Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1916-01-26
CONFERENCE OPENS
OLD SENATE CHAMBER
Afternoon Session Of 18th Mary
land-Charities and Correction.
DR.. SHIRER TALKS.
OhiOan Speaks On State Board Admin
istration- Discussion Follows.

y
ference of Charities and Correction
opened in the old Senate Chamber in
the State House at 3 o'clock yester-
]. day afternoon
The hall was well filled with dele
gates and visitors, but the attendance
was not so large as it should have
been. The President. Mr.. Harry j.
Hopkins, made a brief address. outlin-
ing the objects OF the conference. as
follows
First, TO provide an opportunity for
free public discussion of the problems
of the dependent, defective and delin-
| quent classes. and by such free ex-
change of experiences and opinions to
help point the way for a better care OF
the weaker members of society.
Second. To spread information
about and encourage cooperation in
| humanitarian efforts, with the purpose
Of further improving the charitable
and correctional system of the State.
He also extended a cordial welcome
to the delegates, expressing his delight
at being able to entertain the members
| of the congress in this historic town
/ and particularly in the old Senate
, Chamber. where the illustrious Wash
| ington gave TO the world one of its
| greatest events. at the time of his res
ignation from the command of the Con
! tinental Army, and also the town OF
! Peggy Stewart fame"
/ W. II. Davenport, general secretary
| Of the conference, then made motion
that the president appoint committees
| for organization, time and place and
resolutions.
| Or. J. II. Mason Knox, Jr., chairman
of the Committee on Charity and the
Budget System. talked along the lines
of this work, and advocated the State
sharing the expense of penal and other
institutions with the county. In his
address DR.. Knox told of the general
success attributed to the budget sys-
TEN. For every dollar spent" he said
I'VE should have dollar to show. and
we viii not have a satisfactory finan-
ciai system until we get a dollars
worth for every dallar we expend AT
ter studying the budget our conclus-
ions are that the State should pay for
for its own wards on per capita basis
and not appropriate stated sum to
any individual institution.
THE States appropriation should be
made contingent The counties should
be allowed to pay about half for the
care of their wards in the institutions
and the State the other half The
county commissioners should see to IL
that no one except a person really de-
serving charity should be committed
to an institution outside of the county.
What we should do is to have a Ger
tain sum for the care of delinquents.
children, sick and the aged.
"A commission should be appointed
to confer with the superintendent OF
the institutions and administer TO their
needs. BY having the budget and COM
mission system. we will avoid the un-
fortunate method of having a certain
institution getting a large appropri-
alton because of lobbying. BY doing
this Maryland will be moved out of the
backward states. In my opinion Penn
sylvania is the worst sinner and Mary
land is the second"
The principal speaker was H. H.
Shirer, secretary of the State Board OF
Charities. of Ohio. Mr.. Shirer told in
2
detail of the advantages of the various
Institutions under state control He
was followed by Dr. A. P. Herring, of
the Maryland State Board of Lunacy
Mr.. Shirer, in his address. said
| There Will be more and more of the
| states caring for its delinquents This
may sound soeialistic, but it is, never
| theless, true as shown by the demand
| for bigger budget in Ohio. One OF
| the waraens in the state penitentiary
| said some time ago that each county
| should pay for the maintenance of the
convicts sentenced from that county,
| and in my mind there is some excellent
/ logic i'll his argument.
Some years ago in Illinois, they
| had q sensational campaign for the APP
nointment of board of administration
or. as it was then called. board of
| control, for charity cases. The law
was passed in 1909. and then Ohio be-
| gan to look toward the same step Gov
| ernor Nash was interested. but his cry
was economy and nothing was accom-
/ plished D1ring Governor Harmon's
administration board of administra-
ton was formed, consisting OF four
members, and they appoint the super
intendents and the employees Of the
ninetaen institutions under their SUI
| peryision.
We are nov, in a some what critical
| period in Ohio, but if the Republicans
l accept the principles of the act without
| making any amendments re will have
passed the critical stage. One of the
| advantages OF the system of board of
administration is shown in the pur-
chase of supplies. In this case the
board purchases supplies for all the
institutions and knows where every
/ dollar goes.
I really favor three boards. because
four men have their hands fun attend
! inc TO this work We have no. days
enough nor men on the beard enough
10 visit the institutions personally. But
how about the board OF trustees OF in