A Generation Behind: The Efforts of the Central Council for Social Services and the Community Chest during the 1920s in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

Abstract In 1919 the War Chest, which centralized funding for a variety of domestic and international aid organizations, was reorganized as the Central Council for Social Services and Community Chest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. These organizations attempted to unite social work within the city but were controlled by executive boards that opposed centralized control over the numerous private philanthropic organizations. Dr. William Estes, of St. Lukes Hospital, attempted to lead the Central Council towards a more active role in identifying and treating social issues, but the fate of Bethlehem was left to those that held the wealth in the community. As part of Estes desire to improve the city, Dr. Haven Emerson of New York City conducted a health study which found for a city with considerable wealth, mostly from Bethlehem Steel, Bethlehem was a generation behind in its approach to public health.