The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-30
Board of Directors Issue Signed Statement Asking
 Public for Support
FORMAL REPLY IS
 MADE TO CRITICISM
Board Certain That Any Shortcom- ings Are Not Due to Faults in the Policy of the
 Administration

The board of directors of the Asso- eiated Charities yesterday Issued a signed statement in defense of the or ganization, it's methods policy and of ficials, and calling upon the public to give it cordial support in order that the best work may be accomplished. The statement is as follows;
 "The attention of the board of direc- tors of the Associated Charities has been called to adverse criticisms of the work of the association which are more or less current In the community We have refrained from answering these criticisms because we mad no desire to enter into controversy, and. further more, because we felt that we had, and were entitled to, the moral support and confidence of this community in whose behalf we have been and are laboring
 We have decided. however, to keep silence no longer. We desire to set be- fore the public a full and frank state ment of our aims and policies. and we earnestly ask those who have criti- cized, and those who have been indif- ferent, to read this statement with an open mind.
 kindest Feelings for Critics
 For our critics we have nothing but the kindest feelings. They are men and women to whom the welfare of Bir- mingham is just as near and dear as it is to us They are. as we are, sincere in a desire to make our city a better ploce in which to live. They and we are workers together in this common cause and it Is our earnest hope that perfect frankness on our part will tend toward a more perfect and mutual un- derstanding.
 At the outset we feel that it is only fair to say that criticism has mostly come from those who have never seen the inner workings of the association Some of those who have been most in- accurate have never even visited our plant at 2212 First avenue. On our board of directors we have men who have worked with the association since It's inception five years ago, men who rank among the leaders in every walk of life. These men. who are the servants and representatives of the people in this work, know the work as others cannot known 1t, and to a man they indorse the principles and methods of the associa- ton as the best so far evolved in the work of relieving and preventing pow orty.
 'The Birmingham Associated Charities IS not being run along experimental lines We have from the first followed the policies which long experience in other cities has amply justified Go to New York, to Chicago, Philadelphia. Baltimore or any large city of our land and you will find that the sole, difference between relief work there and here is one of size Our methods. while on a smaller scale are the same as theirs. Without enter ing Into details, let us state that helpful ness to opportunities for self-sustenance and prevention of fraud are regarded as of prime importance and always to be considered in connection with relief. This is the science of true charity.
 Overhead Expense" Charges
 One complaint that has been made concerns what may be called overhead expense.' It is said that we pay extrava- gant salaries to the workers, leaving but little for direct relief of the poor. As matter of fact our office expense dur- ing the past winter has been about 16 per cent of total disbursements, while for the past two months. so great has been the need and so insufficient our support. that our salaried employees have remained Loyalty at their posts without any salary whatever. If we are going to do business at all. we must have direct ing head. Mir. McGrath in this capacity receives 5000 year. Within the past year he has declined offers of $3O00 from other cities, because his heart is in this work. l Our bookkeeper. who keeps the records on thousands of pledges. and our ste- nographer, who attends to a vast amount of correspondence, are paid salaries mod est in comparison with those paid for similar work in other lines of business. These are the only salaries that can fair l ly be charged to administration expense. | as the visitors noore than pay therr own | salaries by pledges and donations that they obtain as they go about their daily | work.
 Some Things He Has Done ''In regard to the salary paid MT. Mc- Grath, it Is difficult to. estimate the money value that his presence has meant to Birmingham. It was through his ef- forts that the Neighborhood House. Anti Tuberculosis association. Playground as- sociation, social workers of Birmingham, Alabama Sociological congress and other similar works were undertaken. Who can gay that the lives so reached and the community ideals so fostered are not worth tho moderate salary that MT. Mo- Grath has received? It was also due to him that the wood yard and dormitory were run through this winter, which gave work and food and lodging to a hundred homeless men a day. But for this work
 n-->