Evening star., 1898-11-05

pected to be remedied during the present
year The board recognizes the fact that
the only way in which it may know that a
child is we'll placed is to go and see, and
this it expects to do.
The feeble minded children of the Dis
trict are maintained in institutions outside
the District principally in Pennsylvania.
They are under the supervision of the
agents of the board of chidren's guardians.
There are also -ithe children that have
been placed out from private institutions
in Washington, in whom the public has an
interest arising from the fact that many
of them We're born here and We're taken
under charitable cage by institutions main
tanned in part by public funds, and from
the further more Important fact that moth
ing which can in ahy way affect the pres
ent welfare of a dependent child can be
subject of indifference to- those who have
become participants in his guardianship.
NO one knows how large this number of
children is, nor where they now are. nor
what has happened to them since they left
the protecting walls of the asylum.
ConcIusion.
The superintendent of charities has been
impelled by an abiding conviction of right
and duty to adhere TO a policy which is in
opposition to the wishes of persons and
institutions whose claims upon his friend
ship and gratitude are of the strongest
character. However deeply he may regret
that necessity he does not expect any one
cerning the charities of the District of Co
lumbia, or any one of them, for the reason
that it is in opposition to the policy or
the superintendent, but this is the place
and time for very brief statement OF
some of the considerations which have
made it appear Imperative that he should
maintain the position of which this report
is the only possible result. Principles are
greater than men or temporary condltlons'
.'The support of private and religious in
stitutions from public funds, while the pub
lie has neither voice in their control nor
pc wer to select their benehciar1es, the pol
icy of giving such institutions legal agency
for the performance of a public duty with
out requiring in them any legal RESPONSE
biity is one which has received the strong
est iisapproval and has never been seri-
ously defended except upon grounds OF tenn
pCrary eXpediency.
Failure of Present System.
.It appears both from the agitation which
led uD to the creation of the office of su-
perintendent of charities. well as from
the language of the act by which 1t was
created. that there has long been recog
milton of the failure of the present system
ia promote economical efficiency and a de-
termination to place these matters i'll
more harmonious and reasonable relation
to the government. If anything had been
wanting in order to make perfectly plain
the need of different relations between the
government and the private charities of
the District that Eeed was supplied by the
rcports of the first superintendent of char
tiles. But it was no more true of him
than IT has been true of any other superin-
tendent that he sought to destroy or
strike down the private charities. What
he insisted upon and what is now in
sisted upon, is that If the government must
sunnort institutions 1t must also control
them.
THE best remedy for the confusion IS
If seems to me, not hard to find. The Dis
trict should determine for itself, through
its own officers, which and how many per
sons of different classes should De admit
ted to charitable care and how long they
should be retained at public expense, and
should nav for such care in institutions
which may properly be made municipal
agencies or provide for giving 1t IN public
institutions"