River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1894-05-24
Scientific Philanthropy.

Everything is scientific now-a-days,
even philanthropy The workers in
charity who formerly Gid each the
best he could from his own experience
in his own little circle have now
organized themselves and are making
a science of the work by comparing
separate experiences and results
This is the true inductiye method on
which all sciences are founded
Charity workers in cities have organiz-
ed in those cities. State boards Of
charities have organized state work
Workers in particular lines lave
organized their own lines. And the
National Conference of Charities and
Correction, which meets at Nashville,
Tennessee, May % TO %, isan organiZa-
tion OF all who are dealing with the
defective and dependent classes. The
section meetings of the organization,
especially that on Charity Organiza-
tion in Cities and that on Juvenile
Reformatories, are the national or
CARNATIONS of workers in particular
lines. Out of all the discussions at
these meetings is growing a body of
doctrine that is valuable.
1t is agreed that lavish and indis-
crimminate public or private charity,
especially to able-bodied beggars with
out any investigation OF their cases,
does more harm than good by en-
couraging pauperism instead of self
support. 1t is agreed that the best
way to help the needy, whenever it is
practicable, is to help them to help
themselves. 1t is agreed that the
blind and deaf muteS, who formerly
were condemned TO beggary and ignor-
ance by these misfortunes, can and
ought to be educated and made self
supporting. 1t is agreed that desti-
tute and abandoned children and
those guilty of petty vices ought TO be
cared for by some means to prevent
their growing up to be professional
criminals and beggars. 1t is agreed
that the insane ought TO be cared
for and that they ought TO be treated
with kindness and given all the liberty
and occupation possible. 1t is agreed
that idiots ought TO be protected, and
especially that feeble minded girls
and women ought to be brought under
proper guardianship to prevent their
propagating idiots. 1t is agreed that
idleness in prisons and jails is bad for
the health and morals of the pris-
oners. 1t is agreed that criminals
and paupers are frequently the result
of bad hered ty and bad environment,
which ought to be controlled as far as
possible by society.
Other questions are still open to
debate. For instance the question of
how to manage the labor in prisons
so as to do as much good as possible
to the prisoners in the way of REFORM
ing influences, TO pay the state as we'll
as possible for the cost of their punish
ment, and to interfere as little as
possible with honest labor. Or, the
question of how best to care for
homeless children. whether in institu-
tions or by placing out in families.
Or such questions as the cottage or
the congregate plan of building, as
state or county care for the insane, as
to whether public aid should be given
for private institutions, as to the
wisdom of "a single board of control for
all the state institutions, as TO the
need of board of inspection in each
state for all state and local and
private institutions, as to the value
of the anthrOpometric system of
registering prisoners, as to the value
of shortening sentences for good con-
duct in the prison, on all OF which
there are differences of opinion. On
all of these subjects the conferences
has collected and published papers
and discussions that are Indispensable
TO any one who wishes to study these
subjects thoroughly.
Scientific philanthropy means sim
ply wise philanthropy, guiding the
beautiful sentiments of the amateur
into such direction as will result in
the highest good TO society and 10 the
individual helped.