THE NATURE OF SOCIAL WORK The term social work which has come to be the accepted designation for a large group of specialized activities in the field of social betterment was not in general use at the opening of the present century. Two or three decades ago such terms as philanthropy, charity, correction, outdoor relief, care of dependents, defectives, and delinquents, were commonly employed by those at work in these fields. This is at once evident in the names of leading organizations established during those early years—the Charity Organization Society, Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, National Conference of Charities and Correction. When Miss Mary E. Richmond, in 1897, made her plea for professional training she urged the establishment of a "Training School in Applied Philanthropy." The training class which was organized in New York the following year developed later into the New York School of Philanthropy, and this name persisted until very rec...