The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-01-26
DR.. STODDARD'S IDEAS.
He Suggests a Number Of
Improvements to the
Charity's Aid As
ISOLATION.

At a meeting of the Executive Commit
tee of the Organized Aid Association,
Yesterday afternoon, Miss Chown report
ed that the sewing room for needy Wom-
en-. which is to be undertaken by the
Philanthropic Committee of the Womanss
Club, will probably be opened next Tues
day. A room has been secured in Rail-
road avenue, and a seamstress has been
engaged who will direct the women. The
work will be paid for in orders for gro
ceries and rent.
Miss Chown reported that the clergy
men of all denominations are showing
great interest in the work u the organ
lied aid The Rev. DIR. Stoddard and
the Rev. Or. Herr have promised to lend
| all the assistance possible, and the Rev.
| Father Harpes, of st. Peters Church, has
| appointed two gentlemen from his con-
gregation to confer with Miss Chown and
learn in what manner they may be able
to assist her. Thirty cases have been
| investigated and six new cases were re-
! ceiyed Yesterday. Miss -Chown would be
glad to receive word from persons desir-
| ing to employ help if only for one day.
| She is looking for work for a machinist.
a painter, a carpenter, a sailor, several
day laborers and a ~bookkeeper. Miss
Chown made a special appeal for a Wild
| ow, whose three children are i'll with
| scarlet fever. She is practically destitute.
She cannot leave the children to earn
| money, as she did before they were
| stricken.
The Rev. DR.. E. l.. Stoddard has been
proposed as a member of the Executive
| Committee. He will be elected at a spe-y
1io1 ~ WAITING pf fha onnnppiffpQ on FRIDAY
| afternoon, when important matters will
be brought up for discussion. DR.. Stod-
dard is enthusiastic over the movement.
He has written Miss Chown a number of
| suggestions that have been submitted to
the Executive Committee. They are:-
"First-Rouse the sentiment of the city
| in favor of the Charity Aid Organization.
"~Second-That you may do this, instruct
the city; show the people that this sort
of aid organization is the accepted way
of dealing with poverty, and that we
| cannot afford to be behind the times.
."Third-To do this
"a. Have a public meeting, with a
| clear, business-like speech from a man
who has been through the work and
knows.
"B. Get space in the daily papers and
write up the matter.
"Fourth-Raise money. To do this
"A. Tell every church that from its
own relief fund it should contribute to
this Aid for its relief. Each church will
attend to its own well known poor, but
will be able freely to turn over other
cases to the Aid This would be worth
to st. Johns at least $50 a year and should
be worth $500 to all the churches of the
| city. Make them see this.
"B. Try to make the Aid because it is
a scientific way of dealing with poverty,
the recipient of many streams of charity
| which now flow elsewhere and are wasted.
&C. Start a general subscription as soon
as public sentiment is ready for it.
'Fifth-District the city. I would sug-
| gest that each church be given a district.
For that district, for visiting all cases re-
\ ported in it, that church would be re-
| sponsible. I would also suggest that if
possible the churches furnish visitors for
your districts, certainly each church for
| its own district. Explain that this is not
| giving a church the right to steal poor
sheep from other churches, and check all
miserable suspicion of rivalry by such an
explanation. 1t simply means that a
church agrees to investigate cases of I'M
| churched poor and report to headquarters.
The strong churches in resident dis
tricts should be assigned visiting in poor
quarters and not in their immediate
vicinity, where there would probably be
few cases. The ~clergymen should as far
as possible be present at the public meet
ing, as many of them evidently need in
struction in the work of the organization.
..Sixth-Gain the confidence of the COM
munity by regular published statements
of what is being done, and that the state
ments show that the best business-like
methods are used"
An effort will be made to arrange a
large public meeting and have 1t addressed
by the Right Rev. Bishop Potter of New
York.