The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1915-04-30
How Jacksonville
Deals With
Charity Cases

Jacksonville, April 30-The need
of a charities endorsement COM
mittee of the Jacksonville Chamber
of Commerce brought forward by
Barry c. Smith, secretary OF the
Associated Charities, who advances
some interesting information. He
says:
During the past year Jackson
vile has been repeatedly the scene
of operations conducted by solicit
tors for various fake charities
Most newspaper readers will recall
the exposure of the so-called WON
ans Civic League which solicited
funds last fall for the supposed pur-
pose of fighting the white slave traf-
fic. and which was exposed by the
papers after investigation by the po-
lice and by the Associated Charities.
This episode eliminated in the ar
rest of the woman in charge of the
scheme in Jacksonville. Only a
few days ago Mr.. Lanier, probation
officer of Duval county, exposed the
Double Red Cross tuberculosis Hos
pital for Children, an institution
which has no standing, and had
been refused endorsement by the
charities endorsement committee of
the Chamber Of Commerce in Chi
cago, where its headquarters are.
''In these days when constructive
charitable work is "a recognized
necessity, it becoming more and
more common for each city to have
some method of checking up the
various charities which appeal to the
public for support. The common
est and perhaps the wisest way is to
have the local Chamber of Commerce
appoint a charities endorsement
committee which shall thoroughly
investigate the methods of work, the
disposition of funds, the methods of
accounting, the general purposes,
ETC., of all organization appealing
to the public for support. Such a
committee after study of the subject
could law down certain general re-
quirements of public accounting and
standards Of work which should be
followed before an endorsement
should be granted. This would not
necessarily prohibit unendOrsed Or
CARNATIONS from continuing their
work, but it would affect the public
opinion of their work and thereby
stimulate such organizations to
bring their standards up to the re-
quirements and secure endorsement
Some cities go SO far as to pro-
hibit an unendorsed charity from So
Letting funds. Whether Jacksonville
should go to this extent would be q
matter for the City Council to de.
eide. The first thing to do is fol
the Chamber Of Commerce to ap
point thoroughly competent com
mittee and demonstrate the practi
cability and the value of such en-
dorsement.
| There are a number of excellent
charities in the city of Jacksonville
No charity worthy the name coult
possibly be injured by such a plar
and It would doubtless have a toni,
effect on all. This latter result il
always desirable for efficiency IL
handling charitable matters is of tn,
very greatest Importance. The ut
most patience. tact, and discrimina
tion is always needed in such worl
land is particularly necessary IL
such dolorous times as these.
"The opinions expressed in thi
article are not those of the Asso
ciated Charities alone. Marcus C
Fagg. of the Children's Home So
ciety; Mr.. Criswell. Of the Boys
Home, and others are thoroughly II
accord with those views and have 81
stated to the writer"