El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-18

- property to his widow and de-
claring her able to carry out his ideas
he left his vast fortune in competent
hands. The S1O,OOO,OOO gift with which
! Mrs. Sage established the Russell Soc
foundation revealed her purpose IF
eliminating causes of bad conditions
rather than 10 treat the effects of
those conditions. Her gift was direct
charity-but kind Of charity which
I recognizes that an ounce Of prevention
| is worth pound of cure. 1t was given
| with a view to the eradication as far
/ as possible of the causes of poverty
and ignorance"
When Mrs. Sage came into the man
agement of the great estate thousands
appealed to her for aid, feeling that a
woman SympathleS would respond to
their pitiful petitions But Mrs Sage
! wanted hers to be a broader gift; she
thought it impossible TO reach but a
comparatively few by direct charity
while she might reach millions born
and millions unborn if she turned her
attention to causes rather than permit
!, ting her millions to be used TO afford
! only temporary relief
In a letter written by Mrs Sage
shortly after the charter of the fOun-
dalton was granted she stated that its
scope was not only national, but broad
She announced that it should not IN
dertake to do what now was being
done or likely to be done effectively
by other agencies or individuals; that
its aim should be to take up the larger
and more difficult problems, and to
take them up in such a way as to en-
list as far as possible outside coopera-
ton in their solution.
Investigates Cause of Poverty.
When the foundation laid out its
program it decided first to make a
careful, painstaking, scientific lnves-
ugation of poverty and its causes. It
was held that any problem can be
| solved only when the exact conditions
had adequately studied the poverty
| question With this end in view COM
| petent Investigators were secured who
since have been making minute studies
OF such instances OF poverty as they
meet in their work
The investigator may take a census
| OF the poor he finds on the benches Of
city park, inQuiring minuteIy into
all the details of the life history of
( each individual and finally summing
up the whole work and attempting to
/ reach a conclusion thereon; or, he may
study housing conditions in a big city
for the purpose of aScertaining eX-
actly what those conditions are in an
attempt to find solution of the nous
ing problem; or he may in cooperation
with a number Of associates, undertake
a big social and Industrial survey of
a great city in the hope of finding
out Just where the evils are, what they
may be, and how they may be rene
died, as has been done in Pittsburg.
Inc results OF all these lnFeStlSd-
lions, which are still being carried for
ward, have served to give to the world
its most definite and accurate knOwl-
! The world in general has smatter-
ing knowledge Of mosquitoes. but IL
was not until the scientist laid down
the minute distinctions between the
yellow fever mosquito and some Of
his cousins that the prevention OF the
scOurge Of the tropics was made pos
slble- The world at large has a rather
close and unpleasant knowledge about
fleas. but il was not until the micro
scope and the exact descriptive powers
OF the ent1molog1st divided them into
their respective species that the BAG
teriOlOgist was able to prove that GER
tain neas carry the bubonic plague
And so il is hoped that it will be
with poverty; that exact knowledge of
the different varieties of poverty and
the methods OF their causatiOn, will
lead inevitably in finding at least a
Probes school Conditions.
The school children OF the country
early enlisted the active interest of
the Sage foundation. It set investi-
gators to work to find out just what
the schools of the country are doing
for the benefit of the children, and
was published and made available TO
students everywhere. For instance, it
was found that in 1911 there were
1,0SS cities reporting to the depart
ment of child hygiene. and that in
only 443 Of them is medical inspection
to be found. Yet even this showing is
a gratifying one when it is stated that
less than 10 years ago there were only
% cities having such inspection
The fight against tuberculosis has
been aided with funds from the Sage
foundation. When the Worlds Tuber-
cUlosis congress was held in Washing
ton the foundation helped to finance
1t, and bore the expense Of moving the
remarkable exhibition that accompa-
MED it to New York, where the people
were given an opportunity to see it.
The movement for public recreation
also has received much support from
the foundation. while the placing out
and management Of children in insti-
tutions has been pr )ble1n that has
commanded its study and support
One of the lessons learned from the
Investigations by the foundation into
poverty and ignorance is that there is
a serious need of charity Organiza-
lions in a great many communities,
and it is now seeking to supply this
need by encouraging the organization
Of associations to look after the poor
in many cities. Much success has at
tended this work, and the OrganiZa-
tons that have resulted are devoting
of the causes Of poverty as to the re-
lief of specific cases of distress, thus
carrying out the purposes Mrs. Sage
had in mind IN creating the founda-
ton
There are many lines of inquiry that
need to be made so that legislative
guide them in enacting legislation for
the safeguarding of the interests of
the poor For instance, it is a general |
" known fact that the people who /
have 10 nav the highest rates for life
and health insurance are the ones who
can least afford to do so-the ones
who can get it only on the instalment
plan Of so much per week. Yet there
was no definite, scientifically gathered
data which would warrant legislative
actiCn to correct abuses anywhere to
be had. The foundation financed such
an inquiry, and it has revealed in a
startling way the burdens the poor
have to bear for the small protection
their insurance affords. Likewise, the |
whole world has had general knoWl- /
edge of the terrific eXactions of the
loan sharks who lend money on sal
aries and personal property. But in
formation sufficiently exact for the
legislator who would remedy the evils
of the business was wanting until the
Russell Sage foundation supported an
investigation which has shown up the F,
10 percenter" in his true character.
The problem Of bringing together
the man who wants reliable help and [
the person who is dependable, but out !
OF q job, s one upon whose solution not |
a little poverty must disappear from [
the country. The Sage foundation has I,
attacked the proposition, and the /
probable result will be a chain of free |
employment agencies across the coun-
try which win investigate the records |
OF men seeking work, and give de-
pendable information to employers in I