The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1903-03-24

From the Chicago Tribune.
! T requires a huge staff of clerks and
secretaries with an almost endless
J army of books and records to give
away the money of John D. Rockefeller
the Standard OIL millionaire.
just how much is given and just where
It is given is a secret between Mr. Rookie
Teller and his trusted cashier. Fred T.
Gates These two are not telling anyone
what is going on. and they will not even
admit that any money is going out of the
busy establishment. It is a fact, how
ever. that to conduct the charities of the
millionaire scores of persons are always
busy.
The system is like huge mail order
business. The only difference Is that the
requests for money come into the office,
and instead of sending out lines of goods
the office sends out aid to the needy.
Like everything else connected with the
Standard OIL concern, this department is
development from a small beginning.
How much greater 1t will grow cannot
be predicted. It is growing every day
and the force needed to operate 1t Is
being added to as time progresses.
AT the head of the disburslng depart
ment is Rev. Fred T. Gates, at one time
a minister, who was forced to give up
his charge by the ever-lncreasing calls
upon him by Mr.. Rockefeller. Finally he
had no time for anything else but the
charity bureau. It is his duty to pass
| oil for oil Ia
do this by the simple reading of the let
tiers of the applicants, and has to avail
| himself of the extensive bureau of in
formation which is a part of the organ
| ization.
Every charitable organization In the
country is used to investigate and re-
port upon the various cases that come
up for consideration. The police and
hospitals are made a part of the vast
machine constructed for the sole pur-
pose of giving away money.
The underlying idea of the whole af-
fair is to help those who need help. 1t
is not desire to give money away.
lift at the right moment will avert an
endless amount of misery, and it is to
reach these that the department aims.
Sometimes the aid is given direct and
sometimes 1t is applied through the or
ganized charities of the various cities. 1t
is all done as quietly as possible, and in
the majority of cases the identity of the
giver is lost before the gift reaches its
destination.
The letters asking aid and many Of
them simply begging. pour into the office
every day. They are taken in hand by
the clerks and treated in a business-lilxe
manner. They are classified and assorted
As they progress through the office many
of them are disposed of in various ways
Some go to the police or some particular
hospital for action. After the sitting pro-
cess has been finished the remainder goes
to Mr. Gates. He takes them In turn and
disposes of them as they may appear to
him to deserve. No time must be lost 1t
is well understood maxim that real aid
must be prompt to be effective.
Inside of half an hour after the NAH
reaches the office there will be a dozen
agents of Mr.. Gates out on Individual
cases. They have authority to use their
judgment in these cases and to give i'm
mediate aid If 1t is needed. This, however,
is only in exceptional cases that cannot
be reached through the regular charita-
BILE organizations
The less urgent cases are tabulated and
sent to the societies with which the bu-
reau has connections. All of these are to
be investigated and reported upon In due
time. 1t is seldom that these cases are
sent to societies that have not from time
to time been supplied with funds by the
Rockefeller bureau. 1t is not heralded to