Josephine Goldmark (1877-1950), believing that most political and economic problems could be resolved by disciplined intelligence, devoted her life to helping agencies of government improve the lot of women and children.

Josephine Goldmark was the youngest of ten children. Her father, a chemist, had been forced to flee from Vienna after the Revolution of 1848; her mother had been brought to the United States from Prague about the same time. The children, proud of their European background, became enthusiastic Americans. Josephine received her BA from Bryn Mawr College. While doing graduate work at Barnard she volunteered for the New York branch of the Consumers' League, where her older sister Pauline was secretary.

The Consumers' League had been founded in 1891 to try to influence employers to improve the working conditions of shopgirls. A decade later, under the direction of Florence Kelley, the league was concerned with women working in factories...