July 9, 1918.
My dear Miss Addams:
I am glad to send such an encouraging report in mid-summer. We have been cautious about expenditures for outing work, partly because we have lost from our permanent staff some who have had most to do with it. Inexperienced residents cannot be trusted with camp work, so we have given it up this summer. There are fewer offers of cooperation for the larger day picnics.
Therefore we are assigning our temporary residents to the playground, evening street games on several residence streets, the vacation school held mornings, the weighing and measuring of babies, neighborhood visiting and the clubs and classes held in the house. The assistance rendered the police in registering [illegible] alien women by experienced women residents proved very helpful.
The permanent residents are reserved for the more exacting work in the neighborhood, in the courts, in supervising the large force of summer residents and in helping my daughter and myself in the draft work, which requires long daily office hours, serious responsibility and occasionally special stresses of work.
Our greatest concern is with regard to the day nursery. It continues to be as much needed and as helpful as ever, but our present quarters and equipment do not comply with the conditions required by the new city ordinance for the licensing and inspecting of day nurseries. We cannot rearrange and refit the rooms occupied by the day nursery and the adjoining space without crowding out much other work that seems equally important.
As nurseries are not allowed to be placed above the second floor in any building that is not fireproof, the Annex affords no available space that is sunlit or adapted to nursery work. Decision must be made before the ordinance is enforced here in the autumn.
As soon as there is any prospect of securing a quorum whom I myself can be present, I will call a meeting of the trustees, which should be held, since we have had only one during the fiscal year which closes in September.
Truly yours,
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