Mina Van Winkle
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Mina Caroline Ginger Van Winkle (March 26, 1875 – January 16, 1933) was a crusading
social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...
,
suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...
, and groundbreaking police lieutenant. From 1919 until her death in 1933, she led the Women's Bureau of the
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the Washington, D.C., District ...
(in
Washington D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
), and became a national leader in the protection of girls and other women during the law enforcement and judicial process. Her provocative statements about gender and morality in the
jazz age The Jazz Age was a period from 1920 to the early 1930s in which jazz music and dance styles gained worldwide popularity. The Jazz Age's cultural repercussions were primarily felt in the United States, the birthplace of jazz. Originating in New O ...
brought her further national attention.


Biography

She was born Wilhelmina ("Mina") Caroline Ginger in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1875. From 1902 to 1905, she worked at Fernwood Home, a municipal reform school for girls in
Glen Ridge, New Jersey Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,802, an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2010 United St ...
. She graduated in 1905 from the social work program of the
New York School of Philanthropy The Columbia School of Social Work is the graduate school of social work of Columbia University in New York City. It is one of the oldest social work programs in the US, with roots extending back to 1898. It began awarding a Master of Science d ...
.Hearings before the Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations in charge of the District of Columbia Appropriation Bill for 1922
on December 8, 1920, pp. 635–648.
In 1905, while associated with the
National Consumers League The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is an American consumer organization. The National Consumers League is a private, nonprofit advocacy group representing consumers on marketplace and workplace issues. The NCL provides government, bu ...
and the Newark Bureau of Associated Charities, she exposed the harsh conditions in which immigrant child laborers from
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
worked in
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
farm fields. On October 27, 1906, she became the second wife of Abraham Van Winkle, wealthy president of a manufacturing company (and a widower 36 years her senior) who had financially supported the Bureau of Associated Charities. During their marriage, she engaged in social work on a volunteer basis. Her husband died on September 30, 1915, at age 76. She resided in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
, until approximately 1917.


Suffragist

In 1908, Van Winkle organized the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women of New Jersey, which in 1912 was renamed the Women's Political Union of New Jersey. She was the head of New Jersey chapter of the Union at the stage when the American suffrage movement clashed with eastern political machines and supporters of lawful drinking fearful that suffrage would lead to
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. Her tenure as president of the Union included 1915's unsuccessful effort to amend New Jersey's constitution by referendum to give women the right to vote. Following that defeat, the New Jersey chapter of the Union merged into the New Jersey Woman Suffrage Association, whose officers governed the resulting organization. Near the beginning of the presidential election year of 1916 (and several months after her husband's 1915 death), she announced that she would establish a legal residence in
Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...
, which had extended to women the right to vote in presidential elections. It is unclear whether she carried through with that announcement. As the suffrage movement was on the verge of succeeding through the passage of the
Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its states from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recognizing the right of wome ...
, she was a speaker at the 1920 National Woman's Party convention.


U.S. Food Administration official

Soon after the United States' entry into
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the Food and Fuel Control Act of 1917 established the United States Food Administration, with a mandate to voluntarily reduce the domestic consumption of food and produce, while increasing home production. President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
appointed future president
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
as its head, and Hoover appointed Van Winkle to organize and direct its speakers' bureau.


Police lieutenant

In 1916, the
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the Washington, D.C., District ...
began to hire policewomen.Raymond W. Pullman,
Annual Report of the Major & Superintendent of the Metropolitan Police
" pp. 10–11, 76–81 (1919).
In the summer of 1918, Police Major and Superintendent Raymond W. Pulliam established a woman's bureau, originally directed by Marion O. Spingarn. By October of that year, Van Winkle was one of four members of the Bureau. After Spingarn left in February 1919, Van Winkle became the Bureau's director, with an initial rank of detective sergeant (and, by December 1920, as a lieutenant). The Bureau's initial responsibilities included "girl welfare work," prevention and detection of store crimes, and supervision of movie theatres, dance halls, and similar places. However, its greatest emphasis was on casework. Van Winkle stated that "prevention and protection are more primary than prosecution, and those who have done wrong should be intelligently aided toward a better life." Most of the officers in the Bureau in 1920 were trained as school teachers, nurses, or social workers, and included one lawyer. The Bureau's creation became controversial on
Capitol Hill Capitol Hill is a neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., neighborhood in Washington, D.C., located in both the Northeast, Washington, D.C., Northeast and Southeast, Washington, D.C., Southeast quadrants. It is bounded by 14th Street SE & NE, F S ...
. In December 1920, a U.S. House appropriations subcommittee questioned Van Winkle and District Commissioner Charles W. Kutz. Subcommittee members Rep. George Tinkham (a Republican from
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
) (and Rep. Thomas U. Sisson, a Democrat from
Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
) objected that Congress had not specifically appropriated funds for a bureau of policewomen. Colonel Kutz responded that Congress had specifically appropriated funds for police officers, and "there is nothing in the law that requires that policemen shall be of the male sex." During the hearing, Tinkham, an opponent of women's suffrage, asked Van Winkle dozens of questions. When asked why she was doing this work, she replied, "because I have nothing else to do; it is my job in life." Ultimately, the Subcommittee did not withhold the Bureau's appropriation. In 1919, during a U.S. House Committee hearing that was ostensibly about the salaries of police officers in the District, Van Winkle claimed that the editor-publisher of the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', Edward McLean, had vowed that he "was going to close up the Bureau" and get rid of two of its officers, one of whom ( Carolyn Harding Votaw) was a sister of then-Senator
Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...
. In describing the context of those statements, she gave a suggestive account that involved divergent interests of McLean and the Bureau in the welfare of an unidentified young girl who she said was a material witness in a "white slave" trafficking investigation. McLean later testified that his objection was that the Bureau had taken the girl from a hospital and was detaining her without charge. He denied that he had asked that anyone be fired (let alone the sister of a senator whom McLean considered a friend), but expressed his view that the Bureau was "rather a dangerous toy for a sincere woman to play with," referring to Van Winkle. From 1919 until the time of her death, she was president and chief financial contributor of the International Association of Policewomen. In 1922, a more senior officer in the
Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia The Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia (MPDC), more commonly known locally as the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and, colloquially, DC Police, is the primary law enforcement agency for the Washington, D.C., District ...
charged Van Winkle with insubordination when she refused to release two teenage girls to the custody of two men purporting to be their fathers, because the men's identities had not yet been verified.Janis Appier
''Policing Women: the Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD''
pp. 34–35 (Temple University Press, 1998).
Her defense against the charge was highly publicized, and served to attract further publicity to the particular role of the Women's Bureau within the Department.


Death

She died on January 16, 1933.


Legacy

From 1919 until the time of her death, she was president and chief financial contributor of the International Association of Policewomen. The organization was disbanded following her death, but was resurrected in 1956 as the International Association of Police Women (later renamed the
International Association of Women Police The International Association of Women Police (IAWP) is a global organization for women in criminal justice professions. Its mission is to "strengthen, unite and raise the profile of women in criminal justice internationally." Mission and Vision ...
).


Views

Noting that almost all
prostitutes Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-p ...
suffered from
venereal disease A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...
, Van Winkle described such diseases as "the penalty for prostitution", and told the House Subcommittee that prostitutes should not be jailed. But she also testified before the
Senate Committee on the District of Columbia A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the eld ...
in favor of a bill that would have expanded the definition of "prostitution" to include, among other things, "indiscriminate sexual intercourse" even when it is not for hire, and would have criminalized any "indecent or obscene act", explaining that the bill was necessary "so we can take a girl and have authority to treat her if she needs treatment." When asked in 1925 to explain the meaning of the phrase "indecent music" (which was used in a Police Department order forbidding it), she described it as "that tom-tommy sort of Oriental music that makes men forget home and babies." After initially describing the saxophone as positively immoral, she qualified her position, recognizing that "
saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...
music is beautiful when played correctly, but when played by certain types of musicians it is very degrading." In a 1928 speech, she blamed the "incompetence" of older generations for the delinquency of "flaming youth". "Our mothers were kept in a sublime state of ignorance by their parents. They were utterly incompetent to help us, or to give us an understanding of life." She described automobile rides, with their problems for the girl,
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s,
petting Making out is a term of American origin dating back to at least 1949, and is used to refer to kissing, including extended French kissing or ''necking'' (heavy kissing of the neck, and above), or to acts of non-penetrative sex such as heavy ...
and all the other "failings" of the modern girl as an unsolvable problem for mothers who were trained in the philosophy of ''
Little Women ''Little Women'' is a coming-of-age novel written by American novelist Louisa May Alcott, originally published in two volumes, in 1868 and 1869. The story follows the lives of the four March sisters— Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and details th ...
''."'Flaming Youth' is Forerunner of Super-Race of Modern Times," ''Kokomo Tribune'', April 17, 1928, at p. 11. In 1928, Van Winkle told a reporter that "Washington is the mecca for all psychopathic women of the nation," who come to the City "with their distorted stories about men high in our nation's life," and accuse those men of being their lovers, or husbands, or the center of some weirdly dramatic situation.NEA Magazine, "Keeping 'Em Straight in Washington," ''Miami (OK) News-Record'', December 2, 1928, Sunday Magazine, p. 5. She explained that, due to the vigilance of the Women's Bureau, the government officials and other well-known Washingtonians accused of serious misdemeanors often do not even know they have been involved, because policewomen intercept such women, sending some to insane asylums and others home to their husbands, fathers, or brothers. When questioned in 1920 by Rep. Tinkham about why all members of the Women's Bureau were unmarried, Van Winkle explained that, "I really do not personally approve of having married women away from their families, and we think it would be bad for the work to have her divided attention, as our work demands our whole attention." Speaking more generally in 1928, she stated that "the average wage-earning wife is not intelligent enough to manage both home and job," and "most women who babble of careers would be better off as homemakers." She told a journalist in 1928 that, "first of all, the policewoman must be a lady. She must be born as well as made for her job. From her background she must draw innate refinement, innate tact and a finely adjusted sense of values that can be had only from early training of the right kind."


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Winkle, Mina 1875 births 1933 deaths Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia officers Activists from Newark, New Jersey Suffragists from New Jersey American social workers American anti-poverty advocates Child labor in the United States American community activists American women police officers American women in World War I Columbia University School of Social Work alumni