, 1876-06-25

A~e~A"@J AAA
uSE list OF fifty or morea charitable institu
tions in New York City which have recently
been benefited by contributions from Mrs
4. T. STEWART, to the amount of So, 600.
We have no disposition to comment upon
this graceful and generous act on Mrs.
Stewards part. Charity is always commend
able. especially in view of its rarity =; but this
enormous list of institutions, which is far
from being complete, suggests one impor-
tant consideration, which grows out Of its
very length, namely: the greet wastage of
| money in caring for these institutions which
are devoted to maintaining officials or main
tanning public establishments to give officials
something to do. The same evil exists here,
! and in every other large city Of the country,
| and it suggests at onco the absolute nccessi-
ty of consolidating all classes Of charities Of
the same general character. SO that they
! may have the same officials and pay
rolls. In the large cities, immense buildings
are owned, with large capital invested, or are
leased at heavy rentals; tax. gas, and water
bills have to be paid an army of matrons.
assistants, and dservantsi is employed; and there
is an almost wicked waste of money to take
care of mere handful of destitute or un-
fortunate people. If these New York in
stitutions were investigated it would DO
seen that more than one-ha1f, perhaps two
thirds, Of the entire contributions of charita~
BILE people are eaten up in the running ex-
penses,-a large proportion Of which goes
into the pockets Of useless officials. Proba-
bly, 80 per cent Of the entire amount repre-
sents what goes upon the backs aud into the
stomachs of the inmates. The system Of
maintaining public charities as it now exists
has become a chronic abuse all orer the
country, and we have only to look ut
home to be convinced Of the necessity of an
immediate reform. We have two or three
times too many charitable institutions in CHI
cago, maintained apart from each other md
running as separate institutions. Every at
tempt at consolidation heretofore has been
combated by interested cliques, who either
waht the glory and publicity Of running them,
or who are making Q living out Of the contri-
buttons of the charitable. Our public chari~
tieAare rapidly becoming the homes for idle
pensioners and dead-beats who are eating up
the money contributed for the afflicted. |
There is no need of so many institutions. |
They arc established in the interest Of cler- |
ical idlers, Of men who hare axes to grind, |
and Of ladies who want to appear benevolent
in print and have their names published |
once year in q gilt-edged pamphlet,
the issue Of which alone oftentimes costs |
about as much as the expenses of tho unfor-
tunate whose names do not appear in it. We
have urged tho importance of consolidating
charitable institutions before in TIE TRIBUNE,
and the publication of the enormous list Of
charities living upon Mrs. STEWART suggests
the matter afrosh. The evil is growing all
he time. The number of officials increases
md the inmates get less and less every year..
If there is any way in which the burdens of
he public can be lessened, it ought to be
:ried, and this is not only practicable and
feasible, but an imperative duty. 1t is
Measure in the interest of tie unfortunate
hemselyes By a consolidation they would
% better cared for, which is certainly more
than the public maintenance Of an
lrmy Of idle official paupers.