The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-03-01
Catholic and Protestant Charity.
From the Catholic Review.l

From the Catholic ReviewI
The New York Herald has been maxim.
q genuine sensation within the past few
days by its selections from the published
| reports of the various charitable institu
tions in and about New York. Some Of
these are old acquaintance Of our readers
the Children's Aid Society, for instance
ergies and such surplus cash as it could
| spare from it's railroad Investments and
the salaries of it's officers to carrying Cath.
Ollie children out West and consigning them
sometimes to the highest bidders and
sometimes to public charity. This Society
whose head, MIR. Charles Loring Brace, is
| an esteemed correspondent of one or two
religious weeklies," the Herald shows to
have been drawing $4,000 annually from
the city for the maintenance of 900 chill
dren, while it has but 5000 under it's
care. 1t has nearly $4,000 invested in
railway stock !; pays high salaries to it's
employees, and, if we do not seriously
evade certain provisions of the laws made
by its friends for the purpose of restricting
"sectarian charities"
The House of Refuge, on Raudall's Is
land, is another institution made famous
within year or two by it's ill treatment
of the boys committed to it, and it's great
objection to any such "sectarianism" as
would be involved in giving Catholic boys
the benefit of Catholic instruction from a
priest, or in pandering to such an idle
superstition as an objection on their part
to eat meat Oh Friday. The Refuge seems,
from the Herdids showing, to exist prn-
cipally for the good of its officials. Last
year it expended in salaries more than
fifty per cent. of the amount it expended
in relief. The Five Points House of In
dustry made an even worse showing for
it expended on its officers one dollar and
quarter for every dollar devoted to
charitable nscs, and the superintendent
affirms that such an expenditure is neces-
sary sin order to keep up the charity" SO,
too. with the Ladies' Five Point Mission,
which in 1872 spent GAG in salaries and
printing, and SS,943 in charitable relief.
Some of the Protestant societies-that Of
Rev. f. Guys House of the Good Shepherd
in Rockland cOunty-made an even worse
showing. That gentleman received, it is
true, only Sl.249,42, but he took the lions
share of it. His salary amounted to $751;
GO, and he expended on his charities $685.
o.. On the other hand, the Protestant
Episcepalan Charity known as ST. Johns
Guild, expended in relief the sum of Sl0,-
sol 81, and paid nothing for salaries. The
Jewish Benevolent Societies have also
creditable report to make. The sums ex
pended by the Catholic charities however,
are beyond comparison the greatest. The
Protectory in Westchester County alone
shows that it used in its relief work nearly
one-third of the entire sum expended in
the city in 1873. But this is not the best
of it. The whole sum expended by public
charities of all kinds, Catholic, Jewish and
Protestant in the year 1873, amounted to
5.S2l IA. OF this amount the Catholic
charities distributed S60O953 50 The
ready taunt that it is because these charities
were feeding at the public crib, is happily
disposed of by the figures. which show
that they drew from the city only $685..
l35 81, to which private, Catholic charity
added 1912 Sl7.S9. All other charities
combined expended only 1894 S67 80, and
to do this they drew from the public trea
sury the sum of 5000, 355.l2. AT the same
time, their expenses for salaries, and
printing reports of their good deeds, were
greatly in excess of those of the Catholic
charities, amounting in several instances
to more than they gave in charity. After
this it ia to be hoped that we shall hear
less about the demands made upon public
funds by Catholics, and of their unwilling
nees to accept impartial justice. 1t GER
tainly was not impartial justice which add
ed to our 1912 ,SlS.74 the sum of $2S5 ,l35.-
81, and which at the same time added to
the $40. 5O9.T which represented the chart
ty of nom Catholics, the sum of 1921 1853 l2.
Indeed, it hardly looks like Justice at all.
And when the difference between the work
accomplished by these charities is consi
dered, things look still more unequal. Look,
for instance at the work of the Protectory,
which feeds, clothes, educates, teaches a
trade and provides an opening in life for
all its pupils, and that of the Chldren's
Aid Society, OF the House of Refuge. Look
at the Founding Asylum, which saves
from death and trains to useful life thou
sands of little ones and never contemplates
as within the meaning of charity the tear
ing of children from their hcmes to drop
them as paupers at the doors of other cit
les. IT the misery of this year has no other
good effect than to show how senseless has
been tho clamor and how self seeking the
blgotry which last year sought to starve
Catholic charity into inauItion, it will have
done great work.