The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1888-03-10
Charity Appropriations.

From the baltimore Daily NetcS Of Tuesday
The General Assembly is about to take up
the appropriations for the various institutions
public, private and semi private, which annu
ally come with hat in hand for aid and assis
lance. Many of them are most useful and all
of them good. But their number and wants
increase and multiply annually, and the ag-
gregate sum they draw from the State Treas
ury is growing to be q very large and onerous
one. There must be a limit or check put TO
this increase. 1t is well enough for people to
be charitable, but the disposition to shove
private and sectarian charities upon the State
and city is obvious, and their multiplication
is becoming a load that the taxpayers ought
not to be saddled with. II is easy enough to
give away somebody else's money, but people
should not be taxed that the proceeds of their
sacrifice may be distributed caprieiouslyi
yhimspallY Or even eharilablF.
It has not been an uncommon thing in the
past for some humane individual to invent q
new form of charity, 70 meet some painful
case that came under his or her observation.
The idea once taken, others were induced to
assist, and finally new charity, or hospital
or school or asylum was born. Once under
way, the original patrons devise improve
ments and see wider fields of usefulness open
becoming quite burden to thea personally,
and then comes an application for public
monies. And so these new things multiply
and get upon the list until hundreds Of thou.
sands of dollars are Annually given them from
the pockets of taxpayers who are foreihly
robbed 10 epdnw institutions they would not
willingly aid or contribute To. This is as bad
as taxation without presentation-takinga
mans property without his consent
The principle Of course was as bad when
these institutions were few and the sums
given them small. But they are growing in
numbers and increasing the volume of their
individual or separate demands. The sum is
now large one in the aggregate, and is
growing larger all the time. They should be
discouraged. The multiplication of charities
encourage pauperism and breed dishonesty.
The time will come, il the multiplication OF
these things is kept up, when the volume OF
them will grow top, heavy and the impatient
and overloaded public will topple them all
out of the appropriation bills.
The present General Assembly should be
very careful, judieious, discriminating and
economical in dealing with this part Of It's
work. Let those institutions dependent upon
and properly belonging to the State be looked
into and provided for as may he necessary;
Let those which are privately endowed and
do public service be assisted economically,
but not supported. aud let purely private en-
terprises organized through private impulses
as monuments to private vanity, or provision
for family convenience, or the furthering Of
UNCONVENTIONAL exclusiveness, take care OIL
themselves or be taken care of by those who
founded and value them.
Certainly 1t is the duty Of the peoples rep
reseutatiyes to be economical with the peo-
Plies money. Taxation is nigh enough now
and the burden should not be made heavier.
Only what is necessary to be done is proper
to be done, and this the members of both
Houses should bear constantly in mind.