The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1912-06-14
ITS OBJECT LOST
Charitable Institutions Made
Models Often Not Useful.
Employees Lose Sight of Work
to Be Done.
LITTLE KNOWN BY PEOPLE
Have No Idea of Work in State
Institutions.
H. C.. Bowman Tells of Plans
to Better Conditions.


| are directed was scheduled for dis
cussion in general session today by
the national conference of charities
and correction.
| The report of the committee on this
| branch of the work presented by H.
| c. Bowman, chairman, dealt with the
administration of state institutions and
/ the supervision and control of certain
| private institutions that receive state
: aid. care for the insane, for dependent
| children or solicit financial help
throughout the state. c: E: Faulkner,
superintendent of the Washburn Me-
mortal Orphans home. Minneapolis,
was slated for a discussion of the prob
| lem of Dependent and neglected chill
dren. as seen from the viewpoint of
| state supervision
| Several section meetings rounded
out the days work, among those held
| being one of the courts and prisons
| sections and the national probation as
ISOLATION in conjunction with the chill
| dren and families and neighborhoods
sections Jointly and the housing and
| recreation section.
H. c. Bowman. chairman of the
| Kansas board of control. spoke this
| morning. He said:
Forget Purpose of Work.
1.-THE system which covers the field
and accomplishes results is the best
| system for a state. regardless of the
| name. The question is to get the
proper results. The hardest thing in
| the management of institutions, both
! public and private, is to get the execu-
| tive head and officers of an institution
| to realize that the institution is main
| tanned for the benefit of the patrons
and for the public and THAI all else is
secondary. Too often institution peo-
| nle forget the very purpose of its crea
| ton and the thing runs along rather
for its own benefit than that of its
| patrons or the state. This happens
with very worthy people who are quite
| honest and well meaning. 1t is simply
I MI
pride in having the institution
model helps to make them forget it's
purpose.
Very little is known about the in
stitutions of state by the people who
own and support them. Even chancel-
lCrs. presidents, superintendent and
wardens of the institutions know very
little about the management and ia
oilities of the other institutions. Each
lives in world of his own in which
everything pivots around him, and
there is no concerted action to accom-
plish a common purpose.
He Advocates More Boards
1T might be we'll to divide all the
state institutions-educa tional, charit-
able and correctional = into proper
groups and have board of three prop
erly constituted members for each
group. This would bring the institu-
tions having in the main the same kind
OF management and the same objects
III view together Then these groups
should be united in a sort of a com
pact whole, central board composed
of one of the members of each of the
other boards and the governor, who
would be president of this central
board by virtue of his office, and the
state auditor who would be the secre-
tlry of said central board by virtue of
his Office.
1t matters nothing to the legislature
whether the institutions for which ii
has to make appropriations are edu.
cational, medical. penal. charitable OF
correctional. They are all created and
maintained for the cure and prevention
of social evils of some description-of
Ignorance, of disease, of poverty or OF
crime-but all social evils grow out of
general social conditions and can not
be successfully studied except in theiI
mutual relation. and a central board
familiar with institutions of all de.
scriptfons will not lose sight of the diff
ference between them in its perception
of the points of general resemblance.
State to Have Full Control.
To what extent shoul state charita-
bic and correctional institutions be
managed b. state boards The duties of
state boards should cover both the
business side and the professional side
of said institutions.
There must be perfect fealty of the
board to the state and a correspond
ing loyalty of the institution to the
board. The superintendent is the agent
and executive officer of the board, and
the board is entitled to the same faith
full service from a superintendent as the
superintendent is entitled to have from
each and every employee of his insti-
tuition. Everything pertaining to the
institution, of such a nature as to be
important should be reported to the
board-nothing withheld-and each
should be in perfect accord and with
equal knowledge of all transactions.
The state board, and the institu-
tonS under its charge, is simply one
division or department of the state
government and other departments
the governor, the state auditor, the
state treasurer, the state board of
health, the state accountant, the state
architect, the attorney general and
sometimes other departments, have
powers and duties in connection with
the board and in some matters have
full power and authority over the |
board. The board and the inst4tu-
t1ons are also subject to investigation |
by joint committee of the legislature, |
and when the legislature is not in
session the governor, lieutenant-ttov-
ernor and speaker of the house usual |
ly have the power to appoint a COM
mlttee of five to investigate any of |
the state institutions and all persons |
connected with the institution.
People Intend to Take Charge.
ut also should not be forgotten that |
the people of the different states are |
waking up and that the people intend |
to supervise the state government, and |
every department thereof. and make |
the same responsive to their wishes |
The time has passed when the sup
eTvisory powers of boards of charities |
and the administrative powers of /
boards of control can be discussed /
with profit, and the time has come |
when institutional officials. the same /
as all other departments of govern
ment, must realize that they must get |
closer to the people. The people de-
mand progress in every department of |