The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-10-12
Our State Charities and Our Responsi-
bilities.

4
system of charities needs reorganization.
There is some radical defect in the manner
in which the peoples interests are looked
after. 1t is true there is State Board OF
Charities, composed of highly honorable
persons, who have nominal supervision
over the almshouses and asylums of the
counties of this State; but, as matter of fact
this Board is either wanting in authority
to correc. the abuses or its inspectors are
careless and unobserving, or it has not the
energy to carry into effect the reforms
which it's reports constantly proclaim to be
imperative. In saying this we speak quite
as mildly as the facts warrant, and cate
gorical answer to each of our propositions
will solve good many difficulties Is the
Board without necessary authority? There
are many patent evidences that such
is the case 1t is only necessary to
refer to q recent instance in which
the supervisors Of o county refused to
adopt the recommendations of the State
Board OF Charities and, by lobbying at AL
bany, succeeded in having special bill
passed exempting them from the operation
Tin whom the power is vested by the origi-
nal statute) had positively refused such ex-
omption because Of the utter inadequacy
OF local accommodation for the insane. II
the State Board Of Charities can only recon-
mend reforms, without enforcing their
adoption, the people of the State
can do without it. Ii it is Of no
use to the poor it certainly is of
none to the rich. As regards the sec
ond horl of the dilemma, if the reports of
the Board are any criterion the inspectors
are liberal enough in the use of deprecatory
! adjectives to warrant the belief that they
observe many things needing correction in
nearly every institution visited. Whether
the statute requiring inspection once every
three months is implicitly obeyed admits
of doub;. Still, il the first proposition fail,
what is the use Of inspection AS to the
backbone of tho Board itself there is no
need to speak on this occasion. A
series of letters which We are about to
| print will Indicate to the public
more clearly than any official report or
table of statistics the condition of some OF
the county institutions over which this
body of distinguished citizens are supposed
to exercise such beneticent md corrective
control. When our readers have inspected
q few OF these places, with the aid of our
special correspondent, it will be carly
enough to proceed with u further consid-
Grafton of the State Board of Charities. In
brief, we may be permitted to say in n pref
atory way that the conviction is forced
| upon US that the present management OF
the charitable institutions in the counties
of Now York is, in rare instances. good,
| generally bad, often disgraceful.
The official excuse for the present lament
| able condition of the almshouses and asy-
lums OF the State Is found. first, in the
apathy of the public, and, second, in tho
absence Of information upon tho subject.
There is no better way of awakening gen.
oral interest in theme than by showing
how it concerns the public treasury and
the purse OF the individual. It is only
necessary to quote a few figures from the
reports of the State Board Of Charities and
of the State Comptroller to show the mag
nitude of the expenditures in the name of
charity. and the justification which the tax
payers have in knowing exactly how such
vast sums OF money are disbursed. The
valuation Of the property held for char
liable purposes in Nil the counties OF the
Slate on September 80, 1878, as appraised by
the managers of the various institutions
was = Real estate, SIS, 4S3, 1876 65 personal
property, SIS, sos, 056 49, making total of
| S3i, OS2, 093 AZ. The entire receipts for
charitable purposes from all sources during
1873 amounted to s7,7l2, 654 81. A closer
analysis of the items Of this account affords
some inter, sting facts. Starting with
cash balance from the preceding year of
| S444, 995 SO, we discover that the State at
large contributed only S02l, 533 43. while
| S793, 337 OF were voluntary offerings (;
| 49, 5l4, $50 ~ were received from mu-
inequalities. leaving s2,038, 104 03 rs
| the amount derived from all other
| sources. This enormous sum OF money,
large Us it is i'll the aggregate. is distributed
through SO many channels that it il almost
| Impossible to trace it. 1t is 80 divided and
| subdividcd that the taxpayers Of the State
utterly fail to comprehend its magnitude
and the consequent burden which it inn
poses ON them. ho disbursements Tor
charitable purposes during the fiscal year
in question, ending september 80, 1873, are
set down in the State Board OF Charities
report at 81, 227, 5S6 n, OF which large sum
only S7O7,277 SO were Tor buildings and
improvements. A little arithmetic. there
tore, disooscs the tact that sG. $40 800 Al were
expended Tor maintenance and supervision
Turning to Comptroller Olcott's report for
last year we observe with surprise that tho
total pay ments for 1878 out OF tho State
treasury were only sl3, S7O,05 60. As seen
above, less than ono million Of this sum