New Britain herald., 1915-10-14

of the institution. Please find home | for John. Where am l to lay my
 head tonight? Who will help me pay
 for an operation? Help me to adjust 1 my husbands insurance. How shall
 I induce my wife to return nome
 Won't you search for relatives of this insane man? How am I to escape the poorhouse before I die?
 ITO increase systematic co-opera- tion we conduct registration bureau which is frequently consulted and is especially useful at holiday times We have no desire whatever to direct the activities of any other organization but during the holiday season we are in a position, as a central bureau | without restrictions of race, creed or { color, to render real assistance by l confidential comparison of the lists ] of all others. Moreover, through our 1 relations with all, we are in a posi- | tion to know if any certain channel is likely to be neglected. We can then fill that gap ourselves or see that someoe else does so.
 This autumn your agent has ar ranged an informal conference of so- cial workers, meeting once month at the Charity organization rooms, to discuss topics of common interest. This, too, is of extreme value as a ! means toward better acquaintance and closer relationship.
 We congratulate ourselves on our cordial citations with the board of public charities with whose officials we work in such close accord as to become much like another branch of the same department; the one sup ported by the city appropriations and the other by private subscriptions. both striving to serve the city in a common interest.
 Conduct Employment Bureau. ITO the end of encouraging self de- pendence and thrift We conduct a free employment bureau, not so much to accomodate the public as to pro- vide work for many who would not otherwise need our friendship and who prefer to earn their own living rather than have it provided through charity. Temporary work has been provided for sixty persons amounting to several hundred days work, and steady employment for fifty-five.
 "As to proper relief of the desti- tute there is the long continued relief which We organize from many sources and the emergency relief which we administer ourselves, pending crisis in some familys affars.
 Tt is the aid which We organize from outside sources.-often pro- longed through months and years,- which puzzles us most to account for. This phase should be emphasized strongly and yet we are at loss for an honest method of computation. How are We to estimate in a lump sum such items as the widows pen sion secured by us for a woman in another state, or the aid secured from, relatives of the needy hitherto estranged, living near at hand, or in places as remote as across the con- tinent, or in Europe? How shall we determine the value of the services of many a kind hearted professional man, who treats our proteges free of charge, or compute accurately the price of the vacation day outings se- cured for many without spending a penny from our treasury? How are we to reckon in dollars and cents the . material relief pledged us by many churches and organizations for those of their number who come to our at tention? And above all who is able 70 reduce to IlIdHCldl LeIHlS IHe helpful friendship enlisted by us from scores of kind people This is our problem!
 When it comes to emergency aid l the subject is practically limitless. l Giving away money without wasting 1 it and without harming anybody, is pretty hard work. Perhaps our work l is best demonstrated by concrete ex- l aples carefully chosen to avoid sensi- | tive feelings and therefore by no l means the most thrilling experiences | in our work.
 1 First of all stands the type of normal, self respecting family which meets a crists of need through loss of | work or illness of the wage earner. l By coming to us for confidential
 help for few months they sacrifice
 no whit of their self respect and often
 later on offer to repay us. We have
 arranged a composite story typical
 of eighteen such families befriended
 during the year.
 Composite Story
 MT. K. had been i'll so long that
 his savings were exhausted. His wife
 and five children were reduced to al-
 most bread and water diet when a
 for shoes. Inquiry found MT. K. con-
 valescent job promised him on re-
 covery, and the doctor willing to let