14 
PROTECTION OF MATERNITY. 
STATEMENT OF MRS. MAUD WOOD PARK, REPRESENTING 
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS. 
Senator Shortridge. There are several members who have not 
been on this committee up to the present time, and without asking 
that everything should be repeated that has been brought before the 
committee before, I would like to ask the witness to give us the 
cardinal points as if we were the original committee hearing this. 
Mrs. Park. I expected, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the 
committee, that if anything was to be said about this bill it would be 
said in regard to the bill itself, but the previous speaker has raised 
so many questions quite remote from the consideration of the bill, 
that I want to ask whether I am to be permitted to make one or two 
statements about the points which do not directly relate to the bill, 
but were advanced by the previous speaker ? 
The Chairman. You may follow out your own plan. You may 
go ahead. 
Mrs. Park. Mr. Chairman, I represent the Women’s Joint Com 
mittee for the Sheppard-Towner bill. This consists of representatives 
of 10 of the great national organizations that have indorsed this 
measure, including the W. C. T. U., the General Federation of 
Women’s Clubs, the National Women’s Trade Union League, the 
National Consumers’ League, the Young Women’s Christian Associa 
tion, the Girls’ Friendly Society, the Council of Jewish Women, the 
American Home Economic Association, the National Federation of 
Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, and the National League 
of Women Voters. 
The Chairman. You are the president of the National League of 
Women Voters? 
Mrs. Park. I am president of the National League of Women 
Voters, and I have been asked by the committee to speak for the 
other organizations. 
The Chairman. They have indorsed this bill, the National League 
of Women Voters ? 
Mrs. Park. Yes, the National League of Women Voters has in 
dorsed the bill, and has repeated its indorsement. May I say a word 
about the way that the indorsements were taken in our association, 
because some question has been raised about the manner in which the 
indorsements of the bill have been procured. Our organization had 
the bill presented to it at its previous convention, 14 months ago, by 
the Committee on Child Welfare, of which Mrs. Percy Pennypacker 
was chairman. Last February, two months in advance of the recent 
convention, we sent out a recommendation that it be indorsed this 
year to all State leagues, with the result that the leagues have 
discussed it pro and con, and the delegates came to the conven 
tion prepared to express an intelligent opinion on it. The bill was 
recommended again, and again indorsed by the convention last week. 
The measure has been very carefully studied by our organization. 
The Chairman. How many women are represented in the League 
of Women Voters f 
Mrs. Park. Approximately 2,000,000, and we are only one of the 
great national organizations that have indorsed the bill. The Daugh 
ters of the American Revolution repeated their indorsement last 
week. And the National Congress of Mothers and Parent Teacher