The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-04-22
The regular circulation Of The SUN for the


The doctrine ~ often insisted upon by
THE SUM- that charity, to bo really bcnc-
fetal, must be administered by individuals
and not by institutions, has found support
crs whore we scarcely should have looked
for them. Tho officers OF the State Charities
Aid Association, in their recently published
"IIandboOk for Hospital Visitors" say:
"ifwc cannot adopt the broad rticus Of pou
ca economics that hospitals foster pnucrism We must
al mt that ample charities 10th public ani private.
aud their lax administration. have done much to en-
cvufnsc inn LoNitcucc, aud TO weaken 'ns, n family
~ciarc /, not key toGe best rrenotcd ~ reducing Gt
system uoorhousc- and hospitals. with thor att, ninnt
evils, TO minimum. Nv imlNiduainW chattN, - To-
speak makls the family iis homcih. centre nr unit Of
combine volunteer invests alton into tho cases oi app
eauts and personal knowledge OF their wants Win oieia
or bureau relief
This language Is guarded and non-com-
initial but the arguments suggested by the
writer's indicate pretty plainly the view
which they take Of the subject The qucs-
tion which they speak Of cannot fail to be
answered in the Affirmative by every person
who has considered the facts. Our charita-
BILE efforts are at present for the most part
mistakenly directed. Our whole system Of
public institutions and societies not only
encourages improvldcnce and wcakens the
sense Of family obligation, but 1t has the
further defect, which the association does
not touch upon, of defeating the best result
OF charity, the cultivation of humane senti-
mcnts In the rich and of affcctionatc graft
tude In the poor Not only does the official
relief which stands always ready, and may
BIZ had for the asking, tend 10 weaken the
Indictments to thrift and industry, but II
makes Of charity duty on one side and n
right on the other. Tho givers pay an UNI
willing tax, and the receivers collect a pre-
scriptive revenue, while the official go-be-
twccns receive thanks from neither party,
but only their salaries. Charity is thus
made mere matter of business, and its finer
qualities evaporate in the process.
or course, there are some works Of char
fly which can best be performed by co0pcra-
ton. Hospitals are wanted for persons sick
with contagious diseases or whose cases
demand special attention; the insane must
be treated In asyums, and temporary shell
ter is needed at times for the homeless But
thc extent Of the requirements for such pur-
poses is usually greatly overestimated. This
very Handbook, to which we have referred,
calls attention to tho fact that the sick,
when removed from ever so wrctchcd home
T. the best appointed hospital, pine and fret
with anxiety about their families. aud that
their mental suffering rctards their cure
The English Government long ago gave up
the system Of supporting its disabled sailors
IN the Greenwich Hospital, and makes them
instead. a money allowance, which they
spend for board In homes Of their own choos
Ing. Ii Is a question, too, whether the harm
loco insaas would nvL Dv uvttci on II Ltkci
care Of In a similar way. But. however al
this may be, the teachings Of experience,
show that, If society is TO be preserved and
perfected, il must be by the cultivation Of q
sense OF a common humanity among all is
different classes and this can only he effect.
ell by personal kindly Offices performed by
the prosperous toward their less fOrtunat,
brethren