Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-26
DISCUSSED CHARITIES
Third Annual Meeting OF the
Maryland Conference.
IN SESSION IN BALTIMORE
Commissioner Macfarland's Address
Read by Mr.. Foster.
DISTRICTS EXPERIENCES TOLD
State Control of Charitable Expendi-
lures Supported by an Array Of
Facts and Figures.
N SESSION IN BALTIMORE
DISTRICTS EXPERIENCES TOLD

BALTIMORE. Nd, April 23-At today's
session of the third annual meeting of the
Maryland conference of charities and cor
recton al Johns Hopkins University
which began yesterday. an address, pre-
pared by Commissioner Macfariand, VINO
unable 10 be present. was read by M
George S Wilson. secretary of the board
of charities of the District of Columbia
The address was, in part, as follows:
"Ali must agree. l suppose, that the
states should have some control of its
charitable expenditures. Some will hold
that it should have absolute and exclu-
should be more and more limited, until
some would make that control practically
no control at all 1t seems to me that the
states control of its charitable eXpendi-
lures. whatever its extent, should be real
and not in name only. The state is the
people acting together through their Of
ficiai agents and it has no money to eX-
pend for charity or any other purpose eX-
cept that which the people contribute IN
taxes.
The taxpayers are entitled to eco
nomcal and efficient expenditure of their
taxes. money i'll many cases paid by them
at the sacrifice of comforts if not neces-
saries. Moreover. they are entitled TO k1oN
exactly what has been done with their tax
| money. SO that they may cr.ticise, and il
| need be conIemn. their Official agents IL
tncS nave not Elduc tnt DSSt us lOI lilc
general good of the tax contributions.
Midway between the extremists stand
those WHO comic end for the principle tn 1t
there should be public control of the eX-
penGiture of public money even by a PR
vate institution. to the extent at least of
having expenditures made only under con-
tractural agreements 50 as TO y oV.de
specified payments for specified services.
1t is easy to thcoriZe and eve1 to doSml l
tie bout this ABOUT every other mat
ter of opinion; therefore. it has seemed
best to me to rehearse briefly the eXpaii-
ence of the District of Columbia in this
matter, that what l know to b. IA is
may be placed before you for your own de-
auctions. | avail myself of d statement
which l made before tie nitioaal confer
ence of charities and corrections at Phila-
delpha the past year, since nothing i'm
portant has happened in the interval to
add to the history modify the conclu-
sions set forth on that occasion.
Experience in District of Columbia.
The coming of DR. Warner as the first
superintendent of charities of District
of Columbia in 1Sgr; marks the beginning OF
the application to our public charitable
work of the modern principles most APP
proved in the administration of public
charities.
The board of charities. made up OF five
repre- sentative citizens serving without com
penSation. has done in these six years one
of the best pieces OF municipal WORK that
has been done in that time in the United
| States. Its method has Deen so quiet thg.
/ 1t has not attracted general attention. but
! lis substantial results now appearing chai-
I lenGe admiration.
! The history of public charities in the
! District of Columbia may he naturally di-
Vided into three chapters: First. that COW
J ering the period prior to ISL when the
/ first superintendent of charities was ap-
pointed. second that covering the period
/ from 1S.,2 to 1909. when the office of super
/ into yCaS hI1 iGha al AVID nf
| charities set up. and. third. that covering
| the period of the board of charities TO the
| present day.
Beginning of Work in 1875
THE new District of Columbia govern
! ment took over in 1873 the public chart
table institutions then existing. From the
first aid was given in the form of lump
sum subsidies TO private charitable institu-
tons. The heavy and disaSreeable work.
such the care of the insane the chronic
sick, the strictly pauper classes and the
delinquent, has always been done by public
institutions. The theory that the private
charitable institutions should be utilized
for public service in other cases is sup
posed to have been at the bottom of the
practice OF voting lump-sum appropriations
for maintenance to such private inst tu-
tons without exacting specific service or
making specific payments for any service
Private charitable institutions naturally
I
although there were a number of institu-
tons which never did So
From 1880 TO 1892. the number of sub
| SidtZed institutions increased from to oS
while the number of public institutions did
not increase at all.
The Outlay From 1892 to 1900.
During the period of office of superin.
| tendent, 1892 to 1850, the appropriations 70,
| private institutions increased only from
| S15l 900 to S153,O annually while the an
preparations for public institutions increased
! from $3.50 900 to $3.50, coo annually. The
| number of public institutions increased
| from four to eight. while the number of in
| situations receiving subsidies actually de
creased from twenty-eight to twenty three
In fS''2, the act creating the board of chill
| drenS guardians was approved, and hat
| the policy begun with the passage of tina
act been continued. all the subsidies fo
child-caring institutions would have beer
| eliminated the next year, and all payments
| for the care of children would have beef
made either in the form of appropriation
for public institutions, or by specific pay
| ments to private agencies through tn,
| board of childrens guardians
| In 1898 came opposition in Congress
against appropriations to sectarian institu
| tons. with the result that three or four O
! the small appropriations to Sectarian insti
| tutions were then eliminated. In the SAM
| year joint select committee on inveStiga
| ton OF charities was appointed by Congress
| whose report led up to the creation of tn
| board of charities in 1900 in accordance
with the recommendations of Superintend
ents Warner and Lewis.
The Increase From 1900 to 1900
I'm the period from 1900 to 1906 the mum
Der of purely public institutions has in
creased from eight to eleven, while tn
amount of money appropriated for main
tenance of public work has increased from
$780, 900 to S623, 600. About S1OO 900 of thi
increase is due to the fact that the Distric
is now charged higher rate than formerl
| for the care of its insane. The number @
private institutions in receipt of publ
| funds in any manner has decreased from
twenty-three to twenty, while the amour
; of money received by private institution
has decreased from S153, 900 to $4,000 an
| nually.
The appropriations to five institution
| have been decreased with view to thei
elimination in a few years. OF the $l49, 90
now paid to private Institutions, onl
$1,000 is actually granted in the form @
subsidies. All the balance Is paid in tn
form of specific payment for specific servic
under contract with the public authoritie.
In the cases of the small subsidies remain
Ing. the appropriations are gradually bein
| reduced with a view TO their elimihatior