The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1916-02-03
SIR LAUNFALS Of
CHARITY PLENTY
Subjective Giving Finds Many Sup
porters, But It is Not Practical
Method, 1t is
Believed.
UNITED CHARITIES WAY
This is Known az Objective Method
and Is Applicable to Twen-
tIeth Century
Ideas.

Two persons are involved in every
i phllanthroptc transaction-one the
g1ver, the other the receiver. There
are two kinds of charity; in one the
emphasis is put upon the giver and
in the other it is placed upon the re-
cipient. When it is OF "The Lord
| loveth the cheerful giver'' type, 1t is
subjective charity. The only require
ment Of this charity is that the giver
| be cheerful when he makes his dona
| ton. If he Is, immediate reward is
his. Such is the charity portrayed by
Lowell in his beautiful poem, 1.-THE
Vision of Sir Launfal" This same char
ity is glorif1ed in the miracle of st.
Martin who as he was riding along a
country road in France, divided his
beautiful cloak with a wayside beggar.
Then in the shining vision, St. Mar
tin beheld the Master of the Soul in
paradise wearing half his cloak and
| st. Martin was blessed. In this In
stance the giver was blessed and the
receiver forgotten.
The new philanthropy, which after
all Is the oldest of charities, does not
lay much stress upon the reaction on
the giver as upon the effect upon him
who has humbled himself to the point
| of asking and receiving. The motto Of
| objective charity is He took him by
the hand and lifted him up" 1t in
sists that the gift should be measured
not alone by the love which directed
/ It, but by the actual amount of good
| it did; that it should be judged by its
| practical efficiency. True charity
| never does for an individual that
which he can better do for himself. IL
immediate need and gives the bread
winner the opportunity of providing
for the needs as any other man would
through honest work.
More Than One Blessing.
The Sir Launfals of today are not
satisfied with one blessing such as
came to the knight Of old, but want
that blessing every day and so the
obliging and none too scrupulous
members of the community take the
responsibility upon themselves of see
ing that he has his hearts desire.
What is the use of their working, they
reason, SO lcre as Sir Launfal's 1arder
is open to al But wait minute,
what will happen when our knight is
called to his final account, what will
become of those who have helped
him to secure his blessing? They
have forgotten how to work and
learned to depend on others for that
which was not theirs except through
labor
Is there not every possibility that
upon his second journey forth St. Mar
tin gave the remaining half Of his
cloak to some rascal who had desert
ed his wife and several children and
that it was used to purchase that
which had been his downfall IN that
case what was ST. Martins reward?
Objective Charity.
Objective charity is tie motto of
the United Charities and because that
organization is studying results more
than donors, although it always en-
deavors to comply with the wishes of
him who gives, It's work is Of a last
ing character. Objective charity Is
warm hearted and cool headed, plac-
ing each gift where it will do the most
good. 1t Is the business mans phil
anthropy as we'll as that of the church
and the individual. The methods OF
the United Charities get results. |
Eighty-six who asked charity were |
given work last year by the United !
Charities through the cooperation of
it's many friends and these friends
will reap a real blessing. They gave
that which the recipient could not get
for himself and which was not pauper |
izing in It's effect. Financial and ma
terial aid are needed now more than |
at any other time If the recipients |
are to be helped to help themselves.
During a certain time when many |
Keokuk citizens wished to be Sir |
Launfals, there was certain desi gn |
ing woman, possibly she was only a
shrewd business woman, who sought |,
to turn this spirit to her advantage. |
The result was that nine Sir Laun-
falls left their gifts at her door, while |!
her neighbors who were in real
Strengthened circumstances, remained |
in the background and suffered.
Nlek-Naeks W. Real Food.
Another Sir Launfal gave nick-nacks
to family of able-bodied men and
boys and sent coarse, substantial food |
gestion. Subjective philanthropy says
these gifts were all that could be de-
sired and we'll placed, because the
giver was cheerful in making them.
Objective charity counts them as
wasted. If not injurious. Change them
about and they would have been meet
ing the full requirements. There is a
marked tendency of people to conside,
their full duty done when they have
disp posed Of that which is of no fur
Their use to them. Modern construc-
tive charity must have something
more than old clothes to work with.
1t must have money to buy food and
fuel and the like.
mot Huir T.
ages Of romance, but in the twen-
tieth century, use methods applicable
to those times and conditions. The
United Charities is simply a door
through which you may pass in this
work to fed OF helpful, hopeful con.
s~c' -, Jour less fortunate neigh
y L you want this wholesome con
tsc:, get in touch with some needy