The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-12-21
DANGER OF MAKING PAUPERs
Bishop Potter Speaks of the Bad Side of
Charity.

New York. Dec 20-At the first of
six monthly charity conferences under
the auspices Of the woman's central
auxiliary committee of the Charity Or
ganization society, held this morning
in the United Charities building, Bish-
op II. c. Potter addressed about 200
persons on the subject of "Cooperat ton
in Methods of Relief" which is a di-
vision of the general subject of the
conferences "By what Methods Can
Religious and Charitable Organiza tons
best Exert their Power to Overcome
Pauperism."
The small number Of delegates sent
by the many societies invited was US
ed by Bishop Potter as an introduce
ton to his remarks. One of the dis
couraging conditions to be faced is ig-
norance or at least lack of appre-
ella ton of the task before the society
1.-The condition which confronts us
in New York and in other Cities" he
added. sis practically one. There are
differences of belief and Of faith every
where Some believe that charity
should he kept separate from religion
that relief should be administered to
the poor only through the religious
body with which one Is connected. 1t
is the object of this society to harmon
lie opposing views. I myself sympa-
athiZe profoundly with the ecclesia sti-
cal view of the situa ton. think that
a church, any religious fellowship. may
wisely say that it is charged with the
care of its own poor. 1t is quite an
other question. whether it is charged
with the support Of any other poor.
IT is natural. also. though it is not
right. that church should say that
the manner in which il gives aid to
its own poor is nObodys business but
its own.
Henry Ward Beecher once said /:
The next worst thing to not helping
a man is to help him. In other words
the injury which you do yourself by
denying your own better impulse is IT,
ways TO be put alongside the injury you
may do him by helping him. Indeed,
IT is a moral injury, for ii encoura ges
a habit of deception which deteriorates
the whole moral system. Just as we
should be unwise to degrade our fellow
creatures in other ways. so we should
be unwilling to degrade them by mis-
guided assistance which opens to them
an easy door TO chronic mendacity"
After illustra ting this danger by nu-
merous anecdotes. the bishop passed
70 his next point. a consideration Of
the feeling existing among many re-
ligiouS organizations that they do not
the facts about their poor made public.
This society" the bishop said "has
most carefully guarded the privacy of
its records. It has, however. most iu-
diciously used the information which it
has obtained to protect people from
being the prey Of the unworthy. and the
weak minded from being demoralized
by injudicious charity. For myself
I do not see any other way of accom-
plishing the result. In an ideal state
We might hope to dispense with ma
chinery such as this. but in the mean
time We are hound 10 recognize the
immense amount Of waste which goes
on in New York today. largely from
refusal 10 cooperate. II any business
man were 10 act on the principles that
distinguish some of our religious or
CARNATIONS. he would be subject TO Sc
we're and just criticism.
Think of the amount Of saving that
would be made by dismissing from New
y ork all the Superfluous institutions
The care Of the sick, Of children. Of the
outcast. could De made enormously
more effective If we could concentrate
our means. Just because il is easy in
New York 10 organize a new institution
and 10 leave the administrati ton Of II
10 mere emotional enthusiasts. this
vast waste goes on.
There Is danger ahead in New York
IN remarkable paper by Mr.. Lleew.
ellyn Davis on Comparative Fnthusi-
3sin in England and the United States
l read recently that there Is much less
openness in giving for charity in Eng
lend This Is not drying up OF hu-
man nature IN England 50 much as an
lmpauence with wasteful methods of
administration. People who have
watched the acts Of rival organizations
and who have business sense enough
- understand their wastefullness will
reach the period of Impotence at which
taey VIII close their purses 81 far n
greatly 20 cripple al really substantial
WORK
After Bishop Potters address the
Rev. Mr.. Wyse, Of the Madison Avenue
Synagogue said that all the Jewish
caari'a bic organiza tons in the city.
especially the United Hebrew Charities
would be glad 10 confederate
Mrs { r Lowell read a paper on
'cEt-of-Door Relief. Its Uses and
abuses IN which she DISCOURAGED all
giving and favored only teaching. She |
quoted Edward Emerson for her posi- |
ton that one-third Of what is given 20 !
the poor goes 20 keeping alive their
miserable bodies. and the rest 10 DE-
siFoying their missrab Bile souls The |
subject was then generally discussed |
from the floor
s-ai=ae~1sr-. --ssiA., pi1E,a.a ,,-.,.
Is 50 - = espns ATT a /