New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-06-28
CHARITYS BURDENS
Mr.. Kingsbury Explains Why His
Department Exceeded APP
preparations.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorial this morning on "Mal.
administration" was so fair in tone and tol-
Grant in spirit that hesitate to register q
protest against It. ! feel strongly, however,
that your criticism Of me would have been
less severe had you been In full possession OF
the facts The facts to which ! refer are
largely incorporated in my letter OF Febru-
airy IS, 1915, to his honor the Mayor
The fact that exceeding the budget has
been practically an annual custom in the De-
partment of Charities for a great many years
does not, I appreciate, excuse the error II
this instance. II is a bad custom, and ought
not TO be tolerated. The extent to which fhs
department has regularly exceeded its oudge'
during the last six years will be noted from
the following table showing the amount Of
special revenue bonds issued annually since
1909 for the purpose Of meeting the dehct:
1909 s193,19200 1912. s2ll.6l26
1910. ...... 253,2O6.77 191S...... S7,3SiS
1911. ...... 29377.ss 1914....... 2OO,ooow
The fact that the budget allowance IN the
Department of Public Charities has oeen 50
regularly exceeded would seem to lndica"
that the financial authorities Of the city nss
quite commonly so underestimated the neeo'
of this department that it has become soso'
lutely necessary for the head of the depart
ment before the end Of the year to ask io'
special revenue bonds TO supplement his sp-
propriation. Il is certainly true that me
needs of the Department Of Charities are pc
culiarly dependent upon huctuating cono',
tions and circumstances which are oeyoH'
any one's power to prevent !,
In making the appropriation for lsIt es,n
item in the budget was carefully ana eiosei'
pared down to meet the needs OF an es,.'
mated daily population Of $4,000 people.
fact, the request Of the Commissioner :"
Charities for 1914 was cut down one-third "-
fore it was finally granted by the guaraisa'
Of the purse strings. Then came the Luiv
pean war and the unusual industrial eonc''
tons in this city and in this country 10,
Commissioner Of Charities found nimss"
face to face with the problem OF caring ~.
a daily population Of 10000 and with tuha'
at his disposal only sufficient TO proylds ~
the most meagre way for population '.
$4,000. II became a mathematical cer'a'n,
that he must do one of two things. he mus
either permit the poor TO suffer or res'i'
the ancient custom of meeting the emergency
by exceeding the budget, in confidence 'n.,
special revenue bonds would again De ss',s
to nav the bills, as they always had oeen -
the past. 81, 81,
I do not think the connotation entirei! is on
in the statement that at seems pretty &C.
established that nobody would have s'
or frozen to death IL this money hadnt pe..
spent" II is certainly true that the o'o nv.
in the almshouse would have suffered ID 'n,y
had been without overcoats during me eo''
DAYS of the last winter. 1t is just as uSs
that the sick poor in our hospitals 49,
have suffered if those institutions mao -. ..I
permitted to go without medical or s"is
supplies. .,s
There were other items in when we
compelled TO exceed our budget "n''"'
seems to me, were just as important
penditures for food and clothing lse
nenditures for such general plant supphes
were necessary TO operate the steamoos's
the departments. for example, were JUS
essential as the expenditure for 1000, W.
obviously. IL the boats stopped running NV
was No wav 70 get the food to the patients.
There were. OF course, some items ~ 20
budget which represented expenditure "a
absolutely imperative TO the welfare 90
safety of the patients. There were' IN .,.s
some items which represented purchases, a.
had been made by the previous admin,s
ton, but had never been paid for. ! oen.,s
however, that a careful scrutiny OF 'ne /,
Gus items, as summed up and describes
the letter which submit herewith wiz ~ -,
that the bulk of the expenditures was . ~.
puruoses absolutely essential and una'o,sI
able. had TO choose between economy ~
humanity and believe that in this instanes
wa, morally right, even II technically wr0's'
in leaning on the side OF humanity.
JOHN A. KINGSBURY, Commissioner .
~ Vail Juna o. 1918. >ss