Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-02-05

d,
enthusiastic and interesting report at
the annual meeting Of the board OF
directors OF that organization. The
report takes into consideration all the
bTanchss Of the work and points out
that the past - months has seen the
scope OF each brarHh materially
broadened. The report is. in full, as
! follows:
| Our organization has taken a step
I forward this year. in that the central
! registration system has been finally
installed. and is working quite salts
| factOrily. all the affiliated societies do
! ing active work in the line Of relief,
| having cheerfully responded to the
request that they furnish to the Assoc
ciated Charities a list of their bene-
! ficiarieS. When the matter was first
| preached, it was thought that the eX-
| pense of installing was too great. and
very few Of the affiliating societies
responded favorably when asked to
support the measure by subscribing.
/ so it was dropped for a while, but
later. a committee was appointed, with
W. S Bowen as chairman. He per-
sonally solicited the necessary funds,
and it was put through-has been in
good working order for three months.
Some of the societies were a little
slow in returning cards, and in some
cases it was felt that out of regard
! for the feelings of the applicant, il
was not necessary. and would do more
harm than good to divulge the name
ho
slightest probability of application be-
ing made for relief of any kind to the
Associated Charities or any other So
ciety than the one handling the case
This attitude will be readily under
stood by any one having had much
experience in helping others, and the
decision in such cases should be left
to the discretion Of the officers of the
different societies.
Office Made More Useful
Another advance is in having the
office open all day, instead of from 9
to IL a. m, as heretofore. This has
made the office of more use to persons
not finding ii convenient to come in
the morning; necessitating however,
the services of an assistant For IA
years, one worker has tried to do it
all--office work, investigation and Wis
iting, but with the increase in popu-
lation, it was impossible to continue
in this way, and. in order to make the
work more efficient, it was considered
advisable to employ an additional, ca
pable worker. Such has been found in
Miss Lillian Moody, who had received
some training as a social worker; but
she had scarcely begun the work
when she was suddenly called to her
home on the mainland, because of the
illness Of her mother. Pres. Dole then
appointed Miss Farley, who has taken
hold with great earnestness, and is
proving valuable worker. We have
together gene very thoroughly over
our case records, putting aside those
apparently closed scores of these
had been put aside year or two ago.
These records have. from the begin
ming, been kept alphabetically, that is.
Aas, BIS, Cos. cts, together and
have never had any difficulty in look
ing up a case. but now they have
been arranged in more perfect alpha
betical order-Aa, Alb, Ac, etc. which
will doubtless expedite the work
An employment bureau has gotten
we'll started in the last few months,
the Y. M. c. A. and Salvation Army
TO attend to the male applicants, and
the Associated Charities to place wo-
men and girls. We have been quite
successful in this department, at
which Miss Farley has labored most
diligently and conscientiously. but
having to deal, at times. with women
having a very limited knowledge of
English. there have been misunder.
standings, and some discouraging ex,
periences. The labor question is be-
coming serious here as we'll as on the
and the action of the cham
her of commerce, warning men against
seeking employment here. was a
much needed one and will be heartily
appreciated by all charity workers.
kindly Criticism Helpful
Judging from the perusal of the
many annual reports from charity Or
CARNATIONS. it would seem a not un-
usual thing to be under the fire OF
criticism. This office has not escaped
the experience. l presume there will
always be people who measure the
usefulness of the Associated Charities
by the amount of money spent for re-
lief in comparison with the amount
paid out for salaries and office expens-
eS, forgetting that relief work is not
the highest and most important aim
of the society. A glance of Art. II
of the bylaws will show the objects
OF the organization. The securing
OF employment. friendly intercourse,
advice and sympathy" cannot be eX-
pressed in dollars and cents. Kindly
criticism is helpful and always appre-
Ciated. but the criticism Of anyone,
oven though 4 director. who never
attends a meeting, never enters the
office, and whose only knowledge of
the work Of the society comes from
iearsay, is valueless. Then. too, a
gentleman, formerly a member. speak
ing before the Board of Supervisors,
is reported by the Press. to have made