The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-15
DISAGREE OVER
 SANTA CLAUS MAIL
Secretary McGrath Says Letters Often Disclose
 Needy Persons

The letters written each year to Santa Claus by the children in large cities and printed in the daily papers are sometimes calls for charity from persons not at all in need of it, according to a letter re- ceived from Secretary Francis Mclean Of the National Association of Societies for Organizing Charity. The Birmlng- ham organized charities have not given their approval to the request set forth by the secretary of the national organiza- tion but do agree with him In saying that none of these letters should be responded to by the public unless they have been investigated as promiscious charity is the worst type.
 Secretary McGrath of the Associated Charities stated yesterday that the na- tional body is endeavoring to set aside the order recently made by Postmaster General Hitohock that all Santa Claus letters are to be sent to the local chari table organizations. He stated that while in many cases the children might be those of parents who could provide for them oftentimes the children of the very poor write and open up a channel for the lending of assistance that might have remained closed but for the childish de- sire to be visited by St. Nicholas.
 The following is the letter received from the National Association of societies for organizing charity, of which Maurice Will lows, formerly of this city, Is associate secretary:
 Dear Friend:
 ''The attention of your society is called to an order that has recently been is- sued by the postmaster general whereby postmasters in this and other cities are authorized, in their discretion, to distrb- ute the so called Santa Claus letters" 70 charitable organizations who may make a request for them.
 "ln 1908 many societies and individuals wrote to the then postmaster general pro- testing against the unwholesome publicity accorded to such letters at Christmas time In 1907. Tn accord with the uniform opin- ion of well informed and experienced so- c1al workers so expressed, the distribu- ton of these Santa Claus letters was not made in 1908 and the year following.
 "Grave harm resulted from the public use of these letters by private individ- uals, charitable agencies and by newspa- pers in 1907. Many of the letters were widely published without the concealment of names and addresses of the writers. There was, as should have been expected, a large increase in the amount of such mail immediately following the first pub lication of letters of this kind. Thou sands of them were written obviously for the sole purpose of attracting attention and securing charitable assistance. There were many unmstakable instances or parents teaching their children to beg for the relief of the family. This degradation of the Christmas spirit was further ac- oomplished by the ostentatious public dis trbution of trivial presents to those fam lilies from which Santa Claus letters had been received.
 Would it not be wise and expedient for your society (and individual board members where possible) to send, by let ter or night letter. protest to Hon. Frank H. Hitchcock, postmaster general, Washington, and request that he may reconsider this recent order and so arrest very considerable harm to the poor and to the social work in progress for their benefit throughout the country Sincerely yours, 7a l.f