Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1903-02-26

! less array OI OOOhS anu ItCOIuS ~ give
away the money of John D. Rookie
feller, the Standard Oil millionaire.
Just how much is given and just
where it is given is a secret between
Mr.. Rockefeller and his trusted cash
ier, Fred T. Gates. These two are
not telling anyone what is going on,
and they will not even admit that any
money in any form is going out of the
busy establishment. 1t is fact, how
ever, that to conduct the charities OF
the millionaire scores Of persons are
always busy.
The system is like huge mail-or-
der 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 con-
cern, this department is develop
ment from a small beginning How
much greater it will grow cannot be
predicted. 1t is growing every day
and the force needed to operate it is
being added to as time progresses.
At the head OF the disbursing de-
partment is Rev Fred T. Gates, at one
time a minister, who was forced to
give up his charge by the ever-in'
creasing calls upon him by Mr.. Rookie
feller. Finally he had no time for
anything else but the charity bureau.
1t is his duty to pass upon all aPPIl-
cations for aid. He cannot do this
by the simple reading of the letters of
the applicants, and has to avail him
self of the extensive bureau Of infor-
nation which is part of the organl-
zation.
Every charitable organization in
the country is used to investigate and
report upon the various cases that
come up for consideration. The po-
lice and the hospitals are made part
Of the vast machine constructed tor
the sole purpose of giving away money
The underlying idea Of the whole
affair is to help those who need help
1t is not desire to give money away
There are thousands of cases where a
lift at the right moment will avert an
endless amount Of misery, and 1t Is TO
reach these that the department aims
Sometimes the aid is given direct and
sometimes it is applied through the
organized charities Of the various cities
1t is all done as quietly as possible
and in the majority of cases the iden-
tity of the giver is lost before the gift
reaches its destination.
The letters asking aid, and many oi
them simply begging, pour into the
Office every day. They are taken IL
hand by the clerks and treated in a
business-like manner. They are class
fled and assorted. AS they progress
through the Office many of them are
disposed ofin various ways. Some &C
to the police or some particular hos
pital for action. After the sitting
process has been finished the remainder
90 to Mr. Gates. He takes them IL
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 mail
reaches the Office there will be doz'
en- agents of Mr. Gates out on lndlvld'
ual cases. They have authority tc
use their Judgment in these cases and
to give immediate aid ifit is needed
This, however, is only in exceptional
cases that cannot be reached through
the regular charitable organizations.
The less urgent cases are tabulated
and sent to the societies with which the
bureau 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 sup
piled with funds by the Rockefeller
bureau. 1t is not heralded to the
world and would probably be denied
by Mr.. Gates. Even the great for
tune of Mr.. Rockefeller could not meet
the demands that would be made II
the actual method became generally
known.
Like all the Rockefeller gifts, the
principle of helping those who help
themselves applies in all these cases
The recipient of aid must show some
disposition to do his snare. And to
this end gifts are often made on con-
ditions.
There have been cases where loans