The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-11-06
THE WORK OF MISREPRESENTATION

During the past three years most
marked Improvement has been made in the
management of the charitable, corrective
and penal institutions of the State This is
due primarily to the quiet influence of the
Board of State Charities in seeking out
cases of bad methods and abuses and in the
application of the limited remedy of that
organization. which is publicity. The work
OF the board was followed in 1895 by legis-
lation which applied the principle of nom
craftsmanship to the charitable institutions,
and the supplemental legislation Of 1897,
which turned one of the state prisons into
a reformatory and in laws which provide
for looking after homes for homeless chill
dren and to curtail the evil of indiscrini-
nate aid for the poor by township trustees.
The result of the efforts Of three years is
that every state institution is now con-
Quoted upon business principles. Only the
number of persons is employed that is
necessary; only those who are faithful are
retained, and no employee is discharged to
make place for another. County institu-
lions are rigidly inspected, and If they have
faults they are pointed out. Not the least
of the important work which has been I'M
dertaken is to prevent the spread of pauper-
ism in townships by requiring township
trustees to assess upon the townships the
expenditure for the poor who are not in
county institutions BY the publication Of
a quarterly bulletin, which is quite sure to
get into the hands of county and township
officials who have the management OF the
defective classes, the administration of
brought into such relations that every of
fetal can have information and instruction.
The annual conferences of the officers con-
nected with the charitable and corrective
institutions of the State and others inter-
ested in the progress of benevolent and
reformatory work have had salutary in
fiuence. The seventh conference will be
held in this city commencing Tuesday even
ing, Nov. 15 and continuing two days. The
programme shows that about every phase
of the practical management of public
charities and corrective institutions will be
considered. While some Of the topics which
are on the programme may seem whimsical
and others will be presented by persons
whose lack of experience is Offset by i'm
possible theories, the more important topics
relating to the public welfare as we'll as to
the unfortunate the helpless and the crimi-
nal will be discussed by men and women Of
large experience.
The whole subject is of the utmost i'm
portance to the sound as we'll as to those
for whom society must care. Looking over
the different countries, those will be found
in which the people are retrograding be-
cause of a seeming loss of vitality. There
are races which seem to be breaking down
because of the burdens which the defective
classes impose. Whole provinces in Europe
seem to be given over to a pauperism so
general that even those who have small
estates are involved in the disaster Race,
vicious government and environment may
have something to do with the result but
much of it comes from the failure of the
state and society to protect themselves
against the growth of the weak and de-
fective element. The state which does not
guard against the increase of the ineffective
element, the feeble-mnded the homeless
children, and does not put up barriers
against pauperism will in time pay a thou
sandfold penalty in general poverty and
degradation No race can be superior to
decay if self-preservation is neglected