The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-03-14
A FREE labor BUREAU
Tribune 0ftrS Plan Which Has Been Success
fully Conducted in Other Cities.
WILL CHARITY OFFICIALS heed
Expenditures viii Be Reduced, Duties
Made Easier and Officials Relieved
Establish a Free Labor Bureau
Where Applicants Will Find Work,
Business Men Be Accommodated
and Crime Possibly Prevented

A suggestion is offered to charity
officers by THE TRIBUNE which would
relieve them of considerable annoyance,
lessen the expenditure OF funds and
make their duties considerably less
Ia borious
Why cannot labor bureau be in
augurated and placed under the super .
vision OF competent manager. where
applicants seeking charity and out OF
work may be furnished emplOymentY
The prominent business houses and
manufactures of tho city would only
too gladly file applications for em-
ployes, and possible would pay reason
able rate for the privilege, anyhow.
that point could he easily adjusted and
cuts but u small figure in the plan.
WOULD PREVENT CRIME.
One thing is crrtain-men and women
would be furnished employment and
would not be compelled to solicit
pecuniary aid II the bureau fell be-
hind considerable sum its benefit to
the general movement would be more
than balanced, and possibly many
would be savedEfrom theft, drink and
others wiles.
la New York the free labor bureau
nt the Cremorne mission, in West
Twenty-sscond street, has been sup
ported, and through its agency nun
dreds Of mon on whom whole families
were dependent for support have besn
supplied with work The movement
has been 30 successful in that city that
IA branch has been started In Brooklyn.
Some Of tn" most prominent business
houses in Brooklyn have been enlisted
in the work, and it Is expected that iu
= week several other branches will be
opened.
FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
At every meeting of the Board Of AS
sociated Charities DOR board and many
Of the church charity organlz Itions.
the labor problem has received pro-
nonnced discussion.
THE TRIBUNE presents the idea for
consideration.
The following extract from the re-
port Of the committee of National Con.
ference of Charities will bs of intersst
to charity officials Of this city and tax
payers interested in their work:
simultaneously with the beginning OF
charity organization there WAS repres-
sion Ia important cities OF ous door relief;
returns from four cities at that time give
the following decrease in out door relief:
Cities. Out Relief. Out Relief
Brooklyn 1891 Sl4l,2Ol 1880 None
BufTa o. .............l571 1915 1880 Sj7, ,SjS
Indianapolis Centre - -.
Amount saved taxpayers $3.50 ,53j
AN OBJECT LESSON.
From the above table il will be seen
that over one-third of million dollars
represent the amount saved to taxpRy-
era by the efforts Of organizsd bodies Of
citizens who relieved the pressure on
city vaults II is not known that Scran-
ton has many who are opposed to indi-
vidual and organization charity, but if
such is the case they may recsive an
object lesspR from the above figures,
which are official and trustworthy.
This same national committee says
"Charlty organizations claimed the
credit OF out.relief az a result OF per-
sonal effort and agitation. Admis-
sions to aims houses and in6rmariss in
the cities named contemporaneously
decreased This event attracted wide
spread attention in watohful official
circles eviucsd the value of the in
vostigations which preceded it, and
disclosed the worse than useless prodi-
gality of outdoor relief. Its influence
spread far and wide beyond the limits
where it could be statistically followed,
and was the beginning of wiser sd-
ministralion of the charitable funds
raised by taxation in mauy communi
ties"