The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-08-07
SpeciaI Contributors.
THE LATEST WORD ON CHARITIES
AND CORRECTIONS.
BY HATTIE TYING GRJswOLD.
columbus, Wis.,

Just returned from the great national
meeting of philanthrOpists and reform
ers, at st. Paul, the time seems an
appropriate one for sort of summing
up of the work of the National Confer
ence at its late meeting. That meet
ing was large, enthusiastic, and earnest.
The delegates and officers gathered to-
gether from far and from near, were
apparently all of one spirit, and that
the spirit of helpfulness. This was the
one thought, the one desire, the one
purpose, how best to help the helpless,
to aid the suffering, to lift up the fallen,
to educate the dependent. The men
and the women who came, many of
them from the most distant portions of
the country the Atlantic seaboard, the
plains of Georgia, the mountains of
Colorado and California came with no
holiday intent. They made long and
hard journeys, some of them, that they
might speak of what they had them
selves learned by practical work in GER
tain lines, for the benefit of other work
ers in those lines; others simply, that
they might learn from practical work.
ers the best means of doing similar
work.
Those who had something to say, IN
almost every instance, said It weil--in
plain, common speech, with the one
purpose of conveying the idea they
wished to impress. There was little
sentimentalism, little of flowery gener-
alizing-few attempts at eloquence.
But the facts they gave were eloquent
and there was deep feeling underly-
ing nearly all the papers and speeches.
These papers were brief and in most
cases, of information all compact. The
great lack, was of time for discussion.
So much was attempted, that nearly
every subject was considered too briefly
to be of the highest use. Some of the
papers were better suited for the in
structi0n Of the outside public who
have not studied the subjects at all,
than to the needs of the members of
the Conference, who are supposed to be
conversant with the general outlines of
the work in the different departments.
The Conference shou Id really be broken
up into sections.
Large public meetings should be held
as now, where the best speakers should
address a general audience, upon the
plans for general work, and the under
lying principles of that work, and these
addresses should be given as wide pub
licity as possible in the papers, for the
education of public sentiment. But in
addition to this, there should be held
meetings in the interests of the several
departments, where more time could
be spent in an earnest discussion of
new and old methods of work by the
assembled experts, for their own bene-
fit, and the benefit of new workers in
those several departments. In these
meetings all would be supposed to un-
derstand what had heretofore been
done, and the general ground of the
work-and the time could be spent in
a discussion of what it is best to do in
the future, and plans of definite and
concerted action could be settled
upon.
Something of this was attempted at
st. Paul, but it should really become
the policy of the Conference, which is
getting too large, and spreading itself
over too many subjects to do justice to
itself in the present manner. So many
members have subjects of real impOr-
tance which they wish to broach, but
which are excluded from lack of time;
so many subjects are broached which
are far too hastily considered, from the
same cause-that but one way seems
open now to the Conference, and that,
to have each important subject given
meetings by itself-tO which those can
go who are specially interested in that
subject, and where exhaustive discus
siOns of it can be conducted by the men
best qualified to deal with it. Superb
cial and sketchy work would thus be
avoided, and the real seekers after in
formation at the hands of experts,
would have an opportunity of learning
the things they so much desire to know.
This subject of charities and cOrrec-