The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-11-10


incredibly wasteful and inefficient.
The heavy contributions exacted of
the humane were insufficiently pro-
tected from the grasp of :mpudent
and chronic mendicity; and relief was
dribbled out in wretchedly made
quate doles and pittances which
simply helped the poor to beg their
way into confirmed pauperism, and
had no tendency toward permanent
betterment of their condition. Public
and private charity was profvse, aim
less, chaotic; and the evils of destitu
ton increased under the regimen
which was intended to diminish
them.
The heaviest of all the old Hebrew
curses was, 81 will curse thy bless
ings;" and just as soon as attention
was turned strongly to the subject, it
became evident that the sweetest and
most blessed Of human emotions
sympathy, pity, compassion-were
being turned into curses through lack
of regulation and wise direction.
Whenever pity for the deprivations of
men becomes stronger than the love
of manhood in men, blessing, is
turned into acurse. The administra-
tion of charity is indeed no less
question than that of the ennobling
or the debasing of character, both on
the side of the giver and the receiver.
The fact that indiscriminate aims
giving is always immoral-is sin
against humanity, however sweet the
emotion from which it proceeds-is
now becoming fully recognized, and
the exercise of real benefcent char
ity is perceived to require high de-
gree of wisdom, skill and devotion.
To do good and not harm to your
suffering feilowmen, demands knowl-
edge as well as love. What is called
the new charity means simply the
joining of skill to love in every work
of helpfulness. Almost every large
city maintains pool of pauperism
and vice where the lowest elements of
the social life simmer together with
out concealment and without shame
and this pool of degradation is fed
and augmented by the streams of in
discriminate almsgiving which flow
into it. It is now plainly seen that
this will not do; that open eyed chari-
ty must be substituted for blind aims
giving, and must personally descend
into such hells before redemption
from them becomes possible. Wis
iom and skill must be added to love
in every work of social regeneration.
Well, this is the root idea of the re
cent movement for charity organiza-
ton. To give way to no blind i'm
pn.se, however sweet, to hold back
pity until she has got her eyes, to do
nothing in the dark, but to turn on
the light and then to descend into the
precincts of destitution and misery
and stay there until the work of
charity is fully done and every pre-
ventable evil is removed = this is
what investigation, cooperation, and
friendly visiting mean. By investi-
CATION the light is turned on, and
knowledge becomes the handmade of
pity; by co operation all the resour
ces of helpfulness are brought to
bear; by friendly visiting g-the per-
sonal touch-all the higher values of
society-its mental and moral disci-
pline, its thrift, ingenuity, hope, cour-
age and kindliness-a placed at the
service of the unfortunate, the dis
heartened and the apathetic.
This large conception of the work
charity creates necessity for a
closer definition of the word charity"
Charity is love-an ardent and cult
vated solicitude for the welfare of
your fellowmen. Aims s-giving is not
always charity; to give aims is often
the most unloving thing you can do.
The word charity has acquired in
modern times the highly important
meaning of tolerance-"with malice
toward none; with charity for ALL"
But the term which best expresses
the wide modern meaning of charity,
is benefcence-the voluntary confer
ring of ofbenefits.
Now, the organization and co-or-
dination of human benefcence in all
it's manifold forms, opens wide and
inviting field for the exercise of mans
best powers. In two or three of our
American cities, tentative efforts were
begun, more than twenty years ago
to organize charity; and at the pres
ent time we count up ninety-two
cities which are engaged, with vary
ing success, in the same effort. These