Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-11-26
The Superintendent Of Charities and
the Board of Guardians.
ANOTHER CHAPTER IN THE DISCUSSION
Much of the Boards Report is Only
of Historic Interest.
ACTION OF CON RE S S

| ticns relating to the character and scope
| of the work Of the board CT children S
guardians. AS an introduction he discusses
| the question Of state aid for charitable
| and correctional endeavor, as compared
with exclusive state control of benevolent
and reformatory enterprise and state own
ership of all property devoted to it. He
| quotes the opinion of a number of writer's,
both in this country and abroad, and refers
to the debates in the recent constitutional
convention CT New York. He says the plan
adopted by that body is strikingly like the
| system Of private semi official and official
cooperation in works of benefaction es-
| tablished by United States law in the Dis
| trict.
1T was found" the report states, that
| to resort to the plan of exclusive state
ownership and control Of institutions for
the care of those necessarily dependent
upon public support would add nearly $5,-
OOO,OOO to the annual burdens of the tax
payers, and would compel the payment of
an annual per capita cost for those trans
ferred to official care of S196.77 instead of
the present outlay Of $S2.1 per capita
The demonstrations of these facts by
Meyer Stern, Frederic r. Coudert and Col
George Bliss were fipally accepted as con-
elusive. 1t Is because propositions for the
adoption for this District of changes like
to those attempted In New York have re-
Gently been seriously and publicly proposed
that 1t becomes the duty of the superin-
tendent OF charities to report on this SUBJ
Ject and to say that plan Of revolutionary
reorganization that would have doubled
empire state OUTLAWS for charities and cor
rection would have proportionately similar
results in Washington and its neighbour
hood. Inspection of the statistics of rela-
1--WE public cost embraced in this report
VIII demonstrate the accuracy Of this
statement.
Aid by Private Means.
Those unable to care for themselves
| must be cared for by the community
That is an end government must secure
| for its own protection and for the general
| welfare. 1t Is for the interest of all that
the work OF care and cure should be con-
Quoted in the best practicable manner, and
| at the lowest attainable public cost. Where
| individual generosity has founded or sus-
| tains suitable and adequate establishments
| for literary, industrial, or technical teach
| ing, for sheltering the helpless curing the
sick or healing the injured, to unnecessarily
| duplicate those facilities would be waste
| fui administration. against which 1t is the
| particular province ~ this office to warn
and to guard
Nv here the popular interest can be pro-
tected by the expenditure of one dollar of
| public money, added to four dollars of in
| dividual means already dedicated to be-
neyoient use, it would be reprehensible
prodigaiity to insist upon the expenditure
forsthat purpose of five dollars collected
from taxpayers. This is especially true of
a governmental jurisdiction such as is the
District of Columbia, where the character,
facilities and tenets of the charities and
reformatories are so widely varied that
there is ample room for resort to them by
any one, according to his own needs, de-
signs or convictions. In the universally
of the peoples charities of Washington Is
found the strongest reason against resort
to the extravaganza OF exclusive Official
ism.
Only of Historic Value.
1.-THE report Of the board Of children's
guardians and the several subreports and
documents transmitted with it constitute
very voluminous publication. Much of
the appended matter relates to expecta-
lions and designs entertained nearly three
years ago, concerning a projected system,
which was not accepted in full by Con-
gross, or carried out in the allotment of
appropriations. 1t was at one time taken
for granted by those projectors that in
the District bill of 1888 Congress would
give moneys for the support of dependent
children exclusively to the board of chill
dren's guardians. But Congress declined
to do so, and the plan, in that respect,
failed. Only certain ones of the child-car-
ry ing institutions were affected in their
appropriations instead of all of them, and.
of those affected, a percentage instead of
the whole of their allowance, was taken
away for the benefit of the new board.
THE yet more decided action of the last
session resulted in separating the appro-
| priations and providing specifically and
| directly alike for the board of childrens
guardians and for every other child-carry-
| ing agency in the appropriation schedule.
| The fact that two Congresses differing
| in membership and in composition of COM
| mittees thus concurred, the second con-
| firming and carrying to a logical conclu-
| sion the findings of its predecessor, ap-
| parently deprives these documents of any
thing more than historic value. However.
| they relate to an interesting discussion
concerning the reporting agency during the
| year reported upon, and, as such, they
| may claim space in the annual records of
| the District. The controversy related en-
tirely to appropriations. The board in
| sisted that nine Of the chld-carrying insti-
| tutions of the District should be entirely
| deprived of their appropriations and that
| an equivalent amount should be given TO
| the board. This contention never prevail
ed and executive officers must deal with
| the law as it is, not as anyone may have
| wished it to be.
National Bureau of Charity.
1.-The proposition in question was SEEM
! ingly part of a very extensive scheme of
| official charity reorganization, involving
| as was noted in my report of last year, the
| establishment of a national bureau, or de-
| partment of charities, as well as the re-
modelling of our local charitable and cor
rectonal service and the founding of a
| ferent sorts of District charities all under
| a central directorate. About the guardians
| claim to exclusive appropriations for chill
| dren's care thousands of pages of en-
haustive discussion were written and much
of the matter printed in pamphlets, the
| hearings of congressional committees and
| in the public press. There does not seem
| to be adequate reason for going over the
ground again, the question having been
settled substantially in accordance with
the recommendations of this office.
"In the estimates of the accompanying
report of the children's guardians the SUI
perintendent states the cost of supporting
wards of the board is fixed at $1US for in
FAINT wards and $50 for others not yet
placed in free homes This excludes the
proportionate share of administrative ex
penses, which are thus left 20 be calculated
as charge, exclusively, upon the wards
placed out
About the greater public cost of infant
wards boarded under this system as COM
pared with those in institutions there can
be no question, and it is idle to argue
that public cost is reduced by the boards
methods during so long a time wards are
subjects of charge for maintenance dis
tinsuished from inspection. Nor are COM
parsons fairly to be made between the cost
of supporting other wards of the board and
the rate paid by the board for maint tanning
those lodged in institutions that rate be-
ing fixed by the board itself.