The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-12-16
FOR CONSOLIDATED CHARITY.
AN INSTITUTION OF WHICH sAvAN-
NAH STANDS MUCH IN NEED.

Augusta Sets an Example by Placing
the Dispensing of the Charity
Funds of Both City and County In
the Hands of COmmissiOn-Hov
Such Commission Might Accom-
pIish Much Good Here-The Profess
SIGNALS Would Go on the Black
list and the Deserving Poor Would
he ReIieVed-At the Same Time
the City and County Authorities
Would BE Saved Much Annoyance.
The question of consolidated charities
has been discussed in Savannah for two
years without any practical result. Au-
gusta has made a move in this direction,
which it might be well for Savannah to
follow. The charities of the city and county
have been consolidated under the control
of commission and all money appropri-
ated by either city or county for this pur-
pose is dispensed by the commission.
1t is evident to every one at all acquain-
ted with the manner in which charity is
dispensed in Savannah that something of
the kind is needed here. The county has
a charity fund and the city spends a good
deal of money for the same purpose.
Mayor Myers tried to relieve the city of
this burden by announcing several months
ago that all the money appropriated by
the city for charitable work would be dis
pensed through the regular charitable or
CARNATIONS, but the mendicants who ap-
ply at the city exchange are so persistent,
and the stories told are so pitiful, that
considerable money continues to be doled
out There are at least half dozen per-
sons applying for assistance at the CITY
exchange every day and the NUMBER IS
often double that. Some of the mendicants
have been applying there regularly Tor
the last several years.
The most difficult class which the clerk,
to whom the application is usually made,
has to contend, are the unfortunates from
other cities, stranded here, and who ap-
peal for assistance to enable them 70
reach friends elsewhere. There is no doubt
that the stories of their condition told by
| these people are often true, and 1t is
just as true that the city is often imposed
The southern cities generally made a
| practice few years ago, by an arrange
ment with the railroads, Of furnishing
| charity tickets to people OF this class, on
/ the principle that it was better TO eXpend
| a small amount to get rid OF such people
| rather than to allow them to remain a
| burden to the community. The profess
| sional mendicants got on to this long ago.
and many of them made a practice Of
| travelling from blace to place, simply by
/ procuring a charity ticket when they
| wanted to leave one place for another.
/ Mayor Myers saw that this sort of thing
| was being oVerworked and had become a
| nuisance to the city, and he accordingly
1 abolished it, Then these people apply 70
| Clerk Manucy now they get the marble
| heart. At the same time in extreme cases
| where the party appears to be deserv-
| ing of assistance, the clerk will some
times help the applicant to secure a ticket
| where he or she is able to secure a portion
| of the money needed for it's purchase from
| other sources
While the city does not dispense as
| much money as formerly in charity, the
mayor and clerk suffer a great deal of
worry from the continuous and oftentimes
| piteous appeals. With a commission to
! take charge of this work and compose
of persons interested in it, who would IN
| vestigate all applications, with an appro-
| priation by the city and county, the work
| of relieving the deserving poor would be
greatly simplified. The commission could
| soon weed out the professional mendi-
cants, of whom there are many, and the
| entire amount contributed could be used
| TO advantage for the relief of those really
| in need of assistance.
Such commission might also be able to
| solve the very distressing question of what
to do with the little street waits the num-
| Der of which seems to be on the increase
in the city; There are at least half dozen
and probably dozen little girls of from
four to twelve years Of age, who run
around the streets at all hours of the day
and night, ragged, dirty and unkempt
| with elfsh little faces which already wear
! the vagabond stamp. The police can dc
! nothing with them because there is nc
pace 10 SEM tnein AFTER they are arrest
| ed. Besides, the police say the children are
sent out by their parents to beg. The chill
| dren have no more chance of becoming
| respectable members of society than il
| they were born in the slums of Calcutta
| Some move was made during the dis
| tressing state of affairs existing last win
| ter for a combined effort on the part Of
the various charitable organizations with
| central organization to direct the work
and receive donations both public and pri-
! Vate, but nothing was accomplished. With
| such an organization properly organized
| and officered the city and county authori-
ties would no doubt readily see their way
to placing their charity funds in its hands
| to be dispensed.