present the proposed industrial-school plan to the Convention for its
endorsement. The next day I called upon her to discuss matters. I
found her confined to her sofa with, a crutch beside her, and
evidently suffering much pain; but she seemed to be thinking less
about herself than about the work that was so close to her heart. She
urged me to take up the work which, she was regretfully obliged to
abandon, and was most enthusiastic over it.

Mrs. Croly said: "Those who have worked among the poor in large cities
are aware of the value of orderly and systematic industrial training
for girls of irresponsible parentage, between the years of twelve and
eighteen. These girls are often bright and attractive, but they are
usually self-willed, lacking in judgment, and ignorant of every useful
art, as well as of all social and domestic standards that lend
themselves to the development of a true womanhood. Their homes are
usually unworthy of the name, often scenes of disorder, not
infrequently of violence, from which their only escape is the street.
Their vanity and unbridled desire for low forms of pleasure expose
them to all kinds of evil influences, and the first steps in a
downward career are taken without at all knowing whither they lead.
The most dangerous element in the lives of such girls is their
ignorance. It bars all avenues to respectable employment and deprives
them of self-respect, which grows with ability to maintain oneself and
one's integrity in the face of adverse circumstances. In putting the
knowledge of the simplest art or industry in possession of the
untrained, unformed girl you supply an almost certain defence against
that which lurks to destroy."

I fully agreed with Mrs. Croly. My many years of experience as a
worker among the poor of New York City had taught me the importance,