Birmingham age-herald., 1894-12-14
By Hon. John M. Martin, Before
 the Commercial Club,
ON BIRMINGHAM'S FUTURE
Report of the Committee on United Charities as to the
 Poor and Street Cleaning.

The special meeting of the Commercial club held last night was very interesting, and especially the talk made by Hon. John M. Martin.
 He spoke upon n the resources of Birming- ham, and how she could be a metropolitan city if energy enough was put forth in the right direction.
 He touched upon the eommissary check system, and said that it was detrimental to the welfare of the city, and believed the cash basis to be the only one beneficial to the workingman.
 He showed how Chicago had sprung from a bed of ashes to 8 city of nearly 2,OO0, ,00O, and said that Birmingham could rise in the same way. His talk was good one, and was highly appreciated.
 Following his talk a special committee concerning the proposed plan of the ladies taking hold of the street cleaning made the following report:
 Your committee, to whom was referred the matter submitted by the ladies of the United Charities touching the method of distributing aid to the poor and the con. tract for cleaning the city, has duly con sidered the same and beg leave to report that they heartily commend to this club the plan suggested for dispensing the vol- untary offerings of our people to the poor.
  heretofore neglected, or the importance of which has not been duly appreciated in the past. We refer to visitation and regis tration before distributing relief.
 It is believed by those who have given the matter some study that if our business men, churches, benevolent societies and people generally would cease answering calls for relief except through the medium of the United Charities and give to the so. ciety monthly their contributions for this nhiept if wnuId relieve all the deserving cases in our midst and protect our citizens from great annoyance. It would soon re- suit in ridding our city of a class of fraud- ulent applicants, who absorb our charity and pauperize themselves.
 In regard to the matter of turning over to the ladies the street cleaning: While the proposition is novel in the south, yet 1t appears to have been successfully tried in some of the large northern cities, and we do not see why the ladies of United Chari- ties, with proper organization and busi- ness methods, should not execute the work equally as well, if not better than it has been done, and at the same time give em- ployment to many who would otherwise have to be fed without work. The ladies of the United Charities, who have this matter specially in hand. have presen ted to US their plans in detail, and it appears to your committee to bs entirely feasible. We, therefore, recommend the adoption Of the following resolution by the club:
 Resolved u, That we commend to all our people the plans suggested for relief of the poor and recommend that the voluntary offerings for the poor be paid into the United Charities and dispensed by them.
 Resolved (2), That we recomme hd that the mayor and board of aldermen turn over to the ladies of United Charities, the con- tract for cleaning the city and afford them all facilities possible for executing it.
 R. D. JOHNSTON,
 B. STEINER,
 $. D. WEAKLY.
 Upon this Mayor VanHoose and Mrs. Billheimer of the United Charities made short talks. The ladies have put in a bid already for the cleaning of the streets.
 The meeting then adjourned.