- +. 7*..-:.- ..---.LI-.---C.-.l:~.---+ 1.-..-.---.*: .- ...-.C--*----,.. -.-*-. - .-- ...- ...... I

1 . , . . .. 112 . . I .. . - ...... , . 1 ...... I . . .' 1' . . -. miel: .To what extent did the charities and corrections visitors I . . consider the care of the children? : . -. - aden: Very carefully. They advised 8nd they tried to set up standards,

3hniel: But they didn't have the power to extend or withdrav. , support? Erzden: Unless the case were very flagrant. They did succeed in closing up one infant asylum in San Francisco whsre

the rate of mortality was about.9N. That was just about the time we came into office. - Jniel: Why did this detailed cor,siderztion of needy children fall directly to the Board of Control? Wouldn't this logically have developed within the Bozrd of Charities 8 and Corrections? I jradcn: It might well have done so, but for some reason or other 1. it never did. That's the only wag I can describe it, Daniel: Do you *mow who might possibly h4ve been responsible for this development? 3raden: I think it was the feeling on the part of the State Board of Control that they didn't want to let this authority get out of their hands. Since they were granting the money they wanted also to have a certain t 1 .. They were a little bit afraid. that it might ; . control. I /. ' get out of hand, I i ! ......

Jeniel: Who was the head of charities idcorrectibns at.that time? Eraden: Stuart A. Clueen was the executive secretary, a very hble ! . - person. There was ath her' Ramm, Rabbi eyer, who was the .. . ( chairman at one time, Dr. ~essica"~eixotto,Mrs. Carrie . . I ' Parsons Bryant -- I don't remember any more right now. 1 1. Oh, Mr. Ben Pendleton. ~on't'letme forget him. Father Ramm was a natural. He was an outstanding person in the Cztholic community, very civic minded,. very influential. The idea was that there must always be a Jew and a catholic and a 'Protestant.. Miss Peixotto was a natural too; she was teaching at the University at that time-and she pi.oneered a great deal in the field of child care in California,. She and Miss Felton really pioneered the foster home program in this state. Mr. Pendleton I think had been president of the Associzted: Charities and was pretty influential politically. He was from Oakland an'd very close to ~issFelton who was head of the Associated Charities in San Francisco. The strong people on the board were Fzther Ramm and Miss Peixotto. I could alwzys go and talk to Father Ramm and get great help from him. He was very friendly to me. Fortunately I had the support of the church in my work. You see, we supervised Catholic institutions...... : . .. . , .' ......

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. , . . .1 . . , .. i 114 . -.:...... 1 . t... . . a. . .' . . i -.. . L . t .... . Braden: I could ring the doorbell at Archbishop Hanna's office . .'. .... , t . ..

.j . and say, "1' d like to see the Archbishop," and tell him ." .. . ' i . . whst was wrong with his institutions. 1 Overnight there 9 wzs a change. That was very gratifying. I think almost I. the best compliment 1 ever had was from a sister who was in charge of the orphanage out on Potrero Hill. She said, '1 don' t always agree with Miss S teinhart, but she always plays with her hands above the table, and- we like it.- Dmiel: Why did a welfare institution develop within the purview of the Bozrd of Control?

I Srsden: It may be possible that the old Board of Charities and Correction's was not willing really to force the issue. But in due course women of the state of California asked to have some supervision,,of the aid fund other than a mere checking up of the financial outgo. That led to the crezting of the positions of children's- agents. 3miel: How did the women make themselves effective is this? ?raden: It seems to ma it was a group that presented the idea to the Governor and urged him to create these positions. All over the country there was an upsurge . .

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. - .. 8.rnc.oit Libtar). . . r:* --ryp: . . :-- .- - -" - - ---= .. - --;.-.-rrr---, 7 -r'.n-" ...-v-.v,..- -.n---.-.--..n. -*.-...--*-..--. -. 115 -

'araden: of interest in the so-called Mothers* pension. I think that had a great dezl to do with it. In many of the counties of California up to that time, in order for a child to get state aid he had to be committed through a juvenile court, And there was an unfavorable reaction to that, especially since there were numbers of other states In which that practice had been completely outmoded.

Dzniel: Dependency and delinquency, in other words, were - - bracketed in this procedure. 3raden: Yes,

. ._ And very interestingly, at the very same time that our positions were crezted at state level, the city and county of San Francisco established what was called a Widows' Pension Bureau. Daniel: This was supplementary aid from the county? No, this was the bureau thst applied for state aid. Dependency was taken out of the juvenile court and placed in the Widows1 Pension Bureau. I think all this

- .. awakened interest in the so-called Mothers ' Pension Act -- a term I have never used because it really is not a pension, But in San Francisco'they called the bureau

Bbnv,@. I ,btq

f 8 . I : * I Braden: the vidows' Pension Bureau and that eventually became 1 i . .

I > the Putlic Welfare Department of Sm Francisco, com-

11 . . biniug all the public welfare of San Francisco. I ---- Daniel: Did the development of a card file of aid recipients take long? Brnden: I think that it didn' t tdce us over ten days of very - -- intensive work. Hay I inject two rather romantic incidents that were the Dutcome of developing this file? We found that there was a family in which two were in one orphanage and one boy in an orphanage in a.distant part of California. By combining our card index we. found that there were this brother and sisters who dib't know of one anotter's existence. There were two I instances in which we were able to unite families, which of itself w2s worth the effort we put in. Dzniel: How did you carve out your territories? 3r~den: There was no real carving out of territories. My first . . assignment was a very controversial case in San'Joaquin County about which'mzny letters were being written. The local county auditor hzd-refused aid to a woman, and there was a good deal of pressure brought to bear.

,to that the, and he had a great influence in working.. out policies. We deferred to Mr. Seavey and haO great.. respect for his opinions, Later he became a member of the State Railroad Conmission, He was quite a liberal on the Railroad Comission. Yes, in a very quiet, determined way, The people I remeaber originzlly on the Soard of Control were Mr. Seavey and Mr. John Francis Neylan. Later a third member wis appointed, I saw changes on the bozrd, people come and go. I fell out completely with one board member who wanted to cut down all our grznts, and Mr. Xeylan called me in and said, "1 hear you didn't get on very well with himan I said, "Noi I didn't." He said, "Well, you know who goes when the subordinzte doesn't agree with his superior." I szid, "Yes, I understand." Later, this poor dear old soul got into some difficulty and resigned. Mr, M~ylancnd I were always the best of friends, though. When he left the board we had a very tearful meeting witkr the board people, and presented him with -- something like that Lincoln up there [etching of President Lincoln and his son ad.]. When there was a ci~sngeof abinistration Mr...... 0.3. ~anielscane .on. ye had been an Oakland .newspaper ':; . . publisher -- that was in the Richardson 'days. He was' a ' ' . . . . . fine sup2or ter of aqything that 'I asked for. Besides child and family service, you paid a good deal of attention to aid-granting grocedutes. I should say there was a great deal of unevenness in the grariting of aid. For instance, tlrere was one (aunty in which aid was 'granted only in the form of grocery orders, and' there was a delightful entente between th:3

grocsrptn in the county and ' the board of supervisori.

We had to threaten .there . that we would withhold. all zid unless this were .changed. And it worked out very effectively -- they saw the light. There was no supervision at all of the families in certain counties. We worked very h,ard toward the estsblishment of some form of county supervision,. the appointing of social workers in each county. T remember . one coutg in particular in which a woman held sway. She was very harsh with people, and yet figured as the lady benevolent of the community. We.had to work with her for a long .time. but eventually she was replaced by an excellent and understanding social worker who had . . Sraden: a sympathetic approach and understood the proper tech- nique of rahabili tation. . . Daniel: You mentioned that your first assignment was in San Joaquin County. What was the outcome. and what did you . . - do after that?

3raben: It was obviously a case in which there was need and . there was no question of our granting a grant in aid. Daniel: Did emergencies hare prior claim on everyone's time? araden: Yes, energencie,~first, ecd then into counties regard-

- - .. .- . . . . -- . . ..-. . . .- - --...., less of location. I hap2ened to be sent into Nevada County. There I hzd my first awareness of how the

sans calamities, trasedies, were a'ffecking families. .. -. In Nevzda County I should say that the mhjority of women who were getting aid, and somewhat inadequate aid at the time, were women whose husbands had died of.miners8. consumption or men who had been the victims of industrial accidents. In those d.ays the Stqte compensation Law had not been in effect for any length of time so it . . had not shown an impact on the grants in aid. I came home vith the fe.eling that here was a group of people

whom we mSast treat with every consideration.' -. -, Daniel: Vhat possibilities were there for chznge? - grated while the father was living and probably re- covering in these hospitals. That was a very significant change in the law. Maybe the reason thkt I went into Nevada County was that there was an orphanage in Nevada County, and it gave me an opportunity to visit the orphanage. Daniel: You hed started straight off with the idea of visiting ' . I:-every orphanage? braden: Yes, this was because there was great doubt in the minds of people as to 'whether children were being unnecessarily ! . .

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7 3raden: sent into orphanages who could be left at home with their parents, and there was some'question of the standards under which the children were being cared for. Fortunately this orphmage in Nevada county in ~rasliValley was &ery i well supervised and diets were adequate. ~ltogethera friendly relationship was developed in that orphanage. And yet at this very time we found a child there

.. who had been most frightfully scarred by the explosion of an oil lam?. Her mother died in the fire that resulted. . . She was one of the first children we brought to the ~niverzity' Hospital. The ilastic surgery that was given her covered a period of, oh, two years. Even now to this day I hear from her occasionally. She's happily .merried and has a child. It's one of tinose fairy tales that really worked out. Visiting orphanages was a very interesting experience . for us.. We were still at' the point where we were eager .'

. if necessary to da casework with individual children. If we found a child in need of sQme special treatment, some special care, we were in a position to handle that as one of.our responsibilities. In due course we were ab'le to persuade the Board . . Braden: of Control. to appoint nurse..= to the' department, and a psychologist who went into institutions. Daniel: How many orphanages did you visit in your first year? 3raden: I think I visited a great number of then as we moved about. Of course there was one in Sacranento, a very excellently-run in.?titutioa which we ~isited frequently; one in Vallejo to vhich I went one day a week probably for three months. A very unfortunate incident had h~ppenedthere which was surrounded with a great deal of mystery. It concerned the disappearance of a.child. I was delegated to go down and ferret this out, an abost cloak and dagger job. Happily we were able to establish excellent rapport with the board of directors who were' just as concerned as we were about this incident, and they worked with us day by day trying to ferret out vhat had really happened. The superintendent was very cooperative, too. Also. in those days there were very frequently reports of a child having been whipped. It would usualiy come through a parent who lodged a com@int. Dsniel: Then the Board of Control would respond.. Braden: Yes, and send their agents in. They were always cases .- . -. - .

I ,i 1i i . 123 I . .! . . . . I I . I . . I in which state aid was being granted. Every orphanage . . . !, ' . I. -. in California was receiving'some 'form of stat;, aid.. . i How did you develop your relationship with couniiieas? Did you have to interpret yourself, or did your prestige go before you? There was prestige, naturally. The body that -gives the . , funds has prestige. Sometimes I was a little bit embarrassed by the prestige which I seemed to carry when I went into a county. I think there was a slight feeling of terror at our coming, possibly, but we had. been told that we were not an investigating agency,' that 'we were to be a helpful agency. Thet was the attitude of the Board of Control. So we were really indoctrinatsd with the idea of being helpful instead of being critical, and yet at the same time demanding certain standards.

What about your standards? Had the Board of Charities . and Corrections developed them for you? Yes. The Board of Charities and Corrections had developed standards, but being the fiscal agency we had greater power to, enforce them than a purely advisory agency.

-...... *-.' ---- **.-r.-,..-..:-v.:.---e I-- _ ,.. , . . +----.-?I. ~ ~ rs - ~ d ~ -

Did the ~ntholicinstitutions at that time have parsonne'l - with more background? I should say not in the early days. Was there any group of institutions or any one institution that was outstanding? . . I should say that almost the first institution to appoint a reslly well-trained person was the Hebrew Orphanage in San Francisco.

You aust rewember one thing, that when we went into office most of the institutions were not on a cottage plan. There were la.rge dormitories, large dining halls. These were private institutions? Oh yes. There had always been great opposition to state or?hmrges of any kind. The first institution was established because of the sinking of a ship outside of , the Golden Gate. The shipwreck had left some of the children homeless so an orphanage was set up on the site of. the present Palace Hotel. A luinp sun was grznted by the state. That was when the constitutional affiendment was made granting aid to children. The various sectzrian groups took for granted that it was their responsibility to take care of needy . .

... . .

. . t . . I . . 126 i ! . . . i araden: children, and the stzte of .Ca?ifornia followed: along and . -. gra~ltedaid to them. Catholic and Protes t-t orph~nages were establisced. The Protestant orphanage was in Happy ? -- Valley. I haven't beeh able to discover just where

Happy Valley was but,it was' part of San Francisco. In I:' those days there was soze mention made of the need for home czre for children as well as for the establishing . . I of orphanages. In 1855 the Protestant orghanage had grown so quickly that they decided that they must have better puerters. There were two blocks belonging t'o the city of San Francisco which were sold at public huction for $100. The Spring Valley Water Compzny donated stone I from n neighborhood quarry to build the orphmage. I This is now the site, on Buchanan Street, of the University Extension, I should say that most of the orphanages were Catholic. The Presbyterians had only one orphanage as 1 remember. There was one Nethodist orphanage. And there were different orders of Catholic sisters. The German Dominicans ran beautiful institutions. There was one in Ukiah, and how it lmded up there we don't know because that seemed rather remote.

- - The Sisters' of Charity had two institutions in S& Fra~ciscoon the Potrero Hills. In Southern Cali- fornia the Dominicans had an institution in ~mtaAna whizh was the same type as the institution in Ukiah. The Salvation Army had an institution in Lytton, Sonoma County. That was the only institution which was on a cottage plan of any txpe. Our relaticnship with that institution was excellent. They welcomed any supervision, any suggestions, they welcomed any examination of their children. our psychologist livecl in the home for a tine. Our nurse lived there for a time and set up a plan for examination of children. We had one very interesting experience. There

was bn epideaic of nalaria in one-of the northern counties. They were very eazer to kn0.r the effect of this epide~icon chilaren and asked us to lend them our psychologist to make a study. There w2s a report made [by Dr. Kate or don]. How did you arrange that? Did you lend her and did they pay you something for the service? Oh, kt was a service that we gave them. I think I'm safe in saying that by degrees there had been a survey , . . . , . - ...

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&den,: from a child hygiene point of view of'-every institution . i . . in Califcrnia in wllich we were interested. . Daiel: To what extent did you duplicate work which may have . . been under taken by the ~oaid'of Charities and Corrections? I 3rzden: What we did had never been done before. But we did .it purely as a pioneering job so as to set up standards to train institutional directors as to what their responsibility was.

I. Paniel: Did your early investigations turn up many abuses of the aid program? 3rzden: I don1t think we found a great many cases in which it was i being granted incorrectly. Let me say that when we went I into a county to study the children who were on the aid to needy children we also visited the families or the

' . parents of children who happened to be in an orphanage. That was one of the results of setting up a card file; we coordinated the groups. I Personnel ' : . . I:Daqiel': July 1915 you becme chief agent. What changes were i there in personnel?

i Braden: When Miss Matthews retired, hiss Pope from Sacramento was appointed. Daniel: Had she any particular background in socia: work? Braden: No, but she becam2 a very valuzble member of the -depart- ! ment and eventua.11~was in charge of what were lmoun .as Child Welfare Services, part of the federal program of aid to children.

3211iel: As you took it over you must have had some plans in mind, Braden: The first plan I htid was. to try to. persuade the Board . of control to let me appoint a nurse to the department who had a social service background. They inmediately saw the value of this appointment, Daniel: Why did you do this? I 8 Braden : I felt we had to begin with, fundamentals, and that was - . health...... , ...... :;i:. .

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...... : . Daniel: Why didn't you think in terms bf cmployiw.'a physician I . .

to do physical exeninations? -. I araden: I thought that if we had a well-trained public health nurse she could first of all go into institutions and . . set up standards for child care. Th.is seemed exceedingly important. I remember thinking it over and talking it over with the secretary of the State Board of Health

. and asking his advice. He told me that there. ha.d been I: ... a course in public health and social services at the' --- I. University of California, and advised me to interview ... two outstanding students in the course. One of them

. . was Miss ~enevaOrcutt, and I didn't have to think twice. -. I: She was a graduate of San Francisco -Hospital and had I been in the San Francisco School Department as school 1: nurse. She had a very &inning personality and s tre- I: mandous inter.est in children. She was in~ediately appointed. We felt that we aight face opposition frcm the or- 1. phanages because of our plans to exanine their children. But due to Kiss Orcutt's persannnlity thare was never any . . I difficulty. Daniel: Orphanages had,not examined their children?

araden: . No. In most cases a physician in the neighborhood was

. , . . ., . * ...... B called if there was an illness, but there was no routine exmina tion. We conferred very frequently with the secretary of the State Board of Health and it was with their callabor- ation that we introduced .our medical examination blanks ,, into the institutions of California. Have you some comment about other personnel appearing in the 1916-1918 report? klat about Reba Ingals? She was an R.N. who had worked for the San Francisco

Associated Chari.ties &qd hzd done casework here' as well , as hcving had nurses' training. Whzt about Elizsbeth L. Eshleman? Shewzs the wife of the late Jack Esh1en;an who had been lieutenant governor of California under Hiram Johnson. She was a University graauate. and when he died she was appointed to the department. klas her college work applic2ble to the department work? Not.especizlly. She was the mother of four children, an intelligent person. Idhen the San Francisco Jewish Orphanage asked for a special survey, I assigned Mrs. Eshleman to mzke it and she did an excellent jcb. Edith Leslie Shepherd was an R.W. and e trained social worker. Isebella Pirie was'an R.N. and a trained ments. For many years it was thought that anybody who was just kindly disposed could do social casework. kt first I had objected to civil service because we had been so fortunzte in our appoint~ents,but ultimately we went under civil service. 9aniel: Miss Pope and Mrs. Eshlemn were the only people without special preparation. Sraden: Miss Po~every generously says that I trained her. She was very trainable and a fine person. There was a time, when the University was developing a course in social welfare, that we wereinvited to I' speak to classes to tell something about our work. Daniel: Did you know Barbara Nachtrieb Armstrong? Sraden: Yes. When the so.ci.al insurance ccmmission was appointed they asked me to be the secretzry, and I liked my child welfare job so much that I said, "No," I didn't want to give it up. They suggested that maybe I could carry both,:,and I consulted Mr. Weylan and he said, "No, you can1t .carry both, not possibly, but if you want to keep gracign: a permanent job you keep your child welfare joben Which

I did. Then Barbara was appointed. I worked very closely ' with her; she used our files as the basis of a great deal . of her statistical work. Also I got to know Dr. Rubinow very well, who came out here as their special advisor. He was the authority on social insurance in those days. Daniel: Was Emily Huntington working wi:h that group then? 3raden: No. That was later. I never got to know her really well, but I knew Barbara very well. Daniel: Did you talk to her about social insurance? Sraden: Oh, yes. I was wedded to the idea, I believed in it so strongly. And of course Barbara did a much better job than I would ever have done; she really did a msgnificent job. She is authority on social insurance. ilaniel: Was how you became interested in socizl insurance through her? "crzden: No. I just got to know her through her work in social insurance; I hadn't known her up to then; I didn't know her in college. [~a~:~hin~]In fact, I remember Dr. Peixotto saying to me, "Well, Barbara Nachtrieb is the secretary of the Social Insurance Commissi~n,~and I I I '.I Braden: said, "And who is she?" ~hich'wassacrilege because she was so well known in college, Daniel: Also you developed library lists. How? Did you meet , . . . with some enthusiasm? ... . . I think we did and we had cooperation from the state library. One of the very interesting opportunities that was afforded us, being established in Sacrenento, was to establish a relationship with other state organizations and institutions. This was very helpful. In those days the state library had a library school in Sacranento.

It ls now concentrated at the University, but in th,ose days the state library ran its .library school, and I was invited to talk to the librarians and tell them something sbout our work and how they could be of assistance to us. Daniel : What newspaper did you subscribe to? Zraden: When I lived in Sacramento I read the &, which was a very good newspaper. Of course I knew all the newspaper reporters who came into the office. s hey were very conscientious about not using a story if I gave it to them and said, "Now, this must not go into .print. * ...... -......

. mde e beautiful story, but .I vouldn' t let them use it.

Institutions

Braden: Meanwhile, administrative steps were taken in tine department, and we made certain recomraendations, One for was -- ..- - - . . instance the State Federation of Wozen's Clubs became interested in vocational. training for handicapped

crip@d children. Daniel: These children were too crippled to go to regular public

SC~OO~S. .

would have meant a great deal. We wereable to bring

bn~.-~f?libt.,, D . ...- ---. . .--. -:.------.. T- .- -.r*----.- -.-.. --.--.... .-.-. - --r..- -.-r. . 4-.. L--..- ..- -.-*,-r Ia.- -.- - ......

. - . -- .

days every institution taok in any child tkt vss in the neighborhood.

going into one institution thrt wzs serving the children

bnrnk Ub,

.- - ... . -- -. -. . .- . . .. -. C-.-r:--?. C. -.- - - . . ---...... -.--.- . <;.. -.-. -.- .---- .*:- z .. ...-aT, .-,-..-- --7--.- -. Braden: sausagesevery time 1 was there for a meal. of course ' we were always present at -meals. Ultimately our workers 1 and Miss arcutt lived in the institutions for periods of time. An exceedingly monotonous diet wes served in many of them. We made some changes in record forms. The original

application would be a museum piece now, there was so little on it. Then ultimstely we developed a suffi-

I ciently elaborate form that our applications cculd be

used'as a basis for study by the Social Insurance Corn- nission, which was established in the days of !iiram Johnson. I can remember very vividly a larae crew

. . coming into' our office &d getting a great deal of their . statistical data from our a?plication blank...... A medical exmination forn was developed in connection with the Bureau of Child Hygiene. Dznisl: In the 1916-1918 report you began to urge investigation in the case of every addition to an orphanaee.* What

< pushed you into this? 3raden: The fear that children rnigh.t be unneoessurily ins3itu- tionalized, whereas foster care or hone care or sgne other * Resort of the Children's Deliartrent, State Board of Control, 1916-18. Appendix to Journals of Senrte end Asse!nb.ly: For ty-third session 1919, Reports Vol. 6...... - .-......

. .

children, who are

ion, .and often a institution not

ir domestic problems. ges because of

. .

f. .. ' -. :. - ...... :. . '. ' . ,......

seen in your repqrts a statement about children under

tionalized.

Daniel: What support did you have for this idea? Sreden: I think there was a'pretty general feeling sbout it. . You 'see, biass~chusettshas set the standards in so many of the practices of child care, many of us got our ideas

Mr. C.C. Carstens and Mr. Prentiss Xurphy, who had set the standards. I wlil say on the other hand that we were able to . .

the so-called Mothers1 Pension was because our regula- us than theirs weree Daniel: kt this time you embarked on a,search for the causesof degendency. .

k-* Lib,.,,

! P1. ' _ __C .. . ..: ... '-----.-- - .-.-.- - I-I--r--+.~...u * r*-:(.rur -*-.-7--, - y,,-...-.* ------. -. - - . . . . jraden: mental find our "why." 1 remember setting up a:'. table, asking some of the agencies to tryand cooperate . .

with us, but they didn' t have ' the time to follow it...... Jsniel: What did you want them to observe? . - jrsden: I wented to firrd out if the cause of dependency had been illness or mental deficiency or whatever. To get a grasp of the contributing factors? Sraden: Yes, h~vinga utopian idea that we might eventually do sway with dependency by getting at causes. You were trying to develop physical and mental evaluation techniques in your inquiries?

3raden: I think it was pretty much mental because we did find . . too many defective children' in institutions. 3aniel: What die you hsve in mind about tuberculosis preventoria? \ 1: 3raden: Oh, that really was a very interesting experience. 1n II working very closely with the Surearl of Tuberculosis we I found that there were children in some of our institu- I tions, especially in Southern California, who were tu- .berculous. There wzs one institution in Southern Cal- - . 1i ifornia where the, educational facilities were none to3 good. It was a grcup of Italian nuns and although they ! took very good care physicall'y of ch'ildren they didn't . . . -

Daniel: Could you explain a bit more about your 'interest in Amer-

B*n-tl :.brcrl

I -"--:. -.- -_.. . . - .. -- , ---.. -.-.,+- .. ..-..--..a-.. - . :.- ,--. - .---.---.. .-.---,,.v---F."--.-..L-*.-..- . -.-.- -.. -. . . - .- ......

. . I 142 ! . . . . -. ! ' ...__ ...... ,. . . ! ......

' &adan: I think that th; need has disappeared at the present . ..

time, but, in those days--it was needed in the institu-. . ' . ! . . tions which were run by sisters of foreign orders who . . themselves had not become thoroughly Americanized, who i

were kindness personified but were as foreign as the day , i thsy arrived here.

a Prom where had the sf sters come? . 3raden: This particular group had come from Italy. There were

, German sisters, too. Very-many of the Dominican ~isters were German, but tney-were a more adaptable group. Some i : of the Dominicans were ~isterswhohad been trained in ! .8 the United States, whereas all of the ItaLizn sisters i

I were trained in Italy. I ,i Daniel: How long .did it take to get the children ouk to public ! schools? Brzden: Some of them continued their own schools almost up to the 1920s. Daniel: Did ths children go out to a parochial school? 4 1 ! ,, Braden: They would go to a scl~bolwithin. the institution. 1 . Daniel: Didn't the sisters ever relinquish their educational work? a Braden: No. That doesn't apply to all of the orders, but to

certain of the foreign orders. it. did apply. , Janie.1: Is this the only situation in which an Americanization f* 1 .. . . I j i I

' . .

L#lai,-.,.. . -, .. - G.-,. :. .. .. 7'. " .-. %?-..'-----v-.------..- . . '.?"*.-~~&...--.-.,~*:.-*=-.. me--.. TT-~-.-).*C.; ~.C.II---.~-~~-r.r..C ...... , ...... - . . . , ..

Braden: I would say so, yes.

.... - -.,

. . ;.

... :...... 1 . :...... * .- .. . , ,...... Y "" Y----. --- d ~

. . 144 ,. . . . . I ...... jreden: toinstitutions.' The per capita grant at that tisa was 3100 a year for a.whole orphan child and 575 for a half-

.' orphan or an abandoned child. - . As ewly as 1883 the old Board of Eraminers s2oke df . . the need of some investigation of these orphenages, especially their f insncial aspects, There is no evidence

thz t .my investigation was mede. . . 352iel: What stimulated this feeling? . I.rzdtn: Just the fact thrt the grants were increasing very greatly, and they. were atrare that thsre should be some check on the money fhet vas being.expended. In 1307 their duty to investigate the social- aspect surromding these children . who were getting ,gra.nts fro3 the stste was .extended. 3sniel: \?hat do you think they msailt by lls~ciala~pect?~

...-. -I 3rsden: The conditicns under which the children were living in hozes and also in institutions.' Up to ttlrst tizc there had been jus,t a routine check-up of the fiscal grznts, znd that wzs 211, But even then there is noevideace of anyboey's being appointed to carry this out. Only the

.. . su~gesti011 was made. Then in 2.903 the Board of Charities and Ccrrections - was creatsd;. however, it wes biven orrly advisory juris-

......

8.n~-F

-... >._. --_< . . . .-.' _ ---,- ...... *.*-- --.- --..m*s-hr.,-w .-y . ,... -.--.-- --.?-,wv -. - diction. In 1911-0 -. Before we pass 1903, when the Eoard of Ch~ritiesand Cor- rections was givsn supervisory' jurisdiction, what.. seasures, if any, edi3inistrztivelys were. initiated to ' fmplenent the idea of ~u~ervision? They had to- be very caref~lbecause they were so li~ited by legal enactments that they just coule sugervi~eand zdvise, and theyhad a very snzll stzff. Then in 1911 the Board of Chsrities and Corrections was given the power to license and supervise privzte cilarities end insti tutions receiving state and cour.ty out-~elief, If an orgznization were not licensed, it could not receive - - .- . money frcm the stzte. Fiarthern:ore, every organizztion h~dto be licensed rcgardlrss of whether they were receiving state money or not. In 1911 the State ~ozrdof. Exmiiners becsrne the St~teEozrd of Control. In 332 the Stste Board of Control nsntione2 the need for a closer supervision of applications for aid -znd asked for one investigator. This waS m offi- cia1 re2ort. Then there followed in 1913 the appointment of the three children's agents. Fron then on we have a pretty clear picture of wnat the children's agents activities were.

&nuoft lib,.,,

.-.r. r- -y-tr rrm.v~---.-v .-.w-y-. *-.-.%.?F7-?*.?. -?.-r-~-~,-,y.----.-.--.--- ......

illiiel: Vhbt about' the relhtion of the childrents agent. to ' ,. .

children's services in the Eoard of. Charities and Correc- . tions?

;raden: In their report of 1916 and 1918 ' the 3oard of -6harities and Corrections mentioned the need of combining the two.

departsents [~horities and Corrections, and Children @ s De?artsent, Board of control] *a-der the general supervision of a bozrd of public welfare.

Originally srilen the legislation was introdaced into tha hcuses in Sacrauento.to effect the appointment of children's agents, the State Bozrd of Choities adCorrec-

tiom hzd lok.bied in 02~ositionto such apgoint~ents; feeli~gthzt they would be involved only in curtailing the granting of aid, thzt their position uas too close to th2 fiscal body of the state, and that there would

be only ul effort to curtail exsenditure. So they actively opposed the a?poin tmefits of supervising children's agents. Imediately thzt built up a feeling of antagonism on the part of. the 3oard of Control to the 3oard of Chari- ties znd Corrections, uhich hovered over our heads for same years. Saniel: Did you hive direct liaison? irzden: Yes. I parsonally mtde a point' of keeping in touch with . .

. . jr=jen: the State Board of Charities kind Corrections. 1:1 Yas there some one parson with whom you had a goocf relationship? - ?*aden: Yes, I felt 1 had a very good relationship with Dr. Jessice 3eixotto. Vhenever we h2.d any innovation to introduce I tried to keep them Mormed in regard to it. A number of tines they caae to Sacr=ento to interview the Stzte Board. when they czne before the convening of the

legislature we zlvays told them the enactments and wend- ments that we had in mind. I'1 Did they make suggestions to you in turn about measures which intsres ted them?

3r;dsn: Yes, they did. Bid you then pursue a separete course in your legislative programing, or did you sometimes combine forces? No, there was very little legislative activity on the part of the board of Charities 2nd Corrections. Legisla- tive efforts were very lsrfely individual and not through organizations. I think Miss Felton was very active as a

person. . . Szpposing Dr. Peixotto had a? interest"in a certain kind of service. Woulc? she be lik61y .to see to it that np- \ propriate legiglation be formulzted to carry out such an ...... , ......

tions of welfare? . .

subject to legisletive enactment. The State 3oard of . .

Delnr tasnt shoilld be responsible for tll insti tutiond which h3d twenty or sore children on state aid, that the Board

a considerable mount of overlapping. But occa~ionally'

. . Ia~~crrltLibrav

-.r.r.. -.-,.- ,-*. :r.r-..;n-cr ..--.----, *.- -I-.-*-,-.- :....--p-.- r.-..-...-.y1-ip.-p7.-- ... . . ~.W.r'-.-?-' F - . .. . .

.. : 149 ' . . .

'4iden: and brought charges against the institution. Ye joined forces in our invest'igation. 1. . ! Would you consider then that the children's Departnient of .,Enicl: , . tho ~onrdof Control took a more active part thzn Charities and Corrections in formulating suitable legislation as it . , seemed to becolne necessary? I seemed to me thzt it did. I hope I'm not prejudiced, But I do feel thet we did introduce certein radical pieces of legislation, and I feel that we couldnot hsve done so quite so successfully if we hs.dnVthad the backing of the Stzte Board of Contr$l because in every case an increased

' ex2enditure of state funds was involved. Would you explain more fully some legislation you mentioned earlier' abcut raising the age limits for aid? The first piece of radical legislation was to increase the age of eligibility'fron 14 to 15, later to 16.

That was radical? Oh yes, it was. I don't how how many children it involved. I haven't worked that out, But thdt was quite a change. Why sk:ould you want this chnge? We didn't want children to have to go to work at 14. The child labor laws h~dcilanged, So we felt it w8.s very imbortant to increase the ake for receiving aid, He ......

. .

. . 150 . ..

.: ~~lden:wanted to keep children in school, too. The first report ' that was made r'ecom:lended an increase in aid, but, no . . . . sction was taken. Then .the next re?ort was my first resort as the chief children's agent, and it was in this report th~tI urged th-t the age be increased from 14 to 15. So the 1egisl.ition was in

2 : Sxzctly how 9id you accomplish this? 3raden: I appeared before the zenate 2nd assenbly ccmittees. I

was very careful to give oar bills to people I hew would I, fight for tnec, who 'understood social need. And I was always asked to aypazr.before the cswittees and to ?re-

sent the areuaents in favor of a. .ch-nge...... 3aniel: How did you repzre your material? 3raden: Ye were able quite e~silyto make.ar,'esti~teof what the cost wogld be beca-ASSxe hcd figures as tc the ni;mber of children thzt ntgh: b? involved with a few additional ones. 3ut I found that the direct h-ann aipeal, mybe a little. . . bit of a sob thrown in, alvzjrs won the supp?rt of the mnbers of the legiglatilre. And I ho=e thct I'm not exaggerating this, but I do feel thaS we were able always

? : to interest the me~bersof the legislzture'ic what we vere

. dcing. One year there was a genere1 leveli~off. It was

zn ec~nomyaGdnistration, and our bgdget uzs curtailed very greatly. The Borrd of .C~nt,rolinsisted that' I go

Ban-P Libre7 C :--- ..---.-,--. .. . - :.- ..,. . . -- --,--.-. -..* --.-.- -.--- ,-.-. -.-...---., -,-*-*.fl*- ..., ---,.-* ,---&----". .-.,. .------.:. . . - :.

. . . - 151 . .

jraden; and present our case before the legislature. I talked in ..-- terms of specific cases and specific needs and hnd no difficulty in having the entire cut restored..

\ When we made the si~nificantadvances in our program,----- requiring chznged legislation, we went before commit tees 2nd presented ox plans, and everything passed as we - ,, wanted it to pass. We had to make an amendraent to the constitution of the state of California when we put into effect our grants to the children of incapacitated fathers, for instance. > aut we had no difficulty in gettina that through. Daniel: You once recornended thzt all children's work be placed in the hands of a children's bureau. . _ 3raden: Yes, I felt very strongly that the time had come when

the state of Celifornia should have a children's bureau i: where all the activities for children be centralized. 1. But I did not succeed in that. . Dlniel: Here was one case of lobbying -that was beyond you.

.': baden: It was beyond me because there were powerful influences

. . that were opposing me, and there was a group that wanted

a separate bureau of child hygiene with A physician in charge. The State Board of Control felt that there

...... : ...... ' . .' ...... :. . , ......

' idea died aborning. 3miel: It was premature.

It was to be patterned somewilat' efter thk federal children's bureau.

service groups?

:I'

I.1 ......

. .

. '-'-

-.I,... 6anmfc 1:b-rv !: 3 . , _...-. '---. -.--...rr.-.: .-*-~.-.- '--. . -*< p..rrg- .. - . . '. Y--..3-.-..91p.p*~1-*~_1---,:~-"r.:-* . . Was there much friction between state aid personnel .md .. the county supervisors? . . Ona of the steps that we alweys took when we went into a county to make a study of the children in the county getting 'state aid wzs to appezr before the board 'of su2er- visors and discuss policies with them, our desire to have a better stanhard, 8nd our eazerness to have the county su2plement the state aid. If a case hzd to be withdrawn we a1v:ays explained it to the members of the boar2 of supervisors, so we mmaged to take them along with us. The county auditors were people who had been in their work for a long time... Oh, yes. They were bookkeepers, meny of then without any s~ecialtraining for the jobs they had. But many of them had really becone interested in the orphan aid. Hiel: And these people in turn had relationships with the legislators? Yes, and tney had .zmnuzl neetings to which they invited us. And one thing they discovered about the children's agents was t'nzt we never played politics with a case. Ye didn't allow cases to remzin on the state aid list if they were not in need. Up to that time I feel very sure . . . .

of aid. Ve coald not be held down by a bud-

be taken care of.

%. -<,.-<. .p-..,-- -'-v.>- "..-*w--.-.!,. ,*---* -.*--.-...-.r 9--. - -.-.---... --,.-..-- ...... * . . ..----- . . . . !miel4 : With whom did you first work? :.-'. 1 Eradan : We worked with the University of California with Dr. a*rd . . .I Mrs. Jaffa. Dr. Jaffa was connected .with the State Board of Health in an advisory capacity, and it so happened 1* that tke Jaffzs were old-time friends of my family. J So Dr. Jaffa dropped into our office to greet me and we I I develo2ed 'this plan of the "Jaffa" budget. ! i Daniel: . How did he develop his figures? 4 1 Eraden; They were devlloped on the.act-u-1, nutritionr-1 needs of ....._.. .. _ . .- : . ~ . ? children. Ye always included clothin;, housing and i 13 rnedical care in our budget, but it was presamed at that-, 4. I 1 time that a child could be -adequately supported.on $10.00 I a month. 'de realized very soon--in one of the recoumenda- tions in one of the reports I asked that the eid be increzsed on the basis of t.hs size of a faxcily, that a larger grant per child be made to a small faily than to the larger fa~ily,but this clfd riot go into effect until the federal government cme in with its subsidies. 3'jsniel: Then the Jaffa budget were the first figures with which ! you worked in developing your-re~uestsfor funds? 4 ijraien: Yes. 5 nil: were' there any other budgets in the country which y(IY .,

cotlld consult? These h~.dto be based on local 'buying ...... '*';. possi bili ti.ea. ' .. . . . i . y - ...... _-. ! ' 4 . . 1 i i .

I amount of cash which a womm mii;ht hold, and yet receive

tution. It see~edto me th~tthey were so far behind us that it wa.s not worthwhile to spend too much time there.

I I That was the ssne trip on which we c?ecided that we would t

i . like to see preventoria for the care of tuberculous chil- -. . i -. I dren ee tablished. i 1 -; . . ?I . . '. .. . j ! . d ...... :.--' . . .-. . -. ,. . .

, 7 y : , . m . . ;1 i. ..,. . I...i i i Bmm* ::I.,.~

-. .,. ..- -. . - . . .- . - ... .- .. .-:-:.,- ...-.-.-. ..-.- ..-,-:-.-.----.- -- CI--- ,.. .-.r---.. ----. ' ..------.. .------'--3 .---.- -- at the University Hos3ital. It was interesting to ae to go through that legislative activity because the head of the University Hospitsl at that time wanted only.

childred who were interesting tesching cases. It was Sobert Cordon Sproul who cane into the office on2 day with the head of the University ~os~ital,and I made an urgent plea for children who were not necessarily interesting teaching cases, and the combined eloquence of Dr. Sproul aad a word from me put throqh quite a

sizezblc sum of money which we used for bringing children from outlgin.5 counties. This was .a drawing fund. Yes. Before this tine how had you =aaged to arrange for the financing of care? We had to bes; we h~dto go on our knees and ask for free beds. In so msny of the outlying counties there was bractically no adequate county hospital, md so no hope - . ..

already in -existence, but wiihout su?@rt.

Then in 1920 1 urged the legi~lat~onwhich exenpted

thet shonld be exempt2d fron taxation. I hkd the bzcling of Mr. Clyde Seavey, viio was a tax expert, ths menbers of

imediately used for the housing of needy, de?endsnt children. That bill went into effect adhas remined in effect ever since, Also in 199 we worked out a helpful bit of caopera- . ... ,

to commandeer hospitsls; to'.close ~g inadequate housing

for people suffering from influenza. . .

County,. when I got in touch with thz health 'officer, he

hos2itz1 he had was zn old rm-do~nhotel near the ststion.

which had boen a very large, a very fashionable hotel,

lives. I phoned immediately to the secretary of the 3oard

Rafael, He urged me to go ahead end I dii so that after-

the Hotel Rafael. There was an angle to t'nis vhich wasvery interesting. It turned out that the Hotel Rafael was owned by an alien some way in this mortgage, So the-next norning one of the epidemic the Board of Control was without a telephone

yourself. It was a time when you were trying to save .. lives .in a hideous epidemic.

versizl issue.

. .

L. I 161

I : Yes, there was a noticesble increase. f -miel: What did you do ebout it? . - . rhadent We acquired more agents and went out and accepted these a I I cases just as quickly as we could. I think these were some of the significant pieces of

II legislztion we introduced, increasing the age from 14 to . J 1t 15 to 16, taking on an sdditionzl ostegory of parents, I and increasing the mount of aid. A r~ziel:Did you develop relationships with other agencies in the 1 i state? haden: I should say that we esteblished a very happy relationship 1 i with the Board of Heslth, with the Board of Education when we were working on this plan of vocetional training. At i oae point we sent Dr. Kate Cordon, our psychologist, ! into Shasta County when they were making a study of the ,! effect of malaria on the intelligence quotient of children; :! 4 we loaned Dr. Gordon to then at that tiae.

9 Ij Being in Sacraniento was a great advantage because it mzde it possible for us to know the peo~lein state ser- f I vice and estzblish a relationship with then. At one point I j the Industrial Accident Co~missionwanted a study made of - 4 certain farilies in remote counties who were getting the 5 1 benefits of the industrial accident co~pensation, Our i 1 i ' 1 I C

1 I 1

bn-fl Lnbraty ...... _ ...... , ...... , ...... ': ......

' them a list of such fmilies which had not been contacted

trial Accident Comission,

Ws discovered that they were hewing to the old idea of

heyear I happened to go to the State Pair and there was

program which w~uldmeet with the a2proval of the child

Child Hygiene, ...... 2 , ...... - 9 '. . .

sicians, and our nurses were on -hand to help with the . weighing azid measuring.

that they translated the billletin of the Fe.dera1 Children's . .. .

Society gave a special luncheon at which the governor

State Fair Commission, especially the one from Bakersfield,

nents to the Japanese, and the Japanese serving refreshments

on a fashion show in the afternoon. We did everything .. . . .

. . . .. 154.'. . .: ......

. ,

3bte Fair wera told ni more of that. -

Taxpayer 03nosition

, i , l~iel:-. Hov had your relationship with Chzri ties and Corrections . I. 8 , i &I tured? { 8 . Zxdan: Thsre continued to be not too ha2py a relatiortship. I can 4 1? remember at one state canference of social work that one 9 I of the members of the Board of Charities and Corrections j t a~proachedme and asked if I didn't believe in.combining 4 ! the two bodies. I szid I did, He suggested who was to I i be the executive secretary and who wes to Cs the chief

7 children's agent. I objected to going in with my con-

! mitments es to sppointaents, so that .stopped thst glm. i 4 i In 1925 Governor Sichardson came into office with a I 5 progrm of efficiency and econoay. He was very anxious

f to curtail expenditures, to do away with all overlapping. ? . L. -12niel: ;-le cane into office conmitted to a budget redaction. I Lsrzden: Yes. L.;aiel: How were you.affected? i :zraden:- There was a budget hezring in which o,ur appropriation had i t

_ .~.__ .. _ .._.-. - . . -. . - . .. . - .L . . .- I... .-.". ---. ... *.. - - -- .- - -,.,.-.--. -.-- - ...--*.- ,..--....---.. - - 1 1 Erzdea: been curtailed, and I was asked to represent uy department.

31 I was able to gain back the sum which had been cut fro^ our ! appropriation. i ? L~niel:HOW could you' do that? . f Er8d~3: Just 3y zpparing before the joint senate and assembly end i a. ny :1 pleading good cause. That wss first public appeerance ,3 before the legislature. It was a very trying exs5rience j 1 i because I vas very disturbed' thet thz! money would not be 1 I restored, that we would be very badly crippled. But I i found that I was backed up by numbdrs of members of the lsgislzture who rose to their feet an5 explained what our 1; de2artsent had been doing and brought up individual cases 1i which were knovn to. them. When Governor Bichardson went ~ntooffice there wzs

to be a balanced budget and sn efficiency .and.econoay . i' regime. Mrs. Nellie 5. Pierce was a2pointed to the 3oard f . of Control, and she was largely domiate6 by the ~ax~a~ers? Associations of Los Angeles. She had been in'sacramento represetliing the Lop hngeles Taxpayersi Associations. And we hed felt the influence of this group very strongly at the meeting of the Csiifornia Conference of Social Work. But I h&d had an.interview with Mrs. Pierce, and I was ...... < ----...... , ..

taxpayers groups?

of children wzs involved. -.

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.. .168

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read your summary) in it you were very informative. Was , . .

was great fun being a reporter. 'kniel: Did you ever introduce legislation cutting across the

" ideas of the time?. . . at was when we .Introduced a bill asking for super-

vision by the state of adoptions. I rene~bergoing before' , the legislature at that time arid hrving people raise points in opposition to our plm. But ultimately we were able to convert them completely and had no difficulty, That was a very radical change, too.

. . Lniel: At one tima you worked to reduce residence requireuents, .inden: Yes, a three-year residence requirelilent effected too nuch hardship. The counties were kaypy when thzt was changed to two.

owever, after getting down ' to one year you wanted to go back to two. Why? were a little bit afraid of the influx of people with the intention'of gettine aid. But one thing we were able to do end work out veryeffectively was a reciprocal 8.greenent with other states. If a family .came in obvi-

ously dep.endent they could be returned to their fo-A mer state of residence. If they had been dependent in the

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Ban-h Libraq

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Robert Braden

Welfare. H. Robert Braden appeared in the record about this time. Wa haven't talked about him at all.

came out vith his wife to Southern ~aliforniavhere he went out and picked fruit to make a living. He had been a secretary to one of the big insurance.companies in England; In California.he went to night schobl ag~dlesrned shorthand, vhich he hadn't known up to that time. Then briefly he vorked for a doctor in Riverside. He told stories of this doctor,vho had a horse and buggy. Mr. Braden drove the

horse and if the dootor had ' to stop and operate on a i1 patient, Mr. Braden gave the anaesthetic. I :i '4 x 3 See Biennial Report of the State Departinen of Publio Yel- 1 , fae with additional data ires July l,.l922 to June 30, 1924 (of Board of Charities and Corrections). 5

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171

Then he got a job with the Santa Fe Railroad. His

letters were SO good, he was suoh a cultivated persoq, .

Braden: His father was head of the Congregational Churoh in Sondon, and was on the road to being head of the Congre- gational Church in Great Britain. The Reverend Uilliam Braden-he died just before he was to become head of the church, And of course Mr. Braden had been brought up a very strict Congregationalist, lever touched a drop of liquor, hadn't done any of the sinful things. So when he came here to California he found the Congregationalists vere too informal, so he was confir~nedinto the Episcopal Church by Bishop Nichols, We have known Bishop Parsons, Bishop Block, and the Pikes are great friends of mine I nov, I was influenced by Bishop Parsons, who vas \ Braden's great friend. He was really an experience in

1 one's life, a combination of gentleness and firmness such as one seldom rnee ts. Daniel: Had Kr. Braden been schooled in England? Eradent He had gone to the Univer.1 ty of landon. Hi8 rLf8 had been a school teacher. It oertainly ahowed a pioneer spirit to come vay out

aGorernor, I don't know anything about state se~iceem, His reply vase aI want someone up there who'll keep those Indians from selling me Outlm Vhich was a very characteristio statement. So Mr. Braden went up to Sacr~uknto. This was in 1923, When he had been working for the election of Gov-

ernor Bichsrdson' he hoped that some day he might be ap- , pointed to the board of directors of the Institute for tbb Blind, or some.such organizaton, and it was to his great surprise that he was asked to serve on the State Board of Control, Heanwhile, I thought I vas going to be dropped when Governor Richardson came into offise, but he told somebody it would have been a great political mistake to drop "that Miss Steinhart" because so many people liked her, which saved me. I happened to be away vhen Mr. Braden 1; arrived in Sacramento, but I heard that a very hopeful- appearing member had been appointed to the Board of Con- trol, and I remember with sose interest that there vas a little conpetition among the politicians around the, Board of Control as .to who vas going to introduce to Hre t ' 174 1 i. I Breden: Braden, About the second day, Mr. Bradeh came in, and I was introduced to him, and he sat down and mid that he I 1 thought that he vas going to take quite an interest in i our work. And I hoped fervently that he would. i ~mieltVho else was on the board at this time? Bradeat There was B8llie B. Pierce and Mr. George hdclfffe, ! board ? vho was the chairman of the and knew state service, hadbeen in state service for many years. Then Mr. Braden I 1 : was &ought up. as the outsider, though he had been very 1 I active in the Masonic order and had been very much interested in the Shrine Hospital. He came up vith a social approach and an understanding. ; 1)anielt Had he had any actual appointment in the group that worked

on the Shrine Hospital? . ' Braden: lo, except that he had been very rueh interested in it. I Daniel: This is the orthopedic hospital.

' Brsdent Yes. Daniel: Then you hew something about him before he appeed~ Bradent IOo, I didn' t, I just liked his when I looked at hin.

: Danielt And you felt that anybody uho had an interest ia you . . work and was a member of the Board of Control to0 coPld be-very helpful. -:t...... : bdent Ye You see, every application. 'went. over thi desk of ' .

member of the ~o&dof Control. within a very short time ' . . . I found that Mr. Braden-. yae reading our reports and coming

in and talking over cask; ..with.me.. SoI felt that we were ' . . exceedingly fortunate in having him come in when I knew 80 vell that the lady member of the board was not at all interested. In due course a situation arose in the state institution for girls at Ventura. There were two very able vomen in charge there and they had sent in their reeigna- tions due to the activities of the woman member of the Board of Control who was curtailing their activity in every direction she could. They sent in their resignations to the Governor. It happened that the Governor's wife had become very much interested in this institution for delin- quent girls and she was very upset and disturbed about the turn of affairs. The Governor also was very disturbed. So the Governor, as soon aa Mr. Braden was appointed to the Board of Control [2 July 19231,had asked him to see what he could do to placate the.two superintendents and persuade then to reconsider their r@signatiolu. They were so greatly needed. HF. Braden happened to mention

What was the immediate problem?. . . The inmediate problem was the dismissal of ch$ldrenVsagents.

How much had your staff been curtailed? . . . It had not been curtailed up to that polnt, but it was about to be curtailed. How many people were you going to lose? We would probably have lost at least four of our agents. You would have had inadequate personnel to carry on. No, we wouldn't have been able to carry on .any sort of program.

Combini~~the Departmentg

Then more and more the Governor was convinced that the two

departments . nhould be combined,. The activities of the Board 'of Charities and Corrections were quite wide. Yes indeed, and included such activities as supervising county jails, Who was the executive secretary at the time? The first secretarp was Mr. Gates, who had been on the State Board of Examinera, AInoatGates. The next rrecretary t . ., I78 .: ig ..-.;: , ' . . '. . . i . . -...... <;...... t .. -? . . . . 1.. '. . i . . .'.. ...*-:. -. , : i .a*-: - . ' "' .: . . . ; .. ,. ..c.. '. ' - . : ...... -. . vas Mr. Stuart Queen, a well-trained expert. Then Mr.. - ,+:! . a . .-. Queen resigned to go East to take aaother position; he was too disturb.ed by.th6 situation incalif ornia. Then Anita Eldridge was made temporary secretary. Daniel: Was she secretary at the tire the comblnatioa vas made? f. Braden: No, Mrs. Cornelia Stanwood vas the next secretary, '' ~aiiel: Was Mrs. Stanwood a person vith a eocial welfare background?

I I Jraden: No. r ! Danielt What was her background? - M&. Stanwood was a graduate of the University of California who married and went to live in Marysville and became an active clubwoman there.

Danielt She was a local leader. Yes. Her husband was' the probation officer in Marysville, Daniel: So 'her appointment vas on the basis of her being a local L . I! leader from Marysville and not because she had any train- was Ib .' ing. She the executive secretary? 1 '; i Braden: The Board of Charities a,nd Corrections had limited children~' services at this time? Hot I wouldn't 8ay that. They had the lioensing of ih8.t~- tutions that vere not drawing state aid. They had oertain ......

functions in setting standards for out-relief that wsrr . : not state aid. But did they have anybody on the staff who had'tradaiag Daniel: . - *4 i particularly in child welfare? i Braden: Yes, they did, they had Miss Anita Eldridge who had had ir ...... experience,. Daniel: Yes, but she was not in a position of any power if she j 4 were not the executive, 'I Braden: She was made acting enscutive. I v I told-Mr. Braden that I felt the two departments i should be combined, He and the Governor immediately

1I 4 agreed to the plan, There were no intermediate steps. . j It was s.hplythat-I was appointed as executive secretary of the Departaent of Charities and Corrections, It was

1 in 1925 that the two departments were consolidated into I I .f the State Department of Public Welfare [llr.. Braden was i ! executive secretary of thestate Department of Public 5 ? welfare]. In 1927 the name was changed to state Depart- JL d 1 aent of Social Uelfare. ?miel: What did you do with Krso Stanwood?. i Braden a The entire board resigned. Hone of .them would stay on j under the oircumstances. I suppose they disapproved of . . ht j

9i :6 . I1 Ij Braden: the way it was done. There vas a good deal of agitation s i about the Governor's economy program and'a feeling that 4' be* f the humanitarian activities of the state were 3 1 I jeopardized, 1 . hiela ' Vhat about the staff? How did the rank and file, so to ' .' $ I speak, the working group within Charities and Corrections i respond? I Braden: Hiss Eldridge before this tiae had been appointed the

J, i executive secretary of the California Conference of Sooial 3 . ' 1 Vork, so sbe was out. One of their trained social workers :2Z resigned immediately. - 5 , Daniels How nkny were on the staff of Charities and Corrections? iiraden: Not as lpany as eight or nine, - Daniel: But they drifted off the scene. 'i Braden: Yes, they drifted off. bein particular we were very r i anxious to have stay but she said she couldn't under the 4 . .1 ? 1 circu~lstances,but later 8he returlled, 1 3anielt Didn't anybody else stay? L zraden a Ho, the entire board resigned.

3 Then the Governor appointed the new Board of Publie . i. Welfare, Mr. Braden was the chairman of that board. ! hiel: Vas he still on the. Board. ofeControl? ?

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i.. ?

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. The Governor was ap .ex officio meiber of this new

Mrs. Villi-Pi tzgerald, who had been. the state president . .

. . was a very intelligent dnd interesting woman, a local leader in club activities. Mrs. Maude Spear King, who

even in Los Angeles tho Governor came. . - . ..

. . I1 i i !. Dsoiel: Can you explain how you developed policie8 and how they . 1' 4 differed from what had gone before?- Q ' 'i Braden: For the time being we tried to carry on aotivities as' . . . . ', ', i they had been. Ultimately the& As a Department of 3 . I .' I Institutions eitablished *d' that took' over all the super- .I 1 vision of the institutions for the insane, and penal 1 .!. institutions as well. Activities of the department <1 -t narrowed dovn to those purely of welfare, i - Daniels Was this what you had in mind in your plming? ~raden: I think we had always had it in mind, The Department of L 3 i Institutions was established very early in our days. ! Daniel: Before this occurred, though, you did have some aupervi-. . I sory responsibilities, ! ' Braden: We were supposed to visit and make suggestions, and we ? were supposed to supervise the women's prison in San 3 1 i Quentin. I remember going over there when quarters ,had. i .I I ! been established for twenty women;.- they had eighty woaen 2 I there, and one tin bathtub, There was one woman prisoner L i i who had killed her husband; she was grandma to all the J 4 girls there, She rat complacently in a rocking chair, i ? j just rocking back and forth, perfectly eatisfled, and 1 i they accepted her a8 granh and a11 the girl. just 'i i ! i *i i 1 1 ,

3 . A l

Braden: loved her. There was one thing that Governor Richardson did, and I think Mr. Braden influenced him, and that was to build a women's prison at San Quentin. We were at the dedication of that prison. Eventually they did away with women prisoners over there completely, which is right. Occasionally ve used to spend a ntght at.San Quentin when Warden Smith was the warden. It was quite an experience, rather terrifying to be waited on by a convict, but an experience. The Board of Charities and Corrections had a supervisory responsibility in state hospitals. One of the things that Mr. Braden did that was very helpful was to establish the monthly meeting of state hospital superin-

tendents. , They met and discussed their problems. Oh, Mr. Braden had a real social conscience, and he did a beautiful job for the state. But win, maybe I'm prejudiced. [~au~hter] A lot of good was done. I feel Innst recall certain incidents and give full credit to Governor Richardson for his attitude, We had to make a study of one adopt&

S agency which we felk vas doing a very inferior piece of I i vork. It happened that members of the board of directors i j1 > i ; I .1 1 I vere all active supportere of Governor Richardson in . .

Southern California. They Lint to Sacramento to protest .* our findings aad the reoommendatione. Governor Richardson-- reported it to Mr. Braden and Mr. Braden told me that the

Governor was disturbed and asked me what I was going to - do. I eaid we were going to stand our ground. Mr. Braden did not discourage me. (I was not married to him at the time. ) So he said, wVall, tho s over nor would like to come into the meeting and discuss this matter with you.@ It was characteristic of the Governor, with all he had to do, to be willing to come into our meeting. Haturally I was a little uneasy. The Governor said, uNow, what's all this about this institutionla I told him and said, uGovernor, I'msorry to say that they've been doing a very poor piece of work, they've been subject to criticism. There have been injus- tices done to children and pamtsOa I waited breathlessly. @Put them out of bus~nessl'~was the Governor's response. . Well, ve didn't have to put thema' out of business; th& hare developed into one of the very beat organizations.

They are still active. Our report was a turning point. ,. . ..! ...... ,.- i--.e.:.- - ...... I..

the adoption law. That WE& one of the ~ignificantchange. 14 We aade 4. in our lav. it mandatory that every relinquiqh- merit be file&with the State Department of Social Welfare, . , and that no adoption go through finally until a 8tuW had been'made of that particular adoption by the Departmep t . . : .. . . , . ?,. . ,...... : .3 . ' ...... , . : ...... _.: ...... ,. :...... , '. . . . -. .' . -. . .: ..: . .

. . 186

-.: ...... :#-: f Social Welfare. I'm sorry to say that I don't. think ...... it has been completely 8uccessf~l'to this extents if . . family has taken a child and has had that child for, say, sixmonths, it's pretty hard to persuade a jbdge . . not to let an adoption go through,unless there is a very flagrant and very notable violation of care there, But anyway, it 'had been a protection, a safeguard. at besides children's activities did you pursue in the Department of social Welfare? was largely children's activities and the standardiz- ing of county aid relief, to adults as well. The Divi- sion of the ~li'nd,'the Division of the Aged, are still. under the Department of Social Welfare. did you handle the new categories? re was a special agent appointed to the Division of the Aged and to the Division of the Blind, one each, were they and where di& they come from? agent vho took over 'the Division of the Aged was Miss Olive Henderson, vho had been one of our children's agents, a xery able person. The blind didnl t come under our supervision until later. Then a specialist was appointed there. -

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might have conciliated nore

tion, but you see, I married into it. [Laughter] I . ..- .. . . - .. dson that be dever interfered an absolutely independent

traits he concealed under a .very .rough extkrior. erved some time at San red be had been vroagly

hardboiled govern~r.~ ...... : . . . . ,...... :...... 1. . -- .... . , S -...... - . . 189 ;. . . . - - . .6.' . . . .._-.. . . . :-: I,;' ...... : . 1;- . , .. .

'Jtanisl: Before abandoning the twenties, would 'you comment on ':. . . 1 migrant labor problems of particular interest to you? . . .i . . 1. [ Braden: I vas awfully interested in the plan for .one education for children of migratory laborers. It was through Mr. a . Braden that the Governor appointed person to go among -. these camps to see If some schoollag could be provided for the children. That was way back in 1924, somewhere, I remember distinctly the plan to try to get some schooling for the children, with a traveling school of some kind. Up in the northern end of the state the people who worked in the hops vere difficult to cope vith, they were a type unto themselves.

The Br~dens.Marry. 1924.. arid Travel. 1930

Danie1t When did you leave Sacramento? There was a change in administratFon in 1929 and I was { retired. Then we oame dovn to San Francisco to live. Daniel: We must get you married fop the record. I think It's more 8eeZdly.

'Braden: [~aughter] It was quite proper, I should say. :Daniel; Bow. did both your faller react to this event?. [Laughing] My family was reconciled to almost anything, and my mother just loved Hr. Braden. He wrote French.

letters to her ., and she' to him, and they became very . ' \ devoted. I vas along in years, and they were kind of glad to get me off their hands and they liked him, It might have been a bit of a shock to his children, I don't how. But.his daughter and I are very, very close friends. He bad three children; one daughter died about five years ago. We were married in 1924 and we went abroad in 1930, Hy mother died at:the beginning of 1930 and we were quite footloose, Mr. Braden had never visited his people in England, he'd been away for forty years, so our first objective was to go to Great Britain and meet his family. We learned to how them very well and became very devoted to then, Then ve just wandered around the continent and took our time, I don' t think two people enjoyed a trip more then we did ours, Ve stayed for weeks at a time in Paris and weeks in Florence, Mr. Braden kept a complete

diary which I treasure rerr much. As you will just from -. what ..you have. h d me say here, I'm not a person who . . Bradent keeps a diary, but he had a diary which I refer to veFy ! i : . -i often. It was a very happy time for us. f I We went through the Panama Canal, going over on a . freighter which took thirty passengers and landed in Great Britain. Vith fear and trembling I met his people, feeling that I uas very American; probably they wouldn't. approve of me. Bpt my greeting was, "I say, ~obert isnt t at all American, is heTW And I said, "Why, in America ve think he's quite British,' and they said,

As you traveled about were you ever recalled to your velfare interests? Eraden: I remember going to see the famous infant asylum in Florence and meeting a number of the social workers in Great Britain. I had a friend there who was very active in settlement work, and through her I met some of of the social workers in the. . depressed areas London. Bermondsey, for instance, was an American who had never given up her American citizenship. It interested me . very much that she was vo'rkiag in this slum area in London. This vss an area of eoncentrated population? I I 1 Bradent That's right, and great poverty. * : We were very careful to register vith Scotlsrrd Yard i 1 i when we arrived in Great Britain. I found that we were / 1 I ; t the only Americans of our acquaintance that did it, but 1 i Mr. Braden, vith his respect for accepted procedure, ; 1 I ! immediately registered. We registered as aliena. I Weren't you required to by law?

,i ' . , Braden: Yes, we were required to, but aobody seemed to pay atten-. . .? tion to it. It was a very interesting experience to me to go to Scotland Yard and watch them in action. -01 course there's nobody more interesting and charming than . the British bobby. Daniel: Scotland Yard kept an eye on the movements of your friend who worked in the slum areas? Yes, whenever she moved from one neighborhood tb another, , .Braden: I i and she did quite frequently, she registered and Immedi- i I t; ately Scotland Yard came to find out what her activity was. Daniel r They were interested In her, or what? Braden: They were very sensitive to what might be possible activities on the part of malienr.a Being a settlement worker

she was probably 'a little bit 6uspect. Daniel: Was eettlement work at that time fairly uniform? ...... ! . .. - , ...... - ...... -......

193 , - . .

I think it was pretty much the same, establiahiag neighbor- . . . hood centers and influencing the people who came under their . observation. It was very much the same program that Hull House of Chicago had. Were there many of these centers'in London? Yes, there were a great many. These were supported by public funds? Braden: I think not. I think they were supported by private funds

just as Hull House was in Chicago. ------! Daniel: Did you have any feelings about vhat you would do if you

-5 were at a settlement house in London? Braden: I think I would have been a.distressed person. Very often .; .; in London I had a feeling of guilt that. I was living so comfortably. Coning out of restaurants I saw groups of war cripples who had musical bands and were trying to pick up a few peimies here and there. But I got the assurance from no less a person than Sir Philip Gibbs that they probably did very well with their collections. This was, of course, during intense economic depression. Did you have deep impression of social distress on the Con tinen t? Mo. I just vas enjoying myself all the time, absorbing I .; ,' my foreign languages. My French was always fairly good, i i i' my Italian was a little feeble, But in Italy you talk 1 .I so much vith your hands that it's a great help to you, The French people are pretty cruel to you if you accent the vrong word, and they love to speak English; if you go into 'a shop and you try to explain something that you want, they come back with perfectly good English, [~au~h- ter] It impressed us in Paris that if ever ve did any shopping or had any repair jobs, a great length of time was needed; we becvne so aware of the efficiency of America and the ease vith which everything is done here. Yet there was a certain charm about the way it was done in Paris and we enjoyed it, Daniel: Did you go to Scandinavia? Braden: We went to Scandinavia and we loved every minute we were there, There we were so aware of the even level of the' people. There didn't seem to be extreme 'poverty, Of course the cleanliness and the system and the honesty of the people we met was a delight to us, Sweden vas the one country where a man refused a tip vhen we left. That was just unheard of, ...... :...... : ...... :. ... .' .:... , i ...... I... , ......

. . Daniel' You returned when?

through the Cwal again in a very leisurely fashion and

very much rested. We had tvo days here in 8 hotel and then found the apartment in which I'm living at the

i present time. ?

Dpnicl: Did you stop off anyubere? . , Braden: No, we didn't. Going through the Canal you stop off at i . % Panama City. We stoppea off at the island of Jamaica and hired an automobile and toured there. These we ! saw vhat we thowht was real poverty. Well, we came back in 1931 and did not go abroad again until 1938 on t ? a pleasure trip pure and simple. .! t I-..-.- 1 t j 7 . 'I j 4 I

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i . : . . i . . 1 . ... ! . . . . F 196 i 1 I ! . . : . . 1 1 t Ii - I ? VOLmTEER WORK "t

1' train in^ Salvation AmWorkers / ! 9 / 1 ' Daniel: Vhat social service did you pursue when you returned' from . !, 8 ' f. your trip? Braden: I was very active in the Girl6 Club, a settlement activity, , .. , . , the same Girls Club in which I had worked before. When I . . ! came back to' San Francisco in 1931 I went back on that board. Daniels What was the board's chief work by this time? . .. Braden: Very largely in raising money because they left the activ- ::? ities in thehands of the executive worker,

Through Reba Crawford ~~li~aioI becane interested In the work of the Salvation Army. She became director of social welfare under Governor Rolph. Anb she was very anxious to have the Salvation Army set up some standards of professional social work, and aame to me, First she . . asked me to come Into her department-ia Sacramento. She wanted me as a consultant, but that wasn't possible. A great many of my old workers had stayed on 'in the depart . . ment, She asked me if I would give a course of lectures . , to 'the Salvation Army group, which I did for one whole year here in San Prancisco (1932). The workers came from Oakland and the Bay Area. Was this the first social service training they had? Eraden: As far as I know it was, The women who were in charge of the maternity homes had been in their work so long that they actually got their training through their experience, and they,were very'able and competent people. Daniel: How did you organize your material? Braden: They assigned a secretary to ae and I dictated my lectures :. in advance. I started in with the story of General Booth, who had established the Salvation Army in London, and how he was the originator of their social work program, Building on that I went ahead, so far as I could, to modern social work procedures, casework activities, and so on. I must have given forty lectures in the course of the year. I worked out something which was almost a

3 manual of social practioet. I .Daniel: . Did you repeat that course? % Braden: No, it was just for one year. I was rather flattered - r . . . . t i . .. . . 2 . . . . 198 ...... , ... . i _... . . 1 pp was 1 Braden: by this: material taken. over and incorporated.in . ! .' ,i I i a boolc which was writsen by a person in Florida,vho had . I1 :. been carrying on the same kind of course that I had . initiated here. f unfortunately have never seen the book but I have heard about it. That was a very inspiring experience because once a week I had an audience of at least two hundred meabers of the Salvation Army, all interested in some form of social work. I was called for by a man in uniform and - taken out to San Francisco Salvation Army headquarters

j on Silver Avenue. . - Daniel: You probably went into the specialties of casework with children, the aged, &d so on. d l Braden: Yes, and prison work. I found a very' responsive and very interested group. Everyone agrees that the work of the 7 Salvatdon Army in connection with the unqiarried mother has been an outs,tanding contribution. 4. Daniel: Ware any of the people in your clam attached to thi. 1 ! 4 kind of work? i 3 Braden t Every person who was.attached to .the work vas ordered to come to the lectures. There was a great deal of dis- cussion which brought in the matter of the disposition of the child, of the training of the mother for some Future occupation or activity. It mast be mentioned that the 1 f

I medical care in these institutions was the very best. . Daniel: .Wouldyou say that the Salvation Atmg had at least &s t enlightened an attitude as was possible at that time? 5 -4 Braden: I feel very decidedly so. I think they $toad in the same i. position toward the unmarried mother as the Florence Crittendon Home, and approached their problems with a genuine understanding of the need for making plans for the care of mother and child. Daniel: Were they handling a su3stantial proportion of the cases j 1 needing help and attention at that time? ,Praden: I think they were. They were-handling a great many girls who were coming from out of the state.

1 . . Daniel: Is this the Braden: Very often. A girl who wants to escape the social pres- ; .. 1 sure of her group at home vill leave and go somewhere else. So, there was a fine spirit of cooperation. Of co.urs'e their institutions vere licensed by the Board of Charities and Corrections and.necessarily had to conform to standards, but their standards of nedical oare, of sanitation, of hygiene vere the best. - . . . . . ' " ...... ,,,..,.. ...,., :. -.. ' . .:...... : .I. %, , ,, ,! .. " ...... , .... .:. * ..

.- :. .

.... .'._..

of the army is transferred from one postto mother. I met a number of people who were very ambitious to have their children have social work training. One was sending his son to Stanford for the course in social work. I learned too how very definitely the Salvation Army is a religion; I hadn' t known that before. Edith Smeeten Horris,'the young woman who. was my secretary at that time, a very intelligent person, was the daughter of the man and woman who had been the superintendents of the Lytton Home in Sonona County. She became the director of the Evangeline Home for Vomen here in San Fran- cisco. Members want their children to 8tay in the -Salvation' Army; they are very unhappy is they don't remain in the Army. When I wab in the Children's Department their orphanage . .

Braden: at lytton always cooperated to the utmost degree with our. . ' ! ? I visiting agents, They were delighted when we Bent a crew i i in from th,e Bureau of Child Hygiene 'to weigh and measura their children and very anxious to measure up to the standards for feeding and clothillg and houaing. And it nuat be mentioned that they were one of the few institutions of' the state that had a cottage system; they didnet have big dormitories. In fact, I think the home was built on 4 I . the cottage plan, They had a big acreage in Sonoma County, Now they areno longer an orphanage; that institution, 1 < I have recently learned, has developed into a home for J alcoholics. I think they realized that orphanages were + no longer needed to the extent that they had been, and

I probably those same children are on the Aid to Needy Chil- '. 7 dren program in foster homes or in their own homes. Then at the same time I was working three days a week i for the Native Sons ,@ridNative Daiihtsrs oQmrnittee on home- '; . less children. My fir~twork with the Native Daughters ,! was actually as a case worker. i. . Daniel: Were you a social worker? : Braden: Yes, but I wasn't a registered social worker.

. Daniel: Ilo, but you weie not a paid worker, were you? ' I

4i !

! t. . a

. ' Daniel' You were a voluntary person but you were carrying a pro- b fessional commitment, Braden: That's right. I was out in the' field. That vas before I was asked to go on the. board of the central comm,ittee of the Native Sons and .Native Daughters,

Children's Protective Societs.and Other Chi3drents Services

Braden: Fron 1937 to 1941 I went on the board of the Children's Protective Society. It vas a sort of adjunct to the work of the juvenile court, trying to keep children out of court 1 as much as When a situation developed vhich was serious, then going into court and making recommendations as to plans for the child, I vas on that board for about 4 three years and in 1937 I remained president until1941. Daniels What were you interedted in doing in that period, epecifi- . cally? Bradenr The social worker, Miss Sophie Hardy, a very well-trained, excellent social worker, brought her problem cases to the attention of the board, and we discussed them and advised: her and helped' in any way ve could, There .might be the question of whether a child should be brought into Juvenile court, whether the family should be separated, how serious,

the child delinquency was. The agency as far as possible - tried to prevent delinquency in any case. It was a useful and constructive organization. Danielt Were delinquencies very different from each other? Braden: No, I think it was often as now a case of the home being I. break broken up or about to up, of the children who were --I ; neglected. There were the undisciplined children that we have always heard about where the mother was working and a the child was given a key to the house. That was the main :r concern of the cbildren1s Protective Society. It. a i 1 protective society, the name was very well chosen. It worked in close touch with the-Child Welfare League of ? I America which was the national agency which corresponded to the Children's Protective Society. -. .*- . ( fr I Daniel: Have YOU kept in touch with thia kind of work? J :. . . 4 I Bradma I should say that you cmlt 'kebp away froa i;. IOUa1- - ,-. '- , . .. .^ 1

'f ways maintain your interest. ' t Daniel: My next question would be then, what about the character- 4 i 5 istics of delinquency? How have they changed? I I 1Braden: 1 don' t know to what extent they .have changed except that Qradrnt we seem to hear more about organized deiinquency, about . . . gangs, than we did in the old day*. It seems to that j then' we were dealing with the individual ohild, the

I individual family, At tfie present time we bear a great I deal more about gang delinquency, Daniel: Were you in a position to work with the family as a group? Eraden: Yes, we did work with the fklyas a group, and we took entire families lnto court when their problem presented itself, kkny of these cases didn't go to ,$he judge of the juvenile court; they bent to 'areferee, who was usually a woman, The case-was presented to the referee by an.agent of the Chi'ldrep's Protective Soaiety &king suggestions in regard to the child, ðer: the child should be removed frcm the home or vhether an effort should be made to re- habilitate the family.

Caniel t How good vere. your services at that time? Eraden: I thkk our aervice. bere very excellent in that period. What about nental health services? They were not as extensive as they are now, nor as well organized, There were psychiatrists to whom certain children were referred but there vas not the same organized psychiatric service that there is now. There was no Langley ...... Porter ~llnic,

~l'dyou feel this wag a big need? . . Yes, -- -- As you look back on the family disturbances did you have an impression of the most significant cause of family dissension or breakup? I' think there were th6 same causes of which we are aware at the present time, except that I don't seem to remember the same housing problems that we have now, the over- crowded homes, There were unstable parents, as now. Ve were always hearing about the "rejected ohild," the child who was rejected by his or her parente, and it got to be' almost a cliche, we felt, sometimes unwarranted. When you found a rejected child, &en your casework would give you a background .for this rejection if it existed. J Yes, that's right, On the other hand, you also evaluated the child's peraon- allty. Always. Being on the boar,d..of directors of the Children's

Protective Society meant that you maintained. en active . interest in casework procedures, As you observed the work of the agency during your board The Children's Protective Society vas disbanded

are unaware of it.

. .. . f an agency like the Children's Protective Society was deemed f * i j . 5 i I I - ? . ..

. .

Cowcil of the Comity Chest.

, ...... that met regularly aad discussed the policies 'of the

. . Community Chest in relatioa to child' care problems and to suggest sometimes that new agencies be included in I the Che.t, that some agencies ,which were getting benefits . from the Chest be withdrawn. It was a policy-making group, I It represented all the child-caring agencies getting I benefits from the Community Chest, and a few who were I not beneficiaries of Chest funds but who met 'and coun- seled together. At that time you were collicting a substantial proportion of the funds that you felt were needed for children's services through Community Chest auspices? . I Eraden: No, there was always more needed than vas available, but . . . 1. we had to cut our cloth according to,the funds which we :., - *. , had. Daniel: What was the nature of your services at that time? IBraden: At first the problems canie largely from the children vho ' were in orphanages and in foster homes. By degrees the problem of the child who needed rpecialized care called for a great deal of attention. As we began more and more

-_. A. to feel that orphanages should be specializing, the • council devoted its tine and inergy to that. . .

. .

any legislative enactments that were brought up adalso

. . .i . .

. . Ado~tionAgencies*

I .I .. . .i. if 1 :i <,- I .,. Braden: In August of 1940 I became a memtier of the Central Adoption I i t 1. i Commit tee of tho llatiia Sons and Native Daughters, which i served the entire state. Its office was in Ssn Francisco and Miss Xary Brusie was the executive secretary.

* See Report of the California Adoption Survey Committee (1946). Letts pull your adoption actirities together pnd go hck I . z.: . to the tine vhen you rere a children's agetit. How had . '- . . . . . adoption come , to claim your interest? . - . 1%was vhen ve began to make a study of childr'en in orphanages and found that t% great .pny of them vere ellgi- . . :.i '.. , ble for adoption. At, that time I got in touch vith Hiss Brusie, who was already the executive secretary of the ~ativeSons adNative Daughters adoption committee, Miss . . Mary Eleanor Brusie.

J '. ..i... 6 Daniel: When was this? 1"den : It must have been at the very beginning, 1 should say as early as 1915, when ve began to make our study of indivi- .. .. . A -'. $1 a:. ii dual children in orphanages; ve found that there v,ere a great many of them who should have been placed for adop- - . . 1. tion at a much earlier age than they had been. 1 I remember one case in particular of a very attrac- . i.1 :!:.' k, tive little Negro girl vho had never known anything but d ,. . ... institutional life. She probably had been a foundling : Zr.8 and left on the doorstep of the orphanage, grown up the- . . I;.;1... and beceme so much a part of the life of the institution % < - - that they didn't want to relinqui'sh her. Finally the .. 1 ,..?: particular order of sisters of that institution, rather 4

ei !:.; !: .k ; '; YJ . ,, s:r-: . . ! .! .;: ' . .. :' :'

I : ! - . . . ..- . d Braden: than get' state aid for this cnild, relinquished any

demands on the state. Later when the institution was -

merged into another Roman Catholic institution which had , , a different outlook the sisters confided in me that.she vas one of their problems. I don't know what happened to that child. She should have been placed for adoption when she was very young. 1 remember, 8s a matter of fact, talking over that ease with Archbishop Hanna to whom I took many of my difficulties and who was always ready to 'listen, axid he 'told me that if I could find a good Negro Catholic family that he would sanction the placing of that child for adoption. I remember well going over to Oakland where there was a big Negro colony due to the porters on the trains being there, and finding avery high-grade Negro family vho were very anxious to take the child. But .the sisters' wouldn't relinquish her. There vere many cases of that type. Prom then on we worked in very close touch with the adopticn agency of the Native Sons and the Native Daughters. There vere only two adoption agencies at that time, werenft there?

8,there were the llotive Sons adNative Daughters, .;a '1 Bkd'enr4 vhich operated largely from San Francisco north, although 5 they didn't limit ,themselves to that part of the state, 1 3 and the Children's Home Society, which worked to a greater -3 extent in Southern California. Eventually the ati ire Sons f + and ~ativeDaughters built up their agency in Southern .ik

I ... California. As a matter of fact they vere a natural as an adop- i1 4 ticn agency because they had in every county of the state .i '.what was known as a *local parlo~r.~It was an excellent . -. .. . machinz for investigating .and supervising and taking an interest in the children who were placed in their vicini$y. I wondered how the Native Sons and Native Daugbrs happened to make adoptions one of their main activities. Tho suggestion had oome from Mr. Fairfax Whelan, vho had been the grand president-of the Native Sons. Mr. Whelan was also on the board of the Assopfated Charities in San Francisco and a very socially-minded person; he was very .-...... anxious to have the Native Sons and Native Daughters- ' agencies take on so.me social service activity, That 9 must. have been as ear1y.a~ 1910, and the first executive

,. secretary was Mrs. Emma Lilly,.vho had been the waad '5 . 3 : 4, . : pesident of the Native Daughters, She selected Miss Mary ...... ? . . . .. '...... ' . . . , . ..

. .

for.adoption, private agencies. The Children's Agency .

the Native Sons and Native Daughters.

tions. But there was no legislation for some time. . .

.- , - .-.- --* ,--.--- . , ....-- .-r --v--- .. --- -.-,.---.=.-.. -.y--I-.-. --.;---* .-I.C-. .- --- ;-.- ... 7--.----7- .. *-.- . - . .. - ...... - ...... : . . . . ::. . . '. - ...... - . - ...... A .,

. . . -. I -1.:_.. . ': : ,.. ,:,., ..,:.:.' . .,...... I . .j: den: some method of trying in a measure t0'8~~erri.eindependdnt , , * .a. adoptions, to put some restraint on the activities, .,:... iel: In 1917. relinquishments for adoption taken by child place-

I 3 3 ment agencies were required to be filed with the state ..t 7 . .p board. Had there been a problem in relinquishment pro- .

.:I . : .2 ceedings before that time? , .<'4 . Braden: Yes, there was a great fear that there was considerable j .x .$ irregularity about it.and that certain relinquishments ,. : a might be overlooked and might not be filed, and eventu- - ft'i i ally the legality of the adoption could be questioned. .3*ie1: There had been no procedure for filing them? '-1 Braden: I suppose they were filed with county clerks, but there i '1 9 had been no centralized bureau to file them. . . Daniel: The next leap is to 1927, and this is the legislation f about which you must know a good deal, Just take that in hand and carry on. ./ ~iaden: I reinember going before the legislature at that time and .j 4 pleading for the billi We had become very concerned . i , ,> 3 about the independent adoptions, and there were fantastic 8 -32 -f ..I stories going about. For instance, there was one tale .1 + which we all accepted. A certiin woman vanted a child, j and the iceman knew of a ohild down the street, so he - - 0 B'.I went to the woman down the street,, took the child, and . .

3 -, d ...... :...... , . . . . . , .. .

7 . . . '7 ...... i . . ..:- , . . . i . . , . 215 . . -i

L . . 0 . . 'Bradens took it over to the other roman. hether that true i. . or not I do not know. . . 'Daniel: HOW low had this kind of thing been corning 'to anyone*s attontion? 5raden: I think it had been coming to peoples' attention for a very lon~time. We realized that there were statawhich were putting through legislation to safeguard adoptions to as great a degree as possible, so our department, the Department of Public Welfare, called a meeting On adoptions and brought in all the agencies,.societies, and organizations that were interested in adoption, both official md non-official, throughout the state. We had a meeting in ~orthsm,California and one in Southern Cali- fornia. Everybody agreed that the ,time had come for .some definite legislative enactment. There were certain questions raised, I remember, especially in regard to the children of defective parents. For many years there had been no feeling that there was an inherent danger in gc- ing the child of a defective mother. We finally made it clear that if the agency let 'the adopting parent know the background of .the child the adoption might proceed. Up to this time there had been no investigation of the . .. parents or chiLdrea? ......

impending adoption and that a.report go to the State De-

. -. . partment of Public Welfare, that such an adoption .was. to , , .

Public Velfare was to go out bdmake'an independent id- . . vestigation of the home.

trf ed to learn the history of the . ,

already involved in a court action

...... Of course the weakness in the system was that many

gation. Take a case where a faziily had had a child in

.. . their home for some time. It might have been a foster. , much attached to the fare would make an adverse report. But in numy cases the judge's sympathy

. - . - -.

lkncmh Librarj

I .-. - .- ... ..* . - ...... -- ' - .- - ..-. ---..- .- .-'-r--.-r-- -.--...... -.". .. ( L . ., Braden: was with the adopting parents rather than with the point of view or the social worker, and the adoption went i. ! through. [~;c~~l~ What about the standards applied by the social workers in I I the evaluation of suitable hoines? Do you remember how . '. reasonable they seemed to be? / : . . I I Pkden: It seened to me that they were reasonable, but souietimea 1 '-. i.'. :: : f they were Just a little bit unvilling to make any conces- :j :If f . sions. I can remember so well a case at the time that I . ' L, . .A:. 3 became a member of the Central Committee of the Native *:, . 1 I f Sons and Native Daughters, a case as to whether an adopt- .I . . . :I .$ ing parent should not be allowed to keep her child, This Z -4 was an agency case, and the committee-was divided on it as to what our procedure should be, el: What kinds of limitations, let's say, would definitely rule out a family as a good adopting family? If there was dissension in the home, Also, one-thiw on my Miss was any i which friend Brusie adamant was suggestion [j at all of indulgence in liquor. She felt very strongly

II ..on thit question. would be difficult to wouldn't it? Z . . Bradent Well, the local pastors took a spedlal interest in safe- . 1 * guarding children placed in their communities.

. , One case in particular I vent out to see personally, Ii -4 1 got ercellent reports on the family, alvays eomething i < "Well, 3. to do with the statement, you ,how, he's a million- 4 i aireon Still, that failed to clear my doubts. I tracked i down the weak spot in the whole set-up, 'and refused to allow them to have a child, and I was backed up by the committee and by Miss Brusie, Later iqthe year .somebody said to me, "Who ever let those people have a child!" As it developed, it was a verjr poor placement; they had got ten the child independently. for tun at el^, with the Native Sons and Native ~aughtsrs group the fact that wealth was the predominating advantage never had any effect. They were.- honest, middle-class

group of people to whom 6. moral standard meant more than

, . woaly possessions. ! f I -! Daniel: Do you know anything about the Children's Home Society? ; .! In the early days we felt that the Children's Home Society was not measuring up to the standards which it should have. Its investigations were lax. Very interestingly, the person who is now a judge in Alaneda County, Cecil Wosbacher, ~radenr 8 superior court judge, made the study of the Childrent# . i Home Sooiety for us, and a very excellent, thorough study . ' .I . . . f :i it was. ' We made hown our recommendations and demands ;r v 1 upon them and immediately they changed their plans and ?, policies and put in a trained direc.tor, since which they ..I &. have done ar) outstanding piece of.work. This must have

1 i been 1925 when the investigation was made. 1 The Central Adoption Committee of the Native .Sons and Daniel:< 4 Native Daughters, of whicrh you again became a member in j 1 1940, had what function? Braden: All of the problem cases that came to the attention of the 5 .n f vorkers were referred to the coamittee for final judgments, l~~iel:How large was the committee? . . It was a committee of four meabers of the Native Sons and four members of the Native Daughters. L..T i 1~&lrl: Wars these social vorkers~?

, f' r ....I. :;Xi. ti I(adsn: No, they were lay people. .I ...... ' :':' (~sielr HOW often did you meet?

We laet regularly once a month, and then if any problem arose betveen times we might have a special meeting. The wonen were espeoially interested in this and devoted a great deal.of time and activity and thought to the work. . .

1 , . . ' , # , ' . . ' 220 .:

4 . . ': a4 3 . &id; Yhat kind of cases came to you? 1 gmden: Difference of religion or racial background. hiel: And how did you tend to settle these thiqs? ---- BAdenr We just argued ind taBed and li~tenedto the advice of . our executive secretary. Very often I went with her to -- .- see home8 Then you sometimes matched up parents and children of dif- fering religions? Oh, we did with the understanding.that. there was no obj,ec- S ' tion on the part of a clergyman to such a placeaent.' The clergy vere very helpful, There vas always a represents- . tive of the CathoJic Church on the board of directors. It was a foregone conclusion that o Catholic child had to be placed with Catholic parents, a Protestant child in a Protestant home. But if there was a difference in religion, if one parent was of one religion and one of an- [ -: . .* other religion, then an understanding was reached with the clergpman that he would supervise the home' and meet - 1 whatever requirements were set. ..up. In other wards, it was sssuoled always that a-ohild vould .Ii -1 # have formal, religious indoctrination. i ;-'$den: Always. Miss Brusie was very firn about that. She her- I self was a devout chur'chworan. t mt bbside-s seligioua differences did' you work on? . . - . . J'. ~?~d&n:Occasionally there waa a of discord in the homej 2 i ~ometim& before the adoption was completed a ~trongplea I f I might be made by the mother to keep the child. There 'I i were very difficult questions to decide. Occasionally a. 4 . parent died before an adoption was completed, and that, was brought to our attention, as to whether the child should remain with the nother where there was not a father. Many problems came up, but they were always solved. It was really quite lovely also to see the beauti- fullayettes that the Native Daughters from all over the state made and sent in for the new babies, Of course Hiss Brusie hersew was a tower of strength, one of the most attractive personalities I've ever known. She was a pioneer daughter of California, she came from Amador County, and was beautiful to look at and beautiful in spirit. She had a sense of honesty and g sense of

Y t justice which meant a great deal to her work, She never deviated, People who ,went to her sometimes were a little ..2- .. bit frightened. She had great',big beautiful.brown eyes I and golden hair and she looked straight at you and told

. . - ... . . 1 . . - .. ;{ ...... 3 I remember an incident one day in which a grandfather ;f * came in and objected seriously to his daughterts adopt- .I

!i ' ! 1 a child, He didn't .want . an outsider in the family, axid he :t I : said to Miss Brusie, Well, that ahild vill never inherit any of my money.' (Of course, according to the California law the grandfather's money need not necessarily go to the grandchild,) I happened to be there, Hiss BruSi8 looked him in the face and said, nOh, what a lucky child, not to 1 t be handicapped with money to start with!' She gave the child to the young people, who wanted a child very much, and before we knew it he was a most devoted I ./ 1 Who took over the leadership when Miss Bruaie leit? I

You see, many of the so-called service agencies found a it necessary to find soma reason to justify their existences . . . .

. . i . . Bra&.: the Rotarians have taken on crippled children, and the . .' . 4. I I Lions have- taken onactivities, a& all expanded their t interests; the Native Sons and Native Daughters went into

i adoptions. It was very sad to me that they decided to 5 ? 1 give up the work in the early forties. They replaced It

.4 with their historical land-marking activities. The men

-i ' j vere not nearly so deeply interested in the adoption work ,I. 4 as the Native Daughters, and it became more and more dif- :I' ficult to support the work, and so it.was discontinued. i 4 ? -1 Also, the Children's Home Society had expanded and in due '7 course counties were licensed to place children, and ;r5 , there was not the same need for it. a Lie18 Was that the last of the adoption activities that you r .< i pursued? . . ~raden: No, because in very recent years, about four years ago,

L '-.1 there was a committee organized here known as the MARCH 5 5 Adoption Committee. That was an alphabetical term invented ; by a resourceful person: Minority Adoption Recruitment of -.;r" Children's Hones--M-A-R-C-H-and the forming of that coi- 9

; mit tee came about through a recopimendation . of the existine d child-placing agencies,who vere having great difficulty & 'f ! in placing' children of minority grOU;>S. j' , . . . . This has always been a 'problem, hasntt it?' 5 Braden: Yes, and what they cali the hard-t~=~lacechild, the ! older child, as well as the Negro child, the Mexican t child., the child of Latin descent, and the Indian child. , .I a This committee was organized in 1956. Ve were very for- t tunate, I think, in the committee membership. Deniel: This was a San Francisco committee? 1 Eraden: No, it was Bay Area. Asameda County, Contra Costa, Marin, i Sen Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and solano countie~. A like coaittee had been orgauized in .Soathem ~alifornia but it did not have the success that our committee had. Daniel: Who implemented the organization of this group? Braden: It was the licensed adoption agencies. I think that the 4 2 Children's Home Society was very largely instrumental in recommending the formation of suoh a group. The Catholic charities also were interested. Ve brought in representatives of the Children's Home Society, of the. catholic . . charities, of the Jewish agency, -the executive secretary of the. Contra Costa Velfare Society, which was licensed in adoption work, and I served as representative of the Urban League representing the Negro group. We were given a.grant by the Columbia Foundation for .. -

' . '. d . . . . - '9 1 .. 225 .

I a three-year period, and 'we vere very fortunate in the Braden: f choice of our executive secretary, Mr. Michael Schapiro, i 4 a trained adoption person. He 'had been in adoptions with the Child Welfare Leagas of America, so it was a netural transition from the work of the' Child We.lfare League to the executive secretary of the MARCH Committee. He took as his assistant a well-trained Negro and a Spanish-American. The first Sob, of course, was research, and then to alert the minority agencies as to what were to be the activities of these committees.' As a committee, 'the first thing, a matter of publicity, was to find faniilies who wanted to adopt who vere unaware of the possibilities of adopting children. These children vould still have to be matched up to parents? Oh yes,. just as much .aspossible. Sometimes ve found children of mixed racial background where we had to decide which was the predominating racial characteristic, but Negro children were always"p1aced in Negro faailies. The numbers of applications that caine in--we were fairly' .. llooded with them. ' ' ...... - . f . .. .O 226 ...... *. . .I . . . . '3 i! - .. bniel: How did YOU publicize this whole business? 4 &aden: Through churches and social clubs in minority groups,

-.j ' 3 and through the newspapers. .. .a - Daniel: This sort of thing had.ndver been done before, -. Bradent No, it was a unique proJect, I think one of the reports should really go into the files with this report, $ani el: Good, Have you continued to function? 5 Braden: No. To begin with, we did no actual placilig of children, You were a public relations group, At first the staff in the MARCH office, with social service background and experience, screened people very carefully. And then the adoption procedure went through the existing agencies to which they were referred, Wa formed a sort of clearing house in which the agencies- met to report the children whom they had under their supervision who were eligible to adoption. For instance,. the agency in Contra Costa night have a child for whom

they had not the proper hone.. . That child, in this clearing house, was picked up by another agency in this area, so there was an exchange, you might say, And out of all

this there is still P meeting of people who exchange information on adoptable children.

. .

. . : . . .' ......

has to go through the.ChildrengsHome Society or some Yes; largely affecting children. We were one of the fev . . agencies that came out with a sldght surplus, which was a proud record for the MARCH Committee. Our publicity, I thought, was excellent. It was, standard-making for the whole country. Was this sort of movement afoot, in other parts of, the . i 1 .j country at the same time? 3 . . Bradeu: Yes, New York has an agency very much like the MARCH

,j agency placing hard-to-place chi.ldren. Have you continued an interest in this group'beyond the . . time when .you were on the connuittee? Braden: No, there is no special interst now. I have maintained a tr&nendous concern with the whole adoption procedure,. however, and would be interested in any new legislation that might be introduced. Ham you .any Impression about where the next great work has to be done in adoption legislation? There was a strong move at the session before the 1as.t to break down some of the legislation that had been, introduced, to release the independent adoptions from any state supervision.' Would you expect pressure fror th,e group -interested in rt a+ Y P 0 i c) a cD 03 'd !? rt 'I C* (0 4 t w cb r*. rt f; e Q a Y 'I. C 0 C* 0 0 (D b. f. 2 d Y a (0 r,r¶ a )r. rt OD E F 0 m 2 Y I-' -(D 03. (D 0 .r,' a r) rt - C* 9 S E.a .-4 $' 0 (D E E 0 a r+ a 'I b'. a K OD (D 0 a f; (D z e: E 'I 'I -m C* 3 f! I-' rt 0 F I children, is vital. In the accredited agencies the pro- i cedure is .usually to have the child in the adopted home for one year before the 'adoption is made final by court i' actton, but in these 'independent adoptions there is no :t f .I such requirement. j Daniel' There is no requirement for a year's probation period - because there is actually no official investigation in Y -1 j the home, is there? No. Have you had anything to do with the adoption of children from overseas? No. I have read a great deal about it. Therefs a good deal of publicity in the papers, but I haven't had anything to do vith that. I think there are instances in which sentimentali ty carries people away, and may be a disseririce to the 1 .i children. Ve read fantastic ~toriesof one good father * in a remote area' who has taken twenty children for adop- fi I 4 tion, regardless of race or color. 5

mielt This is a direct, , independent arrangement. 1 % ,:.'adenr Yes, . . j . . * i . - 1 24

.; I i Day Care Centers

'3 gradan: In 1942, at the suggestion of Miss Martha Chickering, i its executive, I was asked to serve as 'the chairman of Z I the advisory committee in Northern California on day i i i care of children, to the Department of Social Welfare, $ el: How large was that group? t Braden: We tried to include all the people who were concerned I 1 day and 5 vi th care, to set standards, just what the term < i implied--advise the State Department of Social Welfare .I t -3 to revise their standards,. biel: Was .it a hard-working comittee? .4 ?-&den: Yes, it was an earnest committee and a very hard-working -a t ... one, ! 1 This was a day care center program that developed because

.a i of war needs, I presume? Yes, that was one of the things that loomed ,very impor- tantly in the war work in vhich I was involved. Prom 1942 to 1946, a1.0, I .erred on the Guidance Committee

Of the .Community Chest, the cromittee which is a sort of over-all committee which suggests to the Chest vhat next to do, A planning committee,

. . Yes What was your biggest problem?. I think it vas the aatual starting of day care centers. If women are needed on the production line you must have a plan to care for their children. We were hearing har- rowing stories of children vho were neglect.ed. It was a matter of stirring up con'muaity sentiment in regard to them. At the same time I worked in an organization vhich I think was unique in San Francisco, known as the Neigh- bors' Work Exchange. It vas organized and originated by Mrs. Dorothy Friedlander, uho conceived the idea of having people in need of temporary help register with this Neighbors' Work Exchange end providing them with people to work. They took over an empty. . store on Polk Street, and had excellent publicity. Mrs. Friedlander went on the radio and publicized the work, and before we knew it we were getting hundreds of applications from people who needed help, from women who needed jobs. It vss an out- * standing work for vhich Mrs. Friedlander'should be given . great credit. She's a very fine public relations person;

bnt.utl Lbrary t I she served on our Community Services Committee, We brought her into that. She wrote' original skits for radio in which many of us participated. Also she asked me to do a little lecturing on standards of keeping records and standards of approach to clients, all of which I enjoyed,

'Comreunits Chest

Braden : In 1943 I served on the Budget Study Commit tee of the ------3 Community Chest. Was the probleiof collecting money getting grimmer? , L .. . !' Braden: Yes, it was. I felt, serving on that committee, that I really had eomething of worth to contribute as a result of my experience in atate service. I found, for instance, that there were some organizations that didn't know khey were eligible for tax exemptjone. And I knew many of the institutions very well which vere coming before the Budget .Study Committee. I se&ed on that for a year. Then in 1944 I served again on the Advisory Committe~ on Foster Homes. That vas.a matter of standardization and proper licensing, safeguarding the licensing of foster homea, Being sure the Community Chest participants did meet standards? Yes. It wasn't confined only to Community Chest agencies. . . There had been a great deal of advertising in the ,nsws- papers of peogle offering their homes as foster.homes.' Ye got excellent cooperation from the newspapers in publiciz- ing the fact that foster homes gust be licensed, which was a very important step. This wes a sub-committee of the C~mmityCheat?

Yes. In 1945 the professioaal social workers pleaded with the Community Chest that a social worker be appointed to serve on its board. And the Cornmuni ty Chest as a' cornpro, mise agreed to the theory that the social workers were advancing, that a representative should be selected by them to serve on the Community Chest, but said that it should no$ be en sxecukive of an agency that had to present its problems through the Community Chest. And the social workers designated me a8 their representative. 1 think thatts a great ao~liment. It vas a very nice compliment. After each mee ti* .of the Commuai ty Chest, vhich vas ! i . :Ii Braden: at least orce a month, 1 reported back to the Children'rr 3 .4 1 Council the findings and recopnendations of the board of -J , the Community Cheet. !he president of the Community Chest i

I during the two years in which f served was Mrs* Henry 5 I Potter Russell, .a conscientious and dedicated citizen. $ 3 I had a great regard for Mrs. Russell while I worked under .*n her. f 3 The matter came up then of converting one of the in- ! . + stitutions which wes serving as an orphanage to ega insti- d C .8 tution for temporary care of children, Mrs. Russell asked ? i -1 .. me to make the'study which involved considerable research, i and my recommendations vere accepted add embodied bd the institution then changed its program, . . In 1946 there vas a special Chest committee appointed known as the Family and Children's Service Committee, of vhich Bishop Block was the chairman. I found that I had to carry on a crusade ia behalf of publie agencies. There I was considerable resistance to public sekice; there. was

I I - -- ; a feeling that the private agency was more desirable than I 1:

I. -- ; :; I the public agency. That I found difficult to understand. -.t .- ..-- But the statement was made one day that Mrs. Brsden had a i somewhat biased 1dea because she had been indoctrinated

with the theory of public service, vhereupon a11 the .. hands of the oommittee went up saying they agreed with Mrs. Braden. [~au~hter]So that little crusade was somewhat effective. This then was simply a personal, emotional bias,

Yes, I don't know if it was emotional or intellectual, It came from people who had not knoun.public service and didn't realize how effective it could be.

-., f Minori tv Group Problems Y2 Braden: In 1947 there was a realization that our Negro population !i was'growing and that a survey'should be made of the Negro ' - in San Francisco. The population had grown from 4,000 to approximately 40,000. This in-migration had brought with it all sorts of problems which vere not being aet by the community. ~t was largely at the instigation of the Y. W. c..A. that a survey was made. Dr. Charles Johnson- vas brought here from Pisk University to make the study, bringing vith him a very efficient staff, 'Asa.result, there vere recomendations made in regard to future activity, Braden: I very fortunately'vas asked to be a member of that survey committee. P, Daniel t This again was part of the Community Chest? Braden: The Ccmmity Chest endorsed it strongly. i Db~iel: But this was an independent committee? ! traden: Yes, it was. 4 .Deniel: Where did the money come from to launch the survey? 4 Braden: I think probably the Cornunity Chest helped with the survey and I think the Y.V.C.A. and the Y.M.C.A. also helped; it was a joint effort. Finally the study came out in book form. That vas py first introduction to the problem of the Negro, except for one experience which I had in Chicago when at the very beginning of the war a meeting was called by the Chicago School for Social Work, of which Miss Breckenridge was the principal. Chicago was confronted with the problem of day care of children of Negroes vho had come 90,000 strong to work in the stockyards. Ilo adep&te plan was .made for caring for the children of the &others vho were needed to work. In fact Chicago, not so very lon& before, had introduced a drastic piece of legislation vhich barred all the child care centers which did not measure up to standard Braden: practices, and this eliminated many of those ca~iagfor i

The Johnson survey was my next step in my education in such problems, One of.Dr. Johnson's recommendations resulting from the survey was that curban League be . . . . .'- established in San *rancisco. 1.. . - --

Daniel: Were Urban Leagues stddard throughout the country? ' ' .! .haden: There were Urban Leagues in'aost of the large cities of 3 ,d< the United States, and there's a very influential lational E 4 "I Urban League with headquarters in Nev York City. hiel: Is the shifting Negro population and its problems one of i : its chief interests, or the only interest? .! .! Bredsn: Itwas its chief interest in the war days, but it has I since branched out into other' fields of action. I was. asked to be the first president of the Urban League but I refused to accept that position. Why? Eraden: Feeling that a person who was herself of ri ninority group should not act as the president of another minority group, to which Mr. .Seatan Manning, the executive secretary .of '? Urbsn League, said, uNutsf* So, I was not the president, -4 but I was on the board, and I have been a perennial member --going on a 'sabbaticaln according to the [laughter] rules and regulatf as of the Urban League sf ter three years of service, then going back. Daniel: What has been your special intereat on the board? Are there board assigtments? t Braden: I will say that everything hzs been my special interest. 1 I found it a very stimulating board on which to serve, not only because of individual cases that come up but because of the general 'approach to the problem of such a racial minority as the Negro.

Danielt What were so~eof them? . Braden: Well, there is always a problem of housing, the problem

I of segregation. baniel: Vhat did you do to make changes there? Braden: We had to fight the housing question on the matter of the 1 individual vho cmot find a house. Even our exeutive t 4 secretary, ~arrard-trained, hi8 wife a 'graduate of Barnard,

;

J had difficulty in finding a home in San Francisco. Daniel: You tacBd each aituati-on by atself. bedent Yes. By and large Urban League was a casework agency. low, of course,. that wemr=having the possibility of . .

vith segregation

Daniel: Now, how did you vork with. this? Braden: We worked step by step. We established 'adepartment of industrial relations and were for'tunate in having a very 2

I t able man as the executive in that Qepartment, Mr. Don ;$ C Clover, He gathered around him a committee representing buscness who in turn helped him. in every way to .employ Negroes. There vere few. retail shops vhich would~employ iegroes. There vere one or two outstanding ones who had done so but even those who had liberal policies in their shops outside of San Francisco were inclined to draw the

line in San Francisco, being afraid. . of the public stti- tude, the customer attitude. By degrees that is completely . . . . ."-c--LC . . '......

We had a Community Relations Committee on vhich I.

. . ., dren who wanted to co~tinuetheir education'were needed,

social clubs?

I remeniber going to some of the exercises where scholarships were awarded. The first year there .were very few because

have expanded. We tried very hard to establish some form of. training for temporary domes tic servioe, but it didn't work out. There vere too many people who didn't feel that training is needed for that type of work. Ye had cooperation from

ment, but we had no takers.

... . .

.- &niel: does domestic work.

Eraden: A peat myof them, but they didn't feel they needed any : -1 special training for it. More and more the schools of nursine; are welcoming Negroes into their training schools. 3- This last year the. Community Relations Committee de-

.: i cidrd to devote itself-this is coaing right up to date-- . f to the problem of the dependent I?egro~ and the Aid to Needy . *iP .- .. . Children Program, We are'now making recommendationsas to I .! 7 :i what the next st.ep is. The number of Negro children and i. :I Negro families on the id to Needy Children program seemed i disproportionate to the population. The program has been 3 C. under terrific attack. The amount of money it involves i has been considered enormous. '!

Daniel: Did you do a study first to' find the number on ANC? . . &aden: We found this from the State Departmeit of Social Welfare. '? We had outstanding people frkm each department come in 2 to tell us about their particular problem. We found a serious problea of deserting fathers, absent fathers. Also, there's a very high rate of illegitimacy cu~ong Negro mothers. And the Urban Le.ague could face it in a .. vay that a nor.-Negrb group could not. Ye have formulated . our recommendations': that there be much more careful. . case- . . or. This idea does not originate with Urban Le&ue. The suggestion came from the State Department of Social Welfare that the time had corns to proceed on a casework- ing basis much more than they had heretofore, and we are endorsing that very strongly, . Lack of personnel in the social agencies has pr.ecluded the possimity of doing adequate casework? Yea. But very fortunately there has been a grant made to the Public Welfare Department of San Francisco by the Columbia Fundation. The cornmu& ty Chest is endorsing the plan, and in fact is going to furnish some additional funds, What do you think you rill tackle nextP We had a meeting yesterday. The next step we think will be a study of health education. We have a theory that there are enough centers in San Francisco adequately to meet this problra of health education, but they have not been used by the' Negro community. Einiel: Do you mean clinic facilities? : 4raGenr Yes, and to quote a case in point there is a Vest Side .zt Health Center which for a long'time had a clinic devoted to pre-natal care which was abolished because'it wasn't ...... ' ...... ' .,...

. .

. ..

we can strengthen these services we feel that there is a valuable contribution to be made. 'As a, matter of fact, before winding up our recommendations on . .

. .. . A the Aid to Needy Children program we held a public meet t 'j' a ! ing and invited representatives from all the Negro organ- 3 4 izations to attend. We had an excellent representation I C ! -!

.. -i- . there. Ve hope that they carried- the message back to i2; . . their organizations and clubs. ,4? Daniel: You work through the Negro organizations and clubs? ' i Braden: Yes, and ve had very good publicity through the newspapers. baniel: The Negro children go to public schools, and there's a .! 41 school health program. Braden: But there is also the problem of the pre-school child. ? There is 8 very serious problem of pre-natal care. We 5 :$ had a report made that the proportion of stillbirths is

! high. 4 Daniel; This difficulty is related to pre-natal care? 3raden: Yes, no doubt of that. . ! Diiniel: You're getting at the bssia problems. .. 3aden: The basic problem is to interest the Negro community, i to rouse thilr -interest in their own problems. There are enough leaders in the legro cop~lpunity to make this possible...... ; ......

'+ miel: You have plenty of well-trained Negroes. , Braden: Oh yes, ve have plenty of potential leaders. They must 1 take the ideas back to their own communities, i: I hiel: Is the increase in the Negro population in San Francisco I !' T i greater than it is elsewhere in California? I i Bradenr No, I think not. I understand that one-third of the pop- b * - 3 ulation of Berkeley is Negro, and one-third of Oakland is , .! 3 Negro. :,* Ii Daniel: Do you communicate with other Bay Area cities? 'I ' - :< t Xraeder: The San Francisco Urban League has become the Bay Area ..- .. ( -j Urban League, There haven1t been leagues in Oakland and in Berkeley? No, although there have been many problems in Richmond, for instance. There was no Urban '~ea~ueover there.' What kind of representation do you have from the other bay cities? We have a representative -.of the Urban League witb headquarters in Oakland who has worked out in Richmond and ,has tried to work in dlameda. Unfortunately we haven't

gotten much Community . Chest support. from those comnuni- ties, ...... : ...... '...... ' .. . -. . , ......

...... : I . . Daniel: The Urban League person in Oakland is from San Francisco? ,!. .. Braden: Yes, he's On our payroll. -+I. . . . Danielr Not a person from the Oakland area who joined the group? ., I Braden: No. 4 ~anielt This puts you in the position of trying to persuade the 4

1 , * other cities of the importance of Urban League work. . haden: Yes, trying very hard. Even in Marin County where there ! :i? have been many problems. We have been trying to get .5 -1 funds from Warin'County to cupport the work that needs !I to be done there, but the support has been very amall. ;i .i

Daniel: ' Has the Urban League solicited support from other than Community Chest eources? It has been necessary for the Urban League to set up a membership of its own independent: of the ~ommkity Chest and to raise additional funds. Do you have support from the Negro group in Berkeley? I'm afraid we haven' t.. That's one of the things that I feel very strongly about,thst we must reach the grass roots of the population.' Even though we get only very small contributions I feel they should be financially

and intellectually involved. . a ~raden: In a way there is a division between the ~e~roeawho :;. .* . . . have lived here for years and were part of the community. i i i They were not aware of any discrimination. It was diffi- f cult for them to find certain kinds of employment, but i - .I LI they were people who by degrees had opportunities, advan-

..a tages, and sent their children to college. And then cane .. d a in a new type from the deep South who brought with them ? -. different standards of housing and hygiene. 1 . -. ( Lie18 Has the older ,.more etabliahed group, been hdpfuL? 1 - 3iaden: I think that's where we've gotten our leadership. It's .: I . : : I. A been a very frank and courqgeous approach to the problem. .'? ? . . .: .: .+ I remember the first little pamphlet that the Urban 3 ..- - League issued on the subject of advising newcomers how to apply for jobs. li non-Nrgro would not have presunsd 1 .ii . . to say the things that the Negro said about behavior.

' :- This is one of your continuing important interests. . ..: , . .:_ lraden: I hope so, yes. In 1949 I went on the board of the Council . . 1; for Civic Unity. Fsaiel: What' s this?' 12I i 1 -;aden: It's an organization established to fight for equal ri&hts ! I: for all minori ty groups. here are conparable organizations in other communities but they have different names. Daniel$ What people' stimulated its organization? 1 Braden: It was a citizen's committee. Mr. Boyd was the .first president, The next president was Mr. Dan Koshland, who main- - tains a continuing interest in the Council for Civic Unity. He is Mr. Council 'for Civic Unity. Daniel: Is he still the president? Braden : No, he's not the president. Whenever there is an election 2 I we ask him to become president again but he's faithful in tive secretary and an administrative assistant and office

. . hiel:. How large is your board? .?1 Eraden: The board is thirty. .. :# We have tried always to have representatives of minor- ! ity groups as well as repre6entatives of the community in j . I .4 . ''I .I,'I

.j.1 I Braden: - general- We always have Negro represehtativas a.repre-

i sentative of .the Japanese.group; a representative of the 4 ? ...... i' Chinese-American group; a representative ofthe Filipino i group; of the Spanish-American group; and then representatives-at-large of the community, people who believe in civil rights, civic-minded people, It has aome to be a sort of clearing house for people who have problems.

.: Daniel: HOW do you function? ? i Braden: Through -publicity and through an understanding of what the functions of the group are. If a' man is'discrimina- ted against in employment he seems to find his way to the Council for Civic ~nity. If a man has difficulty in finding a home he turns to the Council for Civic Unify. Now, in a way you cover a lot of territory that the American Civil Liberties Union covers,

'Daniel: Well, I'd like you to differentiate. i ' bradens The American Civil Liberties Union devotes itself to %he 'i defense , of pe.ople who are the victims of discrin- t lGal i i inating practices. If we have. a case that needs legal ! . representation we refer them. to the American Civil Lib-

become the exeutive of the Fair .Employment Practice Corn- .-- i mission, and we nov have Mr. Frank Quian as our executive secretary. - . -1 ;-; . .. Daniel: This volume was completed in June 1958. It was your first' ? , ::: ' 4? . stuay, 1 Braden: Yes, and we are now finishing our volume on housing. It - 1 . : i . - ...... j ii in the process of being printed. Its galley proof ia .? ready, X .. ..,':- . baniel: After you completed the employment study and brought this . . :I .. !. . information together, vhat did you do with It? . ... - .a_ ... I ~raden: We circulated it, eent it to dllibraiies. We had a special fund for this.

, 1 Daniel: For distributing this. Fraden: Yes, I ;. ( Paniel: Did you pursue any other public relations activities? . .-.:.. I&aden: We .got the coope;ation of the nevapaper. and had very good . . :i . -. .. . . 2 publicity through %hem. . . .-. Baniel: Was this the first.study that was done about employlent and 4 !. - i 1 ;r 2 civil rights? ; . , Braden: Yes, as far as I B OW. . . . i; .. .. .-....7.:. - ! .I" 4

. ' , .. . . , * +i . i .? . , * . . L 1 . ? .- - . .1 . i. 'Daniel: Have YOU a June 1964 postscript to what was first recorded 1 I d about the Council for civic lhli ty [four years af tor origin- $3 :.$ .a al interviewing took place]? ! 'Braden: Well, Vetre still going along. The executive, Frank Quinn, resigned;' he vent to Washington for some conference and

i while he was there he was offered a very attractive job ? t f in race relations, so he came back and resigned from the E. 1 Council--and after we had engaged somebody else, the corn- ! mittee Mr. Quinn was .going to be on was not activated, it 5 .s . just faded out. ~d took on a young man named John Delury. .i ! John'had been assistant to Senator McAteer. Ve were very f happy to get him and liked him very much, and he was with 1 AC < 1 5 us about two months when he came in snd said he was lea- i ' ! ing to run for the assembly. That was quite a shock to I .I I f 5 us. There was another young man who we thought would coma 1 11 in, but he decided was going into political life, said he was going to be the mayor of San Francisco, as a matter i, i.. I .: of fact. [~au~hter]. We're now taking on a young marr named I ? i Eugene Hats a graduate Baptist minister who has been ,. -. Wolf. i 4 : i , - in .social work in Alsnreda County with the social relations i 1 departLent there, and we are quite pleased with the pros- ; d pect of havine him. So &'re just going along, sort of ... n f .. w ...... ' . ,254 1 :. . . :5 ...... 3 . . i ...? Braden: limping at this m~aenf. Lucy Cushing had been carrying

i on very effectively. 4 j

Final Comments: On Improvin~Jails, Women and Social Legislation. and socialized ~edicine -1 Braden: All that is left now to mention is the Northern Califor- nia Service League. I served on that board from 1955 to

1956. They devote themselves to trylng to solve the ' problem of the Plaa who is held in the county and city jails, and to improving the standards of the jails. . .I Danielt Who is responsible for county jails? The ~ivisionof Corrections now has the supervising of county jails. In the old days the Board of Charities and Corrections had that but it was pretty dirficult for them - to exercise any real power. There is some criticism of county jails? There always has been criticism of cougty jails. But this isn't fhe sort of thing you usually do. How did [ E r .$ L $ you get pulled into this? / i I Braden: Just by a friend who thought I had sonething to contribute. ' Braden: I went to ;neeting~regularly and..had the greatest. regard >

for Judge Peters, who was the president, The Quakers . - - i are very much interested, And on the board vere ,some of our finest superior court judges who gave time and . - - effort and energy to the problems that came up. But I 4 had so many other interests that I didn't feel that I .i'

could be of any help in this 'group, and so at the end . , i i of the year, after learning a great deal, I resigned. j ,Daniel: To what extent do you consider vomen's organizations instrumental in the development of social legislation? Is their pressure the chief impetus? * Braden: No, I don't think it is, necessarily. I think that the

$ League of Woman Voters has done a very good job, 1thas 1 i been a vrr; good influence in the community. They are ..1 . nonpartisan on people, but not on issues, What 'about church groups? I can' t think of any especially, I think Mrs. Pike is.' leading the Episcopal group to become more involved, .and Bishop Pike has put in a director of social services who . . i P 1 is a.well-trained person. 1. Danielt I think each generation develops its om constellat-ion of ..! . 3 social welfare interests; What is upperaost now? . . Braden: I think a great many women, oh, most of my friends, are

.'I interested 'In Planned Parenthood now. They 're a pretty articulate group. The International H~spltalltygroup has been pretty active too. Berkeley has been awfully interested in saving the bay. Mrs. Clark Kerr has been interested In that. The prize package is Mrs. Robert Gordon Sproul, of . . course. She's promised me repeatedly to bring me her book.+ She and I belong to the same lunch club, which - is hown as the Yak-Yak Club. [~aughter] It started in ? Mrs. Sproul'a house really; she asked me and a couple of s I1 other people over to lunch, and we had such a good time I . j I i we decided we would meet regularly, and nov we yak-yak - j once a month. She's about as right-minded a person as .( I know, really remarkable; she's a wonderful example for i .# a?f women In public lifa, Panielt Do you have eome comment about the present developwent of .] . . legislation In the field of medical nervicesi

L! %aden: As far as I'm concerned, the.rnost precious thing you have .. .3 ' .3 in the world is your health. I am an ardent believer In . ..., d

: '3 .s. *' . . Ida Wittschen Sproul, ' Duty. Devotion,. and Deli~htin the .. J President's House. Univereity of Calf fornia, a Regions1 Ctlltursl History Project interview conducted. by E.T. Dmiel, i .] Berkeley 1961. r ?I ...... :...... ' . . - ...... , .

. a . . . , . . 257 .

. . . 1. . 4' . 1 ; Braden: s?ne fora of socialized medicine. Vhen I vas. in England . , ' . .. j : j' I spent a great deal of time vith a cousin- who is one of the foremost physicians in London, and I asked him '3. . .:. how the British plan of socialized medlcine Gas working. .i *. I! .!, He said, nBeautifully.m '~e1s probably the most important a I i pathologist in London; he went on the panel for socialized - I f .-. medicine, gave his service, carried on his private practice at the same time, and was dedicated to their plan of 'i socialized medicine, which counteracted all the stories that we hear. It is working in England. ~anielt If you vere starting your social.service work now, hov t would you approach it? i; a Braden: I think I might specialize more. I think I would go into i f the field of economics. 3 naniel: You see this as the basis of social welfare problems? . ( &aden: Yes. 4 hiel: Yherever it iu applicable, is it fair to assume that you .i' t z feel social insukce far superior to charity? . lradenr Oh, very much 80. 1 ..;i .* .+ s

.j iYanscribedc LW aped: SR

Adams, Miss Mary, 222 adoptions, 184,185,209ff-230 id for Needy Children, 143-1562 f ,243,245: eligibility, 149,150; budgets,154,155; medical care,157-161 krmstrong, Barbara Nachtrieb, 132-134 Associated Charities, 113,212,213 As tredo, Joseph, 66,67,98,99 Baker., Clara D., 106,107 Say Area Urban League, 224,239-248 . Block, Bishop, 236 Braden, Amy'Steinhartr childhood, 1-35; college, 36-52; - first social work, 53-96; workiag for the state of Califorriia, 97-189; marriage, 189-195; . volunteer vork, 196-257 %aden, Robert, 56,81,84-86,170-176,180ff-195 Brusie, Miss Mary, 209,210,212,213,217-223 Bryant, Mrs. Carrie Parsons, 113

California Conference of Social Work, 165-167,180 ' California State Board of Charities and Corrections, 111- 114,123,124,128,144-149,164,177ff-189,199,213,254; the members of the board, 113 California Stste Board of Control, 97ff-169,173ff-189 I California State Board of Education, 135,161 j California State Board of Examiners (later Board of Control), I 117,144,145 California State Board of Health, 130,131,152,155,158,159,161 California State Bureau of Child Hygiene, 137,151,152,162 California State Bureau of Tuberculosis, 121,140,143 California State Department of Institutions, 182 California State Department of Public Welfare (see State Department of Social Welfare) Caljfornia State Departuent of Sacial Welfare, 170-189,213, 215,216,227,231,243,244; the members of the board, le0, 181 California State Division of Corrections, 254 California State Fair Board, 163,164 . . _ . ,).,_ .-.-*-,---- ...... , ...... :: . . . . _ . .. ' . , . .

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.. 3 ...... ' ... " 260 1.: . . f . .. . . i i. 1 . . . . . i.. - ......

: ~aliforniaState Federation of Woments Clubs, 135,152,181 i California State Industrial Accident Commission, 161,162 . California State SociaXInsurance Commission, 132-134,137. Carstens, C-C., 106,139 Chickering, Miss. Martha, 231 children's Home Society, 212,218,219,223,224 Coffee, Rabbi Rudolph, 181 I Columbia Foundation (San Francisco1 224,225,227,228,244 I ~ommunity Chest (San Francisco), 237220249; Advisory Com- . .+ nittee on Foster Hones, 234; Children s Council, 207, .. 208,236; Guidance Committee, 231; Legislative Committee, r ? 209; ,Budget Study Commit tee, 234; Family and Children's j t Service Committee, 236 .. . - crippled children, 135,136 Cuehing, Miss Lucy, 254 f Daniels, G.B., 119 day care centers, 231-233 .* delinquency, causes of, 203-205 Delury, John, 253 Duffy, Alice, 47,58,59 Dunne, Miss Phyllis, 222 'i Eldridge, Miss Anita, 178-180 Nrs. L. 1 Eshleman, Elizabeth , 131 f I fanily service agencies, 206,207. Felton, Katherine, 84b,99,106,113,147 ; , Fitzgerald, Mrs. William, 181 i; flu epidemio, 159,160 Friedlander, Mrs. Dorothy, 233,234 c . .;. -. . j ! . Gates, Almont, 177- ? Gayley, Charles Mills, 39,47,48 ., Gibbs, Sir Philip, 193 1 Glover, Don, 241 . .* -. - - Gordon, Kate, 127,161 - 1 Hanr-a, Archbishop, 114,-211 .. Hardy, Miss Sophie, 202,206 .,. .'{ . . . . + ': :I'. i ! -'? . .

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.; .; . Henderson, Miss Olive, 186 . . Howdon, Ed, 251,252 Hull. House, 69,70,74,193 Huntington, Miss Emily, 233 Ingals, Miss Reba, 131

Jaffa, M.E., 155 . Johnson, Dr. Charles, 237-239 Jobason, Hiram, 94,99,100,104,137,176 Kelley, ~rs.bura Taylor, 181 Kerr, Mrs. Clark, 256 King, Mrs. Maude Spear, 181 Koshland, Dan, 249,250 League of Women Voters, 72,73,255 LeConte, Joseph, 49-51 Lilly, Mrs. Emma, 212 Long, Percy, 99,100 Los Angeles Childrens Home, 106 Lucey, Father Robert E. , 181 Madame Ziskat's School, 13-16,34,37,'51 Manning, Mr. Seaton, 239 Mat thews, Lillian R., 106,108,129 Meyer, Rabbi, 113 migraqt labor, 189 M.A.R.C.H. (Minority Adoption Recruitment of Children8 Homes) , 223-228 Miss Lake's School (see Madame Ziska's school) Morris, Mrs. Edith Smeeten, 200 Mosbacher, Cecil, 218,219 Mothers' Pension Act, 115,139 Murphy, Prentiss, 106,139 Native Sons and Native Dauehters of .the Golden Wests

Committee on Homeless Children, 201,202; Central . , Adoption Cornmi ttee, 209-213,.217-223 Negroes (San ~rancisco),237-248 I 3. 262 i 1 f i f ! 1 '. p Nelles, Fred, 176 Neylan, John Francis, 102-105,118,132,133,187 Northern California Service League, 254,255 Orcutt, Geneva, 130,137 orphanages (~alifornia), 106,107,110,116,121-128,130, 131,136-143,148,149: personnel and supervisors, 124- 127; sectarian ins titutions, 125-127; admissions, d 137-13 9; Americanization programs, 141-143 ? Peirce, Mrs. Nellie B., 165,166,174 Peixotto, Jessica, 106,113,133,147,148 Pendleton, Ben, 113 i Phelan, James D., 84b,84~ Pirie, Miss Ieabella, 131 .: Pope, Miss Miley, 129,132 Progressive Party (California), 93

? Queen, Stuart A., 113,176 , Quinn, Frank, 252,253 i Radcliffe, George, 175 J Ram, Father, 113.

Richareson, Friend, 164,166,172-175,183,184,188 ., Ruef, Abe, 89-91 Russell, Mrs. Henry Potter, 236 Salvation Army: orphanages, 127,136,200,201; lecture. course, 196-200 San Francisco, earthquake and fire, 75-89; disaster relief, 84a-89 San Francisco graft prosecutions, 89-92 San Francisco Children' s Protective Society , 202-207 San Francisco Columbia Park Boys Club, 57,58 San Francisco Council for-Civic Unity, 248-254 San Francisco Girls Club, 57-60,73,74,196 Sm Francisco Juvenile Court , 65968,204,206 San Francisco Eeighbors Work Exchange, 233, Sm Francisco South Park Settlement, 55-57 San Francisco Urban League (see Bay Area Urban League) San Francisco Widows Pension Bureau, ,115,116 Schapiro, Michael, 225 Saavey, Clyde L., 103,117,118,158 Shepherd, Miss Edith Leslie, 131 Southern Pacific Railroad, 93,94,172 ~~livaio~Miss Reba Crawford, 196,197 Sproul, Robert Gordon, 157 Sproul, Mrs. Robert Gordon, 256 Stanwood, Mrs. Cornelia, 178,179 Steinhart Family, 1-35,6664: William and Josephine, 1-4ff; grandmother, 5-7,21; music, 5,11,12; house, 7,12,13,21, 77ff; schooling,l3-20; entertainments, 20; reading, 10, 23; children, 9,24; clothing, L6,17,25,42-44; household help, 22,26928; vacations, 31; food shopping, 32,33; social life, 4-6,18,19,29,34-36,64,65; relatives, 53, 54; religion, 17-20,35 Steinhart, Hilda, 61,62,84c Steinhart, Jesse, 13,24,63,99-101,104 Steinhart, Rose, 60,61,101 suffrage, 94,95 Taxpayers1 Associations (Southern California), 165,166 tuberculosis hospitals, 121,14G,141,143 University of Callforniar student life, 1096-1900, 38-52; Hospital, San Francisco, 157 6 War Manpower Mobilization, Community Services Committee, 4 232-234 ! Weed, Miss Mabel, 187 Whelan, Fairfax, 212 Wolf, Eugene, 253 ! I Wolfson, Ray, 57-59,99 .? f fZ i 5 i .I i

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