Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-12

feSaru IS nome. We are told there Is here
no local pride which prompts people to build
and endow great institutions and that there 10
no wealthy class from which contributions can
be obtained for the support of wide-srreading
charities. My own observation leads me to
think that while there In much truth and force
III these considerations, yet that the complaints
are based partly on conditions fast passing
away and that the springs Of private bcnevo-
lerce have been in part dried Up because of the
policy adopted by Congress of granting Luner-
Gus subsidies from the pUbljc treasury. Each
OF the two tendencies has reacted upon and in.
creased the other. If Congress has felt bound
to make appropriations because private contri-
buttons were few and small on the other hand
there can be no doubt that private contribu-
tioDs have become fewer aud smaller because
Of the congressional aid obtained.
Public Subsidies to rrivxte Charities.
1t has been seriously urged upon me that
because of the popularity Of the people OF
Washington noticed above public assistance
should be given to all useful CHAIR .ies-to all
that are doing good, " as it is called. In the
vie" OF the ladies and gentlemen who hold this
opinion the sources Of private benevolence are
here SO limited that every association that in
any way benefits tie poor should he aided by
public noney. We're this view correct a refusal
or my part to recommend an a. preparation
for giveE charity would imply that / consid
cred 1t useless or ill-adminis:ered. Any charity
that hoped to live would have to secure an ap-
preparation as certificate OF good character
or discredit the judgment of the superintend-
emit Some of the institutions that lave applied
for grants have urged this very consideration,
that unless they had public money people
would think there was something the matter
with them.
On the other hand there are those who hold
that pubic grants to private eleemosvnary
corporations are always pernicious: that public
funds should be expended by public officials or
not at that 1t is inconsistent for government
that refuses to sLbsldlZe educational and re-
Iigious institutions 20 make an exception in
favor of charitable institutions; that such sub
sIdies are used too often by those that receive
them for the purpose OF building up religious,
or medical, or social sects and factions, and
that if the state is not capable of administer
ing institutions of its own it is certainly too
awkward to discriminate properly between the
various and often competitive organizations
that volunteer to act as distributors OF its
bounty. All these considerations have been
urged upon me by those whose desire to do
what is best for the charities OF Washington
cannot be doubted.
Between those who hold to one or the other
Of the extreme views just described there are
those who consider the question one mainly oil
administration. The state having certain
duties to perform toward the poor, can it dis
charge them most efficiently and most &C onomi-
cally by establishing Institutions of its own or
by aiding private institutions in their attempts
to do the same work! What might be the wise
course in one case might not be so in another.
Mr.. Warner quotes the conclusions Of the
Legislative committee of six appointed in Penn
sylvanis in 1889 to investigate the subject of
charities and corrections in the state to the
effect that these subsidized charities tend to be
more and more managed by few persons, who
really choose their successors. In New York,
MIR. Warner Gays, the policy of public subsidies
to private charities has been consistently fol-
lowed and has had very unsatisfactory results
asyp IoI I'M re 70, ha nj NM
Der of dependent children.
So manifest, saws Dir. Warner, has been
the evils entailed by this system Of prblic SUBJ
sties to private institutions that in states,
as for instance in Illinois, it is definitely forbid
den by the constitution. On the other hand,
it should be said that in some branches Of work
the private institutions that receive public aid
have done better than the strictly pubic ones.
This | understand to be generally true as re-
CARDS tine education of the blind and Of the deaf
and dumb. The freedom from partisan politics
which the private organization gives enables
the institutions to do much better work. But
IL should be said that the evils OF private man.
agemen mt do not usually develop until the insti-
tutinns have been III operation some time, ard
the recent investigation of the Philadelphia In
ssitutiOn for TIE Instruction of the Blind
shows that even in this line OF work the close
private corporation is Il dangerous agent in do
Ing work that the state pays for.
THE RECORD OF THIRTEEN YEARS.
A table is given showing amounts appro-
priated to various charitable institutions in the
District for thirteen years. Mr.. Warner says
he gives at some length the historical explana-
ton of how the national government has come
to expend during the thirteen years S9il, 1861
for the sick poor OF the District, because the
very fact that II has done so appears to be
imperfectly appreciated by many interested in
the charities of the District and even by some
of the District officers themselves. At the
beginning of the thirteen years covered by the
table only eight private charities received
appropriations from District funds, while
during the current year twenty-eight private
institutions are thus subsidized table is
given showing appropriations received by the
public institutions OF the District AZ compared
with the private institutions. In 1880 there
were nine public and eight private institutions
receiving appropriations. and IL the present
year seven public and twenty-eight private
institutions. In 1880 S7S,04S.82 was appropri-
ated for the maintenance of public institutions
and SAG, 500 for private institutions. whereas
in the present year Sll9, so has been appro-
priated for public and SlI7, $50 for private
institutions For the whole period of thirteen
years Si,351, 256.65 has gone to public and
81, III, 1872 % to private institutions for con-
struction and maintenance Private institu-
tions received $500, Sl253 under the head of
construction and public institutions S155, $780, 10
under the same head.
~ stDoipiZLD
From this table. says Mr.. Warner. we
see that the amount given for maintenance to
private charitable institutions at the begin
ming Of the period was n little less than one
third Of the whole amount, while at the close
Of the period it is little less than one-half.
The number of public institutions has fallen
from nine to seven. and the number of private
institutions subsidized has increased from
eight to twenty-eight The most surprising
fact, however, is that the District has given 20
private institutions nearly twice as much
money to be used in acquiring real estate and
erecting buildings as it has granted to its own
public institutions. We're we to deduct the 500 800
charged to the work house, a purely correctional
institution. it would appear that more than
three-fourths Of the money appropriated for
the purpose Of permanent improvements in
charitable institutions was given &c private
corporations to spend. With the single excep-
ton of the Little Sisters Of tle Poor 10 insti-
tution receiving money to be used il con-
struction has ever failed to receive sub
sequent appropriations for maintenance, and
an urgent appeal was made on behalf of this
institution to the last Congress, and has been
pressed upon me since my coming into tine office
Of superintendent. 1t is thus evident that the
drift Is toward subsidized rather than toward
publicly administered institutions for provid-
lug for the poor Of the District and if the
strong tendency brought out by the figures
given should continue for few years more We
would be SO fully committed to the policy indi-
Gated, vested interests would become SO great
log rolling would be so feasible that the course
Of development could only be altered by great
effort and at great sacrifice. Without assuming