Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-07-16
The COLLABORATING Charitable Appro-
priatiOns.

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The final plea Of B. p. Mann for a mo-
nopoly Of chiid-caring charitable appro-
priations by the board Of children's guard
ians. published in Saturday evenings Star,
calls for correction, to prevent misappre-
hension.
The radical element In that board asked
Tor about $4,000, to the exclusion Of any
appropria tons at all to nine child-caring
institL tons of the District. The appro-
prlationS OF the board for the fiscal year
Just closed and two months preceding was
$24,2oO Its expenditures for the fourteen
months were about $4,000, including some
considerable unadjusted claims, which may,
or may not, be allowed. The business Of
the board has decreased of late. During
the last three months it has received only
thirty wards by court commitment, 1t has
now only about forty children boarding at
public expense, aside from those IL has
placed In the city Institutions. The theory
or the placing-out system" is to put waits
INTO private homes as rapidly as possible
Snuer this theory the expenses of the
board should not increase; and, inasmuch
as of its present wards some thirty were
taken under the boards charge while put
In the institutions before the board was or
ganiZed, the transactions of the "placing-out
plan should not increase, but diminish
The field has been we'll cleaned. and The re-
cent business OF the board has been almost
entirely confined to the children of colored
mothers; and Of those. in most cases, fam
lily ties have been loose or shadow Tba
board Is police court agency, with MEM
Ders appointed and removable by the Grim.
NAL court judges. Naturally the class with
which 1t has to deal is not large and is
diminishing.
see now the Senate committee on appro-
priatlons arrived at the conclusion that the
sum allowed for fourteen months in the
past will be more than sufficient for the
II. tv .fs
That the board is extremely well suppied
with office furniture and all matters of in
itial expenditure on liberal scale,
The long established local charities had
reason to expect the restoration of their
former very moderate appropriations by
Whfch they care for pubic dependents at
from one-hfth to one-tenth the cost Of ex-
Siusi'eiy orlclal reformatories and asy-
iufnS. IN THIS they are, TO a certain extent
disappointed; but the Senate committee has
wisely allowed to them something like SIS
or w per cent of their former approprla-
uons. This will not repair the cruel in
Justice OF Inc past, by which seven institu-
tons received back altogether less than
$5oO out of $500 taken away from them by
the ~ per cent cut, for the benefit of the
trial IN washington of the guardians ex-
pertinent, which, claiming all the appropria-
tons for the dependent children of the Dis
trfct, has had to do with less than one
tenth of this number. The institution for
which L particularly speak. ST. AIMS In
received back only $115, although it was
always ready to receive children's guard
ianS' wards without distinction of race or
color. Four institutions, the German Or
phan Asylum, st. Roses Industrial School,
St Joseph's Asylum and the Church Or
phanage of St Johns Parish received
nothing whatever of the rights and bene-
fits for which they were ''remitted'' to
the board of children's guardians in ex-
change for their 40 per cent deprivat ton
Several OF the institutions concerned are
seriously embarrassed by the unjust and
partial operations of this board. They are
however, ready to accept with thanks the
degree of Justice that has been done to
them, because 1T recognizes their modest,
meritorious and cheap services and frees
them from the complications and vexa-
lions of an indirect. negotiable and i'm
practicable, as well most extravagant
method of administration. AS to public
supervision of the institutions and control
of appropriations, that was amply provided
for by the law of 1890. creating the super
intendency of charities. Such inspection
and direction the institutions welcome for
their own good, as well as the public's
JAS. r.. O'BEIRNE