Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-01-29
Governors BrdUe Undertaking
[From the Philadelphia Ledgerl

| If Governor Sproul shall succeed
in the undertaking TO which he is
said to have thus early applied him
self, namely, the placing of State
| appropriations to public institutions
and charities upon a definite basis
of service rendered, he will have
performed a service to the State of
| incalculable importance, morally,
financially and politically. He will
have put an end to the gross scan
dals attending the log-rolling and
| intimidation which have for years
attended the allotment of public
funds to the support of public, semi
public and private institutions, be-
| sides which he will stopNa waste that
runs into millions, and he will trans
| fer burden of support for many
! institutions to where it properly be-
longs, that is, to the resources of
private benevolence.
| How the Governor is going to
bring about this great and long
needed reform remains to be devel-
| oped;" but he is proceeding along
| logfeafs lines when he proposes to
strengthen the hands of the State
Board of Charities and to make it
be, an investigating and advisory
body, with broad powers and with a
standing which will compel atten-
ton to its recommendations on the
part of the Legislature. For many
years the reports of this board have
| been n sorry joke. It's members and
employees went through the motions
of investigating the needs of insti-
tutions asking State aid, made their
| recommendation of the amounts to
| be allotted and then the Legislature
calmly ignored it's findings and al
lotted the funds by the usual method
| of favoritism, political chicanery,
| intimidation, bargaining and graft.
| The appropriations were held as q
club over the heads of managers and
directors, preventing them from too
great activity in the direction of
clean politics or municipal reform
they were used openly to keep in
| line members of the Legislature dis
playing too rash a tendency. to in
| dependence of judgment on pending
measures, and they have invariably
been allotted without regard to the
| available resources of the treasury
There are so many ramifications
| of this ugly business that only the
high lights can be touched here But
| there is one aspect which ought to
receive more attention than has been
given it. One baleful result of the
| PENNSYLVANIA system of aid for
charities has been the multiplication
of unnecessary institutions; but
worse still, it has had the effect of
drying up to a large extent the
springs of private benevolence. Many
worthy homes, asylums and hos
pitals are in dire need today, in part
because of the falling off of their
contributors and in part because of
/ the increase in the costs of admin
istration. There are self-respecting
Institutions, like. the Pennsylvania
Hospital. which refuse to go under
the yoke of political patronage and
ask for and receive no State aid
whatsoever; but these suffer with
the others through the pernicious
influences growing out of the lavish
and indiscriminating use of public
moneys ought to be made in definite
which ought to look solely to private
funds. 1t is true that many of these
institutions perform a service which
would otherwise become a tax on
public funds; but in that case the
apportionment of the taxpayers
moneys ought to b made in definite
proportion to the service performed
The Governor will have the hearty
support of all right-minded people
in his effort to abolish the evils OF
the present system, and he is prob
ably well aware that he will have al
the same time the active opposition
of those politicians who have looked
upon these appropriations as one OF
their most useful instruments for the
coercion and oppression of the spirit
of independent thinking.