The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-01-17
TO AID POOR PEOPLE
FRIENDLY VISITING IS DISCUSSED
AT A MEETING OF THE AssO-
GATED CHARITIES

C1AIED CHARITIES
MUCH GOOD MAY BE DONE
Many Contributed Papers, and Talks
Were Given Advocating a Closer
Relation Between the Association
and the Poor of the City-Ex-
perience Shows That Better Re-
suits VIII Always Follaw.
| A large audience Of earnest, thought
full men and women filed the parlor of
the Aberdeen to overlooking last even
| ing at the thirty-first parlor confer
ence of the Associated Charities of
| st. Paul. While no fault could be
found with the size and character of
| the audience, exception certainly might
be taken to the tardy arrival Of a
| large portion of it; the first speaker be-
ing obliged to stop several times until
the late corners were seated.
Friendly Visiting" was the subject
for the evening DIR. S. G. Smith, of
the Peoples church, presided. He ex-
pressed his qualification at the pres
ence of SO large an audience, and said
| that he took great pleasure in intro
| ducing, as the first person on the pro-
gramme, Mrs. J. M. Parker. who has
recently come to st. Paul to superin-
tend the work of friendly visiting
| Mrs. Parker's paper, What Friendly
i Visiting Might Do for ST. Paul. was
exceedingly interesting. "Philan-
] thropy," she said, finds it's existence
in sympathy and fellow feeling for our
! Ii, H. hill -,
had undergone wonderful evolution
| in this century. 1t began with impulse,
| an unthinking benevOlence which found
vent in material assistance rendered
the poor and the sick. AS this impulse
became gradually trained an enlight-
| ened benevolence that aided material
| ly but also spiritually was the result.
The aim of the friendly visitor was to
| preserve and build up the home as the
pnit of civilization. The speaker stat
ed that there were 5S8 new applications
| for aid made here in ST. Paul. To
ninety eight of these applicants moth
| ing but work was given. 1t was found
that us of the number needed no as
sistance whatever, but, of the remain
der, the speaker said, if some capable,
| sympathetic visitor could visit every
| home, giving sensible advice on ques-
tions of household economics as well
| as the material assistance needed, none
/ of that number would ever have to
| apply for aid again. Mrs Parker in
sisted that the aim of the visitor must
ever be toward the spiritual, but the
material must be dealt with first. The
| ambition, courage and character must
| be stimulated.
The next speaker was William c..
| Smallwood, secretary of the Associat-
ed Charities, in Minneapolis. He read
a very able paper on The Relation of
the Visitor to the Children of the Fam
ily." This paper had been read by
! him before union meeting of the
| various conferences of Friendly Visit
ton, last January. This was Mr..
| Smallwood's first appearance before a
| ST. Paul audience.
Said Mr.. Smallwood: THAT the
present system of administrative char
ity is not the panacea, we readily ad-
NIT Formulated charity has gone as
| far as it can without new Impulses
| from within. Child saving is not pre-
ventative in the full sense--back of
| this lies the home. This is the foun-
| dalton. 1t is here that the visitor
| must concentrate, must exercise all
his ingenuity to draw out the latent
strength, instil the new, teach lessons
and develop character"
The speaker said that the visitor
|
| terial side of the family, which Is go d
enough, but it should be secondary A
| cultivation of the beautiful should be
sought, and the friendship existing be-
| tween visitor and family should be
as near terms of equality as possible.
| Mr.. Smallwood said that much could
| be done with children of kindergarten
| age; the seed for good was easily
| planted, and through the little ones
| It iyofn tloa
| dark lives of the parents.
When we do these things with the
| children" concluded the speaker, I'VE
| will find our reward in the improved
| condition of the home, the center from
which is to come the new life and So
| cial reconstruction
Mrs. Condo Hamlin read a very
bright paper on Problems of Friendly
| Visiting in st. Paul as Compared with
Those of Larger Cities''
Mrs. Hamlin said that the problem of
friendly visiting was two-fold it had
its personal and individual side as well
as it's social and civic side She as
| serted that the worker in charity must
| have complete understanding Of the
municipality III which he lives. and
the workings Of all it's different branch
es. The subject of household economics.
| the speaker also thought should be
understood by the visitor. She said
| that many children never came under
| the influence Of cultivated friend
after leaving school, which was often
| at as early an age as twelve
| Mrs. Hamlin spoke of the different
social settlements in New York city.
their wonderful success and their grow
| ing power in political reforms She
said that College settlement and Unit
versity settlement We're two Of the
most noted and successful in the city
] of New York. She spoke of the lights
and shadows of slum life there and
| contrasted it with the life of the poor
in ST. Paul, which was far more mono
| tonous, she claimed, and less pictures
que. She stated that with 500 visitors
doing the same work that the f1fty
were doing at present, the money paid
out annually for charity by the st.
Paul people could then be expended on
its weary, disheartened, neglected and
derided public schools, and on keeping
Summit avenue free from snow SO thet
| it would be possible to walk there in
| the winter time
After the reading of the papers. brief
talks were given by Mrs. Higbee. DR.
Wright. Mr.. Hoyt, Miss Emory and
| others
A reception to Mrs J. M. Parker fol-
| lowed the meeting, Dr. Smith appoint
ing Miss Somers, Mrs. Bfgbee and
Mrs Condo Hamlin as a reception com
1 GA