Evening star., 1928-12-06
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Staff Correspondent of The Star.

4NSA
heart.
This was the symbol of the seventh
annual community fund campaign,
| concluded last month, which produced
! S1.747,00 for 81 local charity and well
| fare organizations. The metropolitan
! area has population slightly exceed
| ing 100000, so the community fund
| represented contribution of approxi-
! mately SITS per individual. There
were actually 142, 1000 contributors. The
campaign lasted 10 days and there were
| 4,200 workers.
| The 81 organizations which will draw
upon this common fund represent. for
| the most part, non-Sectarian and Prot
| eStant activities since the Catholic and
Jewish charities still maintain fund-col-
| lecting agencies of their own, although
| they work in close cooperation with
| the executive committee of the fund
and, it is expected, eventually will be
included.
SO Per Cent COIlectible.
Most of the money is represented by
pledges. Experience of past campaigns
mas shown that approximately 98 per
cent of these are collectible. The rails
ing of the fund represents an intensive
cooperative effort in which the evan
gel of humanity and the helping hand
is spread to every household in the
city and in which leading citizens take
prominent part.
| st. Louis is city of small industries.
1t has no outstanding industrial interest
concentrated within its borders, such as
is represented by the automobile in
dustry in Detroit or the iron and steel
| industry in Cleveland. Consequently
its fund does not benefit by enormous
| individual gifts from the reads of these
industries, given partly for the sake of
charity itself and partly from sense
of social duty to employees. The largest
single gift this year was $4,000, con-
| traSted to the 100000 donations made
by Senator Couzens and the Ford family
in Detroit or by Stephen Mather In
Cleveland. There were several $4,000
donations. On the whole, the fund is
| collected from the rank and file of the
| people-the clerks IN the banks and
stores, the workers in the factories, and
| persons in moderate circumstances.
Since the community fund campaigns
started there has been an increase in
the total raised every year. This in
crease cannot be explained as resulting
| from a growth in population or greater
| prosperity, since these conditions have
not obtained, It is due entirely, say
community fund leaders, to growing
civic consciousness brought about by
constant educationl campaign.
The Inauguration of the community
fund plan has brought about a notable
improvement. The door -to-door cam
paigns of individual groups, some of
them without any legitimate excuse for
existence, have declined almost to the
vanishing point Dances, bridge parties,
raffleS, ETC., with an alleged charitable
fnvxV Az npk%it foxy
as the price of continued patronage no
longer is imposed on neighborhood
business men by forcing them to buy
tickets to all sorts of affairs in which
they have no interest. Instead, the
individual pledges what he feels he
can afford once year and is free from
pestering for IL months.
Many Worthwhile Charities.
st. Louis, like all big cities, has and
must have many worthwhile charities,
dependent on the public for consider
| able part of their support. It also has,
from time to time, complete frauds
masquerading under the name of
charity. Women go around from door
to door begging money for orphan
aSylums which don't exist. Buns are
picked up on the street corners, dressed
| in old uniforms with few military in
! sigma, given signed commissions as
captains, colonies and generals on the
Christian army of something or other,
and proceed to panhandle on $3.50
basis. The other so per cent, OF course.
goes to the commanding general-hard-
ly worthy object Of charity.
Now, unfortunately, many people will
not make the proper distinction be-
tween "Col Jones of the Army of Uni
versal Salvation" and legitimate OFF,
Ger of the Salvation Army. The house.
holder gives, goes to bed feeling that he
has done worthy act for which st.
Peter certainly has made the proper
record to his credit-and Col. Jones
hotfoots it to the nearest bootlegger for
Sanctimonious fellowship.
With the community campaigns, and
the process of education which has ac-
companied them, this condition no
longer is possible in st. Louis. Every
householder knows now that Col. Jones
has no business ringing his doorbell
and that instead of giving money his
proper duty is to notify policeman.
In the past such utterly wasted charity
has taken thousands of dollars annually
from st. Louis.
The requirement Of regular budgets,
passed upon by accountants, which is
one of the essentials for membership
in the community fund, makes certain
that no money for charity and welfare
purposes will be wasted in unco-ordi-
mated effort, superfluous salaries or
needless activity The citizen knows
that every one of the organizations rep
resented serves an honest and neceS-
sary purpose, that it has a reputable
board of directors and that it has moth
ing to hide.
The time of directors of individual
organizations has been set free for con-
structive work. These officials no
longer are forced to fritter away their
energy in an effort to raise money
enough to keep the orphan asylum open
for another month. They know just
how much is coming to them, keep their
institutions within such limits, and can
effect many necessary economies. A
few years ago, when any family moved
to st. Louis with a reputation for con-
siderable wealth, the charity and well
fare organizations fought over it like
dogs over a bone. Mrs. x was i'm
mediately elected member of the
the Prevention of A. Mr.. X was hon.
ored with the presidency of the Asso-
citation for Teaching the Greek Alpha
bet to Maltese Cats. Hardly would the
newcomers be installed in these posi-
tions than Mrs. x would be visited BY
a delegation from the Society for the
Promotion of B, telling her that sht
had been grossly imposed upon, since thu
Society for the Prevention of A wa.
! nothing but bunch of buns and thai
she really should be filling her proper
place in the community as a director oi
the Society for the Promotion of B
Then a delegation would call upon Mr.
X. deploring that he had been lurec
into such a worthless activity as teach.
ing the Greek Alphabet to Maltese Cat:
when the whole world was crying out
loud for men of his position and intelli.
gence to foster the teachings of Chinese
Il NEWLY Redecorated d