New-York tribune., 1903-06-30
OUTDOOR RELIEF WORK.
-AInpShouSes Decrease Pauper1snl-
Indiscriminate Citing Wrong.


whether such assistance is a matter Of justice or
charity and whether II should doled out by
the municipality dispersed through private phi
ianthropies were the subjects discussed at yester
Gay mornings session OF the summer school in
phlzuthropic work meeting daily II the Charities
building Fourth-ave. and Twenty-seccnd-st-.
This is & matter that concerns every pedestrian
city streets" said Frederick Amy. general
secretary OF the Buffalo Charity Organization So
ciery. 1T is not abstraction. q mere theory
which We are discussing. It vitaIIy concerns the
personal comfort and finances Of and chill
oren, well the bum the tramp, the street
beggz- and their numerous progeny Largess and
custody autedate Homer. There IS nothing
along these lines except in method and motive. To
my mind IL IS in the latter that The kernel of the
whole question lies. What are aiming for IN
outdoor, indoor OF any kind Of relief? The filing
of q hungry mouth here, the warming OF cold feet
there, supplying any material need s z end
IN itself? We might doing this til doonasday
for truly the poor are forever with US. and there
would be much still to do the day after-Inost
likely, far more.
paUperisrn, foster e wholesome independence in
dividuaI sef-help and family self-respect the only
adequate method. In my opinion. is by means OF
the so-called case work'-treating each instance
separately. personally and chiefly with relation 10
It's environment Of course. Il infinitely
trouble hunt up old wonaus grandchildren
end persuade force them provide for her than
4 would be TO give her grocery tickets send her
lief is. II my opinion, OF the vital factors IN
the upbuilding OF society for coming generations
The dole Of to-day has & lasting influence char
scter. however Insignificant the aims may Re Per
haps the matter OF custody may be wisely left TO
public supervision It seems however that the
tendency as shown in the increase OF probation
and parole terms cottage systems, foster homes.
etc. is largely toward abolition Of custody alto
Eetber within the next generation or two
MUNICIPAL RELIEF
The actual working of municipal relief has
been demonstrated in a number Of instances, uota-
bly, Brooklyn Philadelphia and BrookIine. Mass The
last named city distributing something like
ssoeo annually among $50 benehciaries. When the
alrnshouse established z the sole avenue Of
assistance this number fell at once TO fifty
three The rapidity, too, with which old men and
women discovered weu-to-do sons on whom they
could depend and the TOO weak 10 work recov-
sea normal g z5TerJh 5f WIS 4 INDEED matter Of
person liI acoePS Tn9nlcip9i atG or ALLOW rel
T5oorhouse Why. in Buffalo. when p1bIIc relief
cut OF the provident societies and savings
There were Numerous aIJthsntjcsTe5 = instances
where Young Te0p}e married on n0rFirry week
practically. with the avowed intention Of getting
Now. Wher a so-called charity works such results
II amounts to nothing less than moral murder.
VALUE OF Personal SERVICE
Statistics prove that when all largess is through
private channels IL is three times efcacious.
one-third the amount covers the same ground when
personal service goes with It IN other words, in
tw0-thirds Of the presented for relief it IS
material aid. hut Intelligence, ingenuity and
opportunity that required When in Brooklyn
public relief down from $4,000 a year 10
nothing. there aIushOuSe increase what
So far ] know. all cities which have made
2 study Of this department have had similar ex-
Tie-iences- And while a few suffer during a
transition period from the old artificial system 20
the natural method whereby fliaf affection, neigh
boriness and human sympathy are developed, We
should consider the greatest good tc the greatest
number and remember that progress IN phian-
rrrODic work, in most other things, Is very
like progress wheels. While one-hslf the wheel
going ahead the under half TO be going
back: but its the upper half that counts.
RELIEF NOT A FAvoR-A RIGHT.
Dr.. F H Wines introduced the first secre-
tary OF the first State Board Of Charities in the
world took the ground that relief is not favor,
but q right. and that when aims given from
fund raised by general taxation the duty OF
caring for the poor falls fairly on all alike lie
argued that necessity alone should constitute the
claim 70 assistance and aims should not be dis
pensed a test OF character or deserts. A dis
cussion followed. 81 which il varloUsly
claimed that outside relief Of to-day makes the
inside paupeT OF tomorrow: that the con
traTv. the charity Of to-day but the scant JUS
rice % less selfish generation and also that an
administration that can be trusted with municipal
affairs ought 20 be sufficiently responsible 70 look
after its beggars