The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-05-15

details were explained yesterday by K the trust department.
 charitable gifts and bequests, through all times" said MT. Berry. "have been the source of more trou- ble than most any other form of con veyance of property. Too often such gifts utterly fail to accomplish the pur- pose of the donor. This condition has been due, to a large extent, to the lack Of vision on the part of the creators of such trusts.
 "1lI conceived plans establishing trusts of property for charitable pur- poses became such a menace in early England that Parliament created commission to investigate the situa- tion. It found that many such funds were really working physical an1 moral injury to the communities they were created to serve. The results O. the investigation led some to suggest that the government exercise ccntrot and supervision of the creation oe charitable trusts.
 SIMILAR TRISTS ELSEWHERE
 ITO overcome the difficulties pre- sented in charitable gifts of the sort mentioned, community trusts or foun- dation funds have been established in more than 20 of the large cities of this country. These trusts or foun- oation funds are designed to give an economical and advantageous admlnis
 tration of such gifts combined in common fund, by establishing ma chinery for the administration of the entire fund under unified control and disbursing the income and revenue from the fund on the direction of peo- pie familiar with the charitable needs of the community. The First National bank of Birming gham on March 30, 1921.
 |. Iyf .f-
 which provides for the city of Bir- mingham the necessary machinery for
 the proper administration of charitable
 gifts in this community.
 Under the terms of the resolution
 creating the Birmingham foundation the First National bank of Birmingham agrees to accept bequests by l O.
 otherwise, such funds to be held in
 trust by the bank and invested ani
 managed by it as trust funds. The in
 come from the fund as it becomes
 available for the purposes of the toun- dation is to be expended by an impar- tial non -sectarian, non-political com nittee, serving without compensation.
 The committee's personnel changes each year by the expiration of the term of office of one of it's members. The resolution recites, that preferably one and in no event more than two
 members of the committee, shall be '
 the same religious denomination. The committee consists of five residents o 1 Birmingham who are interested in vel fare work in the city and are possessed
 of Knowledge of the civic, educational
 and moral needs of the city, They will be selected, one by the chief executive officer of the city of Birmingham, one 1 ly the judge of the probate court, ons | by the United States district judge for l the district in which Birmingham is l situated, and two by the board of d.rec- tors of the First National bank.
 f MAY DIRECT USE OF FUNDS
 The donor of funds to the founda-
 ton may direct the charitable pu-pos to which the income shall be put, and the committee will make such disburse- | ment Of the income from that fund. In the absence of any specific directions: | that IS, in case of a plain direct be . l quest or gift to the Birmingham fcun . | dation, the committee will disburse the | income from the trust estate for such charitable purposes as in its opinion will best make for the mental mora, intellectual and physical improvement, assistance and relief of the inha bitarits fof the city of Birmingham, regardles > 1 of race, color or creed This permits the use of the income from the foun- dalton for assisting charitable and educational institutions, whether sup : ported by private donation or publi , | taxation, for promoting educational | and scientific research, for the care of | tho sick, aged or helpless, for the care of children, for the improvement of liy- ing and working conditions, for pro viding facilities for recreation, for the encouragement of social and domesti, hygiene, and for the encouragement | of sanitation and measures for the prevention and suppression Of disease. The records and proceedings of tho committee, as well as of the trustee, will be open at all times to public in spection, and either the attorney gen. eral of the state of Alabama or the law officer of the city of Birmingham shall have the right to bring any proceedings which may be necessary to | correct any mal-administration of the funds