The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-01-21
THE APPLE OF DISCORD.
Tho Rumpus In the Board OF State Charities,
and What UccnsiOned It-SOme Light on the

Subject.
1t is very unfortunate that in many super
yisory bodies there is usually one member whose
eccentricities, or overbeariDg disposition en-
tirely prevents any harmony of action. We
have had one lamentable illustration of this
nature in an important body in our city, which,
in the main is constituted of gentleman of very
high attainments and irreproachable standing
in the community. We have presented to us
now another, and an equally forcible illustra-
tion in body, which though not local, has
very important work In our city, viz.:-Ihe
Board of State Charities. Jutt at the moment
when the public we're anticipating the reportotlts
doings during the year 1870, we learn that there
is none, but in lieu thereof the surprising state
ment from the President of the board, General
Thomas l.. Kane, that
at is my unpleasant duty to commuhicate TO you
1.-THE Legisaturel officially my deliberately formed
opinion that the Board of Commissioners OF Public
Charities have rendered no service OF respectable
Importance or value TO the State, and that they
have left wholly unperiorneu duIles which Tue puo-
lie confidently looked to them to eXecute,"-
followed by a sweeping charge of general in
competency on the part of the members, and
the asseveration that the experience OF the
board inculcates another lesson, which in plain
terms is:-"The evil OF appointing gentlemen OF
jldenendent means to such Offices" Then comes
the condescendng statement that perhaps the
gentleman named would have done creditably had
they been paid q monthly stipend, and laoored
under an "exacting chief of bureau!'
For the purpose of getting further insight
as to the cause of this discord, which provoked
the General to "rush into print, we called upon
trouble in the board, and from them learned of
some queer idiosyncracies manifested by the
General. On very many occasions these inter-
Tupted the harmony OF the meeting aud drove
one of the members into resigging. Mr.. Penni-
man, of Pittsburg, one of the original members,
withdrew, saying:-"I must resign, or Kane
will drive me crazy" 1t happened on
many occasions when charitable lnstltu,
| for State aid, that General Kane would
often vote to triple the amount asked for, SO
| that when IL was $1,000, in the fulness of his
! heart the General wanted it to have S30OO As
! the rest of the members could not coincide with
| this believing as they did that the institutions
were the best judges of their wants, there
first arose spirit on their part of conscientious
! opposition, and on his feeling that his coadJu-
tors were beneath him in wisdom, and we
may learn from his letter to the Legislature, Sin
| firm of purpose" In response to our query,
"Was there any discord at the meetings." the
answer was on the part OF our informant, 'Oh,
| no; simply that nearly all questions the vote
was to l, and that one the Generalm "
| The latest event, which capped the climax to
| the unpleasantness, was in reference to the
annual report of the board to the Legislature.
1t is said that this, the General, wLo as we judge
from his letter, knew his own good sense, and the
| iDcapacity of his compeers, wanted to write and
| submit himself. The members thought that it
| should not be prepared by one alone, but by
committee, which was accordingly appointed,
| of three the General being its chairman. On
| last Thursday week at Harrisburg this commit
accomplishing anything, and on the following
day another session succeeded with no better
result. The General could not agree with his
brethren the brethren could not although with
due Difference to his superior wisdom and expe-
rience, coincide with him. Another meeting
was to have been held, but in a moment when
least expected-or not expected at all-the Pre-
sident presents report to the Legislature with
out the authority of the board, and in which he
sets out with the statement:-'I have not a
favorable report to present you of the 'doings
of the board during the past year." Whether
such gentlemen as Hester Clymer, of Reading,
Charles A. Woods, of Pittsburg, George Daw-
son Coleman, of Lebanon, and George L.
Harrison Of Philadelphia, are all in the wrong
and General Thomas l.. Kane in the right is fol
the reader to determine
|, The Board of State Charities has accomplished
a great deal of good in Philadelphia. One o.
the first institutions that attracted the attention
of Mr.. Harrison, in this city, which formed a
part of the district under his jurisdiction, was
the Almshouse. Here he discovered, in the in
sane department, that durable patients were IL
constant contact with those incUrable and tina
all were herded together by reason OF q want o
ROOM
He had this matter before the board, and th
result was official communication to Coun
Z ellis, upon which $4,000 was obtained to built
additions (now going up). What for years hat
been camored for not only by the Guardians, bu
grand jures, this board obtained by placing tn
subject, in all its gravity, before the city govern
ment. Another error was rectifed In tn
Hospital, where it had been customary for bu
one physician in chief to attend day, ther
being at the time $50 patients in it, now fou
/, attend and not only is the ground gone owe
more carefully but the poor and debilitate
. wards of the city obtain as good a treatment a
) though they were attended privately. Thes
are two reforms which go to the credit of tn
men who are ''infirm of purpose"
: AID FOR THE FRENoH.-The ladies connecte
e | with the French Bazaar are now collectiu
materials to make into clothing for the wounde
s French soldiers and their families. Liner
c wearing apparel will be most thankfully re
t ceived by Madame P. Jacob, No. 935 Spruc
street, who has perfected arrangements whereof
the articles can be sent direct to Bordeaux FIRE
!, of cost, and there received by Countess d
1 Flavigny, President of the Committee of Re
: lief. Many of the families of the Frenc
b soldiers are homeless in that desoate country
and it is to be hoped that the efforts of th
ladies of the recent French Bazaar to proteC
Q them from the cold blasts of winter may b
q attended with great success.
9 INTERFERING WITH AN OFFICER.-Y Yesterda
u Lieutenant Leech, of the Sixteenth distric
q called to account man who was driving at a
o immOdeTate rate on Thirty-sixth street, nes
O Market. While reading the driver a lecture,
j man named Benjamin Smith stepped up to tn
9 Lieutenant, and dared him to arrest the Law
8 breaker. He also gave the officer some impr
y dence. Smith was then taken into custody, an
y after a hearing before Alderman Lungren, wi
n held to bail to answer. The driver of the teal
$ was allowed to go about his business.
% A CONCERT AT THE BEDFORD STREET MI
70 sIoN.-There will be free concert of vocal an
70 instrumental music at the mission building N,
y 6l9 Bedford street. on Monday evening, Januar
" 70, 1871, to commence at O'Clock. 1t will
under the diraptiOn Of Thomas A Re Rkatt Ir