Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-18
POOR OVERSEER'S
OFFICE CRITICISED
Charities Worker Tells Summit
Organization Politics In
fluences Aid.


Miss Mabelle c. Phillips. executive
secretary of the Plainfield Charity
Organization Society, Miss Helen
Burdick. a trained worker for the
Elizabeth Cooperative Charities,
substituted as the speaker.
Miss Burdick explained the system
under which the Elizabeth organiza-
ton carries on its work. She was
emphatic In her criticism of the man
ner in which aid is dispensed
through the office of the overseer of
poor in her city. She declared that
the sum of 50 per month for food and
one-ouarter ton OF coal for four
months during the winter is supplied
each person making application for
assistance.
Many Needless Get Aid.
In many cases this aid is not need
ed by the applicants. who. neverthe-
less. secure it year after year
through politics. To the deserving
poor the assistance is totally inade-
ouate. Miss Burdick said. and she
strongly recommended the transfer
of the legal distribution of charity
from the overseer of the poor to the
systSmatized cooperative charities
organization. Miss Burdick would
make the Door overseer's functions
only administrative in caring for the
poor needing legal protection.
Foreigners misunderstood Work.
The speaker told OF the small be-
ginning of the Elizabeth organization
with only one worker. Now there Is
superintendent two field workers
and a stenographer connected with
the society. Last year between $1,000
and 5000 was dispensed in charity
in Elizabeth. Miss Burdick told OF
the society's problems in assisting
the deserving foreigners, the society
finding the Polish race the most ire
sponsive to the efforts made to aid
them. This attitude, Miss Becker
said, was mainly due to misunder-
standing through inability to compre-
bend the motives of the charity or
ganization in seeking to help the
needy Poles. Much assistance Is
rendered the cooperative charities
by the owners of tie large INDUS
trial plants in Elizabet, such as tho
Standard oil and Singer Sewing Ma
chine companies, who provide work
for those who are worthy on aDpllea-
ton by the charity society. In COM
taking into consideration the in
creased number of unemployed dur
ing the past winter. there was much
less demand for aid in Elizabeth,
Miss Burdick said.
Hamilton w Mabie. whose wife is
president of the local organization OF
charities, believed that the important
function of the society here is first
to make it clearly understood in the
community that the fundamental OBJ
iect of the work is not the. dispensing
of charity, but to get at and correct
through reconstruction work the I'M
DERIVING causes of the helplessness of
the poor.
Would Remedy Causes.
Not the symptoms but the causes
is what should be the aim OF the or
ganization to ascertain and remedy.
Mr. Mable thought, and only through
educational work such as Is being
followed by the great industrial
plants throughout the country in
making for the safety of the lives of
their employees in the daily pursuance
of their vocations. Due to accidents
which by greater knowledge of avoid
ance of danger could have been avert
ed. fully as per cent of the widows
have been left dependent, Mr.. Mabie
said.
Vice-President Oliver r. Merrill
spoke along the same Ines and added
that there seemed to be an erroneous
impression that the organization
planned to increase the expenditure
of money In caring for the city's
charity. The idea had gone out that
the organizat' on planned to employ
at once a high salaried, trained work.
1t. L..
lief is entirely wrong. 1t is the ulti-
mate object of the society to secure
the services of such a worker but not
until the organ cation has gotten
much further advanced To Mr.. Mer-
rills mind the co-operative char ties
will eventually result in q large
economy in charitable and social
work.
The suggestion by Ernest Dressed
North that the services of some local
person interested in sociological work
might be obtained by the organiza-
ton gratis did not meet with the ap-
proval of those present.
Mr.. Mahie, Mr.. Merrill and Mrs,
Lemuel Slddmore believed the work
demands the attention of none other
than trained worker II the best re-
suits are to be attained.
n section OF lne Dy-laWS was
amended to provide for the substitu-
tion of case committee instead of a
relief committee. AS members of this
committee Mrs. Mahie, who was I'M
able to be present, sent the names of
Mrs. Henry Mole and Mrs. Guy Bates,
This committee will investigate all
cases and cause aid to be furnished
where needed. As a nominating COM
m'ttee Miss Jennie Bonnet, Mrs.
Thomas p. Adams and Rev. Minot
G. Morgan weer named by Vice.
President Merrill The annual cleo
ton of officers of the organization
will be held at the next uarterly