Evening journal., 1915-06-16
CITY Charities HAS
deficit OF S17OO
Extraordinary Demands of
Poor During Winter
DepleteS ASSocia-
ton Treasury
ASKS CITIZENS TO
CLEAR THE BOOKS

Last winter thousands we're hun
cry and cold in Wilmington. That
was an appalling situation for a city
of 100000 and it was on account Of
the hard times. Never since 1893
has there been anything like this re-
port. For the relief of these families,
which was necessary and urgent, the
community had 10 depend almost en-
tirely upon its organized relief
agency, the Associated Charities.
The charities took personal charge Of
1900 families. The hungry were fed.
the naked we're clothed, the frozen
were warmed. and the whole situa-
ton was attended to day arter day
by experienced workers, with a large
force of volunteers to help them.
Without the Associated Charities, the
matter could not have been handled,
and the whole city recognized it.
What the whole city did not recog-
nize. and does not recognize yet. was
the fact that this community agency
had no funds except what we're given
to It by the people themselves. The
Associated Charities. when it con-
fronted last winters situation, had
$500 of debt, which it expected to
wine out by its fan subscriptions.
Instead of that. il mad to meet an
emergency so terrible that il was
. impossible TO consider clearing up
the debt. It was necessary to spend
at the rate of $1,000 a month and
over, and to issue appeals for more
and more help. Hungry people have
TO be fed at once. and people who
have no fire have to have coal at
once. so the Associated Charities
went into debt again. and now finds
itself at the end of its financial year
with the old $500 debt unpaid and
s9OO more incurred, total of S1,7OO
directly spent in preserving these
hundreds of families numbering
thousands of persons from actual
starvation and cold.
The Associated Charities is not a
self-supporting organization. IL Is
onlv a channel through which the
community itself takes care Of It's
moor. This burden of S1,700 debt IS
reallv a debt on the community, not
an the charities. II the charities had
stopped in their work. the poor would
have starved and frozen, and the
community trusted its agency to see
that this did not happen. There was
never enough money provided TO give
q generous relief, and some nave
actually criticized the charities be-
cause more was not given TO each
family If more money had been
given nv the people. the Associated
charities could have done more, but
as IL was they did all that was hu-
manly possible: they gave all they
had and then went into DEBT, thus
showing their determination TO pro-
vide for all. e.,
allied the trust and is now left with
his burden, the responsibility OIL
which belongs to every citizen'
II can hardly be conceived tnat
wilmington will repudiate this debt,
The conditions of last winter are not
likely to recur. for prosperity rs com
ing back to our city; but the. chaIl-
ties cannot meet its summer WORK
or its work of relief next wlnter,
hampered as it is by this DEBT; ana
II the community desires that tine
moor shall be cared for, II is LOT
the community to clear up the situa-
tion.
To allow the organized charity OF
Wilmington to he fatally crippled is
10 say. individually and collectively
that Wilmington, having set out to
relieve its poor. has repudiated its
obligations. II is inconceivable that
responsible citizens will do this. II
each citizen will give according to
his or her ability toward the debt, II
can be lifted in a week There are
persons in Wilmington who can give
thousands, others who can give hun
dreds. others who car give only single
dollars, but out of a population OF
100000 people. the money can very
easily be given.
There are those who seem to con-
slider the Associated Charities q self
supporting and limited organization
It is neither. AS the Red Cross is
the expression of the humanity and
generosity of the American people. SO
fhe Associated Charities of Whining
ton is the expression of the humanity
and generosity of the people of VIII
mington. What shall he said of a
city that after leaving it to a chosen
agency to take care of hundreds OF
destitute families. leaves that agency
under a burden of debt incurred for
the common veal? Surely the motto
chosen by our Chamber of Com
merce. do IL for Wilmington" ap-
plies as strongly to the preservation
or its destitute people as TO the
bringing of new factories within its
limits.
do it for Wilmington" Let each
.itizen send something 10 help this
;ebt of mercy to the treasurer of the
Associated Charities. H. X. Miller
No. 1109 Franklin street. Each one