The morning journal-courier., 1908-03-09
. uNIaUE INSTITUTION.

There's only one National Confer ence of Charities and Correction ana that's the one that lives and moves in the United States It began S6 years ago. as a Committee of the Social SCI ence Association. But it soon outgreW it's mother and in 1877 it started out in business fer and by itself, Since then it's growth, in numbers and infiu- ence, has been steady and now 1t has about 2,5O0 members who pay small annual fee. and it comes in touch wlth many thousands more who attend US meetings from time to time as 1t may happen to meet in their neighborhood' The meeting this year will be in May at Richmond, Virginia. One of its most useful and unique features is that II brings together on a common plat form, officials of the States and cltles' representatives of all kinds of volun- tary societies and institutions and host of private persons, who are ac- tuated by philanthropy and good cin- zenship but have no official positions
 Because it is called Charities and Correction" some folks think 1t is on- ly concerned with the relief of the poor and the punishment of criminals. But the Conference, long ago. found out that relief charity is a very small part of the whole. It still thinks of re- ! lief, but far more of prevention and \ re-constructive charity It goes away back of immediate causes and finds I that some of the causes of both pow | erty and crime are remote and inhere | in bad social conditions, and it asks how those are to be relieved. It finds that intemperance has much to. do with poverty and still more with l crime, so 1t is concerned with the drink evil It finds that inefflciency leads to all kinds of evils, and so 1t regards educational reform and stands for such school training as shall make every boy and girl a capable citizen. It finds that the slum is an effect of pow erty and a cause of more distress and ] of crime, so the Conference attacks the housing question and devotes com 1 mittees and sessions to neighborhood improvement. It finds that an exploit ed child grows up to be shiftless, useless man. so it has something to say on child labor. It finds that un- r-vitalization, shiftlessness and lnef- flciency are caused by poor food, i'm pure air and overcrowding; so it tries to set up a standard of living and 1t says that low wages are often the
 cause of both poverty and crime | When it is studying low wages 1t dis covers that there are industries which are truly called parasitic" because they give back less than they take from their workers, who must there-
 fore depend for part of their living upon something else than the indus try which pays them starvation wages It finds that poor people are often shamefully defrauded by sharp. CTS under the forms of the law, so il
 fosters and promotes legal protection of the poor. It sees that the best helr
 anyone can get Is help to self-help; st questions of employment and training come to the front Sickness Is one of
 the greatest of all the causes of dis
 tress; so the cure and the prevention
 of tuberculosis and other contagious
 and preventable diseases interest tn,
 conference.
 No matter how much may be don'
 by private persons and voluntar,
 agencies, after all the States and citie
 are the most important sources o
 charity. So the State institutions fol
 the insane and the defectives, tn,
 county almshouses and the relic
 work done in the townships are among
 the most important things to consider and to aid to the best possible admin . istration The Conference brides itsel on its free floor Every one is invited , to it's sessions. Member and non-mem , Der all are equal Only two condition
 are attached to participation; thu speaker must have something to ga.
 that he believes in: and he mus l know how to say it. Insincerity is tn one unpardonable sin and Its close Xiii } is verbosity.