again. Her milk was fairly
plentiful, despite her fatigue and "jumpy nerves." Unfortunately at this
time, when they had accumulated a little surplus and she was looking
forward to better clothes for her family and more comforts, the plant at
which her husband was employed suspended operations because of some
"high finance" mix-up. Coming at this time, the news struck terror into
her heart; she broke down, became "hysterical" _i.e._ had an emotional
outburst. This passed away, but now she was sleepless, had no appetite,
complained of headache and great fatigue.

Though she was assured that the plant would reopen soon (in fact it soon
did), she made little progress. That she was suffering from a
psychoneurosis was evident; what remained was to bring about treatment.

This was done by enlisting a development of recent days,--the Social
Service agencies. Out of the old-time charity has come a fine successor,
social service; out of the amateurish, self-consciously gracious and
sweet Lady Bountiful has come the social worker. Unfortunately social
service has not yet dropped the name "Charity", perhaps has not been
able to do so, largely because the well-to-do from whom the money must
come like to think of themselves as charitable, rather than as the
beneficiaries of the social system giving to the unfortunates of that
system.

Let me say one more word about social service and the social worker,
though I feel that a volume of praise would be more fitting. The social
worker has become an indispensable part of the hospital organization, an
investigator to bring in facts, a social adjuster to bring about cure.
For a hospital to be without a social service department is to confess
itself behind the times and inefficient.

Briefly, this is what was done for this family.

Their prejudices against social aid were removed by emphasizing that
they were not recipients of charity. The husband was allowed to pay, or
arrange to pay, for a six weeks' stay in the country for the mother and
the new baby. The home for this purpose was found by the agency and was
that of a kindly elderly couple who took the woman into their hearts as
well as over their threshold. The social worker arranged with a nursing
organization to send a worker to the man's house each day to clean up
the home while the children stayed in a nursery. One way or another the
husband and children were made comfortable, and the wife came back from
her stay, made over, eage