The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-01-24
A Richmond Failure

mOnd," said Township trustee I1owaIIh 1eeol'iy'
He declares there are now close to 2oo names on
the poor relief books but that these represent
only three-fourths of families actually in need.
For months now the Associated Charities have
sent out one appeal after another for money and
have reported that local charities are in a very
bad way.
This is in no wise reflection on the splendid
efforts of those few faithful souls now in charge
of local relief work Their perseverance, their Ell
forts under such adverse conditions as now OBJ
tain often reach the sublime and become heroic.
But these conditions described are a reflection
on the community as a whole. A city that hand
les it's poor relief in the haphazard irregular, I'M
business-like way ours does is city that has at
least one cause to hang it's head in shame.
What we need is complete and thorough-go-
ing reorganization of our whole system for deal
ing with local conditions reorganization that
will include everything from to L.
In order best to accomplish this the first es-
sential step would be.to have an expert survey
made of the city. No business, whether it be
helping down-and- cutters building canals can
proceed "by guess and by gosh: if it have not
a definite and complete knowledge of its field
and the needs of it's field, it will move in the
dark The director of charities should know
mot guess) just what the state of affairs may
be with which he (or she) has to DEAL
After the survey must proceed reorganlza-
ton of the charities office the charities staff and
the machinery of distribution and recording.
This must be as thorough and as efficient as If
it were for the management of great Industry.
Sloveny methods, or rather lack of Methods are
as fatal in caring for the unfortunate as in run
ming steel trust.
For this it would be best to have profession
al in charge Charity is science. 1t requires
@b,& 4;cf Cbor itv 1c fUO
edged sword and will do as much harm as good
if not directed according to we'll defined princi-
Piles of relief
Trained workers in the field are also neces-
sary. Good will is splendid thing, an earnest
desire to relieve suffering is noble, phlanthropc
motives divine but all these will sour into a
disease if not sailed with accurate knowledge and
trained skill.
As important as is an effective mechanism
with which to run the business is the efficiency
of appeal. AS things are now managed only a
few feel the need and pressure of the work. 9th
ers learn of it in casual way but never come to
realize the urgency of it, Because of this the
burden of the whole matter is unequally divided
and falls on comparatively few shoulders. The
poor belong to all of US; we all share in the re-
sponsibility for the conditions which make for
indgency and we all should help ameliorate those
conditions.
To accomplish this some kind of right pub
lefty should be developed. When thing is
merely put in print it is publication; but when il
is so put in print that it goes home to the read
er's will and moves him to respond it is publicity
One of the biggest tasks before the charities or
ganization is to evolve some method of publicity
The object of the appeals should always be t.
establish a dependable fund on which the worl
may be built AS things are those in charge
are ever at loss to what amount to antici
pate. The uneven and irregular method of re
work almost impossible.
And the one scientific method of handlin,
funds, once they obtained in such publi
trust is the budget method. When it is definite
ly known how much money will be available i
should be appropriated to various department
of the work and never, except in the most unus
ual circumstances, be used in other departments
The poor we have with and will for year
to come. The helpless and unemployabe and de
pendent seem to increase in number. They mus
be fed and clothed and housed. The communit
must pay for that. Various few individuals pa
the money out in the first place, but gradual
they pass it back to the rest of us and we bear
finally. If cheaper and more economic metho
can be found of managing our charities we a
will money.
A scientific poor relief avoids pauperizatior
Amateur and misguided efforts to help usual
cause more poverty than they cure. Hence a
efficient system will not only save future e,
pense it will save future poverty
Finally, there is surer index to the real il
ward condition of community than the cond