Omaha daily bee., 1902-10-05
Up ON CHARITY WORK
- People Pay Twice Or 0ftsnsr 70
Accomplish Same Result
DallcArloN FROM LACK OF METHOD
Of Central Of~ganiHati-n shown
Experience of workers I'm
Field of Aid TO the
INDECENT.

W. bMNtNAEM0G "
Field Of Aid TO the
INDECENT.
th the price Of fuel soaring upward
CONSEQUENT apprehension for the winter
In its wake. the charitably inclined are
ming to have a thought for the COM
ly's dependent ana to the. establish
Of some adequate means OF minister
10 their necessities.
mo the disbanding OF the Associated
flties two years ago there has been no
rmatic organized effort ia behalf Of the
lent and needy, and public sympathy
fhese unfortunates has manifested u
in the expenditure Of thousands oil
.srs and inestimable effort by societies
Individuals that have duplicated each
re work. have been imposed upon and
- all have missed many Of the most de-
Ina. Il is something Of a shock to
De- well-meaning ones TO be told by those
bse experience makes them competent
nudge that there is enough money and
trt wasted each year In duplicate effort
oIfne to supply the necessities to the really
terying for an entire winter.
aide from the Institutions maintained
The county and city at an annual cost Of
NY thousands Of dollars q score Of char
Bic institutions for various kinds Of work
kept up by the several denominational
Allanthropic and other societies at a heavy
tpense, all Of which Is met by subscrip-
ehs and donations Of interested individ-
anti so numerous have become the
meals for their maintenance that they no
1Nager meet with the enthusiastic response
&c received, and many OF them have found
necessary to send out solicitors. working
~ a percentage, to keep up the donations.
Community Pays Twice.
while the efficiency and deservingness OF
|Hese institutions are not to be questioned
ne fact remains that they are taxing the
Immunity for separate maintenance Of sew
raj agencies for accomplishing the same
4ork. II is frequently asserted that, In way
of charitable effort. the newest thing lie the
most popular thing in Omaha, and that as
room as the novelty wears of an orgsniza-
atnn, no matter how deserving, IL Is left
10 get along as best 1t can. In a sense
his may be true. but the very existence OF
IAese many institutions proves the COM
munity's willingness to care for It's de-
tandent and the necessity OF centraliEing
ma systematizing the effort for its distrtbu-
ION.
Probably nothing appeals to public sym
bathy like the little children OF the poor,
md few institutions receive the support
riven those that are operated In the In
terest Of the little ones. Omaha at present
imports three organizations for the care OF
lhese little ones, each at a heavy expense
I'd doing much coed, and each confident
nat its usefulness might be doubled II the
funds were but available, while,
Until a few weeks ago. there was no place
ia the county. aside from the poor farm,
ehere aged men. as helpless and dependent
ns the children. could be cared for.
Several years ago the Nebraska Chill
.hren's Home Finding society was organized
Tor the work Of taking destitute children or
those without proper guardianship and ind
ing suitable homes for them. The work
Embraced the efforts Of the most prominent
christian men and women Of the state and
was conducted according to the methods OF
the national organization Of Its name, OF
which President Mckinley was one OF the
most Jealous workers. A few years later
the, Child Saving Institute was established,
its main work being the same as that OF
the Home Finding society. In connection
with it were several other branches to pro-
mote child saving WORT which thrlved for
a time, but eventually us work came to be
chiefly a duplication OF that OF the other
ORGANIZATION, not only in the city but all
over the state, each asking support OF the
same people for a work that might be Just
as effectually carried on under one man
agement. In addition TO these, the Creche
IS maintained at a considerable expense. and
while It's work is that of a day nursery and
a is partially self-supporting, II is. In many
cities successfully combined with the child
saving work and supported by one institu-
tion.
Home for Old Men.
Omaha has still another organization
whose articles OF incorporation provide for
the care of destitute children. This IL the
woman's Christian association. and until
within the present year It has cared for a
number, but recently this work has been
left to the other organizations for that
purpose and all its effort concentrated upon
the Old Ladies' home. which has recently
been arranged to care for old men as we'll.
a its name changed to the Old Peoples
home.
This same duplication 10 true in the
rescue homes OF the city, there being at
present three separately maintained In
stitutions doing the same work under dit
ferent managements-the Salvation Army
home, Bancroft home and the North Thir-
tisth Street home.
And then there 10 the same effort ex-
pended by the various missions and
churches of the city. the Salvation army.
the Volunteers and the many lodges that
At Christmas. Thanksgiving and on other
holidays distribute supplies among the
poor. Their intentions are OF the best. to
be sure. but with no reliable means of as
pertaining the really deserving cases, much
" their charity is misplaced.
Realizing the necessity Of eentralizing