The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1921-10-08
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC j. HAsKIN, Director,
Washington, D. C.
ORGANIZED BEGGING ABOLISHED

ORGANIZED BEGGING ABOLISHED
Rochester N. Y, Oct One pro-
gressive sign about this city is that
| it has done away with tag days for
starving foreigners, homeless babies,
and the thousand and one other
worthy causes that need assistance.
A man in another city where tag
/ days are a perennial feature told Of
an interesting experience He said
that he had patronized three charities
in one week, and on Saturday when
he saw girls wearing pink crepe paper
caps and carrying trays, he ducked
over to the other side of the street,
thinking thereby to save quarter.
| All day long downtown he kept out
| of range of the pretty girls on the
corners. But going home, he ran di-
rectIy into one. She smiled sweetly
and thrust something into his hand.
He looked down to discover that he
had been given sample of soap.
Rochester managers to help its sick
and blind babies and forty other i'm
portant philanthropieS, and it does 1t
in a systematic way. Philanthropy
has become an efficient part of the
city's machinery, and what is more un-
usual, the people are coming to know
something about the relief and social
welfare work of their city.
The Rochester system is COM
munity chest. You doubtless remem-
Der the war chests which about 100
cities had. All the war relief work
of these cities was financed by having
one big campaign a year and keeping
the money in a chest to be used
when the appeals came.
After the war relief demands slack
ened, the war chests were mostly
closed. But some 90 cities have con-
| tinued the system, using it for all their
local welfare work. According to
Rochester, it is a great idea.
Rochester has its big campaign in
the spring, with "Suppose Nobody
Cared?" for the slogan. For one week,
| the whole city concentrates on raising
over million dollars in pledges and
cash.
For those who want to know what
an individual should give toward his
city's philanthropies, the community
chest board made out an estimate,
merely as a suggestion. According to
this, a wage Garner might reasonably
give one hours earnings a week for
seven weeks.
Plan Works Better.
Some people have been in doubt as
to whether as much money can be
raised this way as with the old indi-
Vidual campaigns, where people give
according to, the emotions of the mo-
ment, the amount of change they hap
pen to have, in order to get away.
Rochester, says it is raising more. 1t
also has found that instead of the
wealthy philanthropists of the city
dropping the burden on to the Shout
ders of the wage earners, as some peo-
pie prophesied, the city's best known
givers have kept up to their standard.
Some have increased their gifts.
The advantages of the community
chest are sung with enthusiasm by
the relief workers of the city. First,
~, 1fZa on
that has a right to the peoples help,
gets fair deal. By the old regime, a
tag day that came shortly after an
other one, never did as well. regard
less of the amount of money needed,
or the Importance of the cause.
Now the relief organizations know
how much money they have TO depend
on for the year, and can plan their
work better. A financial statement is
required of each agency before the
spring campaign, and the goal for the
campaign is set from these require
ments.
Then the business man benefits by
the single campaign system. Formerly,
he was bothered at all times by repre-
sentatives of charities who wanted his
support If he is approached now,
and he rarely is, he refers the organi-
cation direct to the community chest
office. 1t investigates all such agen-
cies that want public funds, and those
that are worthy go on the community
chest list. A welfare agency that
seems less urgent or that is not or
ganized to do its work efficiently, or
that duplicates some other organiZa~
tons work, is not given the city's
financial support. If it wants to exist,
it must finance it's work by entertain
ments, or something of the sort.
The relief WORK that Rochester puts
first is for the sick, helpless and suf-
fering. After that comes social bet
terment of various kinds. Among
the forty-two phflanthropies partly
financed by the community chest are
organization that help the blind, the
aged and the orphans, the Boy Scouts,
social settlements, the ''Y's," the Sal
walton Army and the Humane society.
Less Time Wasted.
An outstanding advantage to the
organizations themselves is that they
, do not have to stage their own finan-
cial campaigns, so they have more
| time for their work. Some people,
too, are being drawn into the social
work of the city who refused before,
because they disliked the begging end
of relief work.
| A point that Rochester considers OF
| special importance is that the people
are beginning to understand the pur-
pose OF the city's philanthropies. The
| fact that one person in ten needs help
at some time in life does not ordi-
narily impress people with its personal
significance. If they have enough
money to pay their bills they see no
reason to imagine themselves as pos
sibly becoming one of the city's prob
| lens. But sickness, unemployment,
| death, blindness, fire, or any other
catastrophe does put many people in
a position where they need help, tenn
porarily perhaps. That emergency
may never come, but to think for a
( minute what it would mean is enough
why they should support it's philan-
thropic work.
The community chest manager
shows the city what its relief and
social welfare work consists of by
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