Washington sentinel., 1899-01-14
Associated Charities Humbug.

Associated Charities HUmbug.
A M, Raymond sends a communica.
tion to the Washington IEWes.in which
he justly critiCises the methods pursued
by the Associated Charities OF this city,
and also, answering the TiWeS'S state.
ment that a large proportion OF the
benefclaTies of charity become pauper-
lied through it., saws that "crue,
humiliating Investigations that lower
persons in the estimation OF neighbors
when they are trying to hold their heads
up under starving conditions are devil
ish and have debasing effect that make
the bene iciaries of poor funds lose self
respect. 1t IS the inclination to withhold
rather than bestow charity that creates
paupers."
Getting dow to Associated Charities
methods he says: This organizations
habit of gOading persons about putting
themselves o level with beggars who
have a few home comforts, a persistent
effort to make persons in want dispose
of every thing upon which they can raise
a dollar, and forcing them into squalid
conditions before afording them relief
IS what creates paupers from the babe
in the cradle up to the boy old enough
to steal or the girl old enough to make
herself ptiable child OF shame, The
humiliation caused bv persons known
as Charity agents going around setting
the whole neighborhOOd agog with
gossip over some one who has applied
for relief, for the sole purpose OF pre-.
venting others from applying through
fear Of being similarly dealt with, lessons
the self respect OF such applicants, while
Others turn to crime rather than submit
to it. The overthrow of the police
system that was simple, quick, efficient,
and absolutely without cost, was a most
unpopular step Ior the honorable Board
of Commissioners to take, and, coming
as it did after the police had found a
room full provisions purloined from the
Associated Charities wareroom, it
reflected discredit at least upon two
Commissioners who opposed Commits
sioner Ross in his wish 10 maintain the
police system IN compliance with the
merchants protest against its overthrow,
for it looked to many a good citizen as
though the police, who had won laurels
through piercing winds and snowdritts
as heavenly messengers to the poor in
distress, were IN the way of an organiza-
tion that kicked out its secretary, blamed
MIN for everything that went wrong,
washed their hands like Plate, thanked
Godthat they were clean, and then sent
to Minnesota for an honest man, who
turned out to be so stony hearted that
many likened the change to swapping
the devil Tor one worse than his witch.
since the Associated Charities reor.
ganized thousands Of dollars have been
contributed by persons who read the
rosy representations in their annual
reports, EhiCh include the good work
of nearly all the charitable societies in
the District. Such contributions, no
doubt, are intended to be distributed
among the poor. but every dollar is kept
as being sent them for the inefficient
services rendered by six soulless female
agents. A system that creates paupers
instead Of raising the poor to higher
plane of life is o menace to society
instead OF protection, a curse instead
of blessing, a dodge to live without
working; something for nothing-it
was given for the poor, but | have it,
now you see it-now YOU don't see itp
Where, oh, where has it gomez
Where did the $4,000 go that was
raised the last cold winter we had, few
years ago2 There we're 5000 families,
5000 persons, represented as receiving
aid, but, after an investigation among
several hundred of the benefciaries
whose names were procured from their
own books and from old files Of
grocers and wood and coal dealers upon
whom they gave orders, It developed
the fact that the amount given to each
family during the season did not average
So, while $40 might have been given and
$4,000 be left for expenses. The rest
disappeared, but where, oh, where did
it go? Perhaps there were some other
''Poor ones who got large sums and
whose names we were not able to get;
but 5000 families at So each is $4,000.
Where, oh, where did the other's41,ooo
go too