Laurel outlook., 1947-02-19
Welfare Key
Found by Group
Churchmen Work Quietly to
Help Institutions Improve
Their Services.

LOUISVILLE, KY.-Two hundre'
Louisville churchmen have found
way to translate practical Christian
ity into practical government. They
quietly study jails, courts, hospitals
and public homes; they observe
conditions, compare practices witt
those in other states and have
program to suggest before they crit
CHE.
The group is known as the com
mittee on institutions of the Louis
vile Council of Churches. 1t was
formed five years ago.
A subcommittee studies an instl-
tuition or department. Then it calls
on the official in charge and dis
cusses its Investigation.
If it has criticisms it doesn't re-
buke the official. In fact, it starts
out by finding something he has done
which it may commend. 1t recog-
nizes the handicaps under which
he may be working. Maybe it's lack
of funds. Maybe it's antiquated
buildings or equipment. Maybe it's
lack of trained personnel.
Basic Assumption.
The general committee starts out
on the assumption that every office
holder would rather do a good job
than a poor one. And it offers the
backing, indirectly at least, of about
400 churches, with an approximate
membership of 100 900.
The committee doesn't care who
gets the credit for Improvements
or reforms. The main thing is to
get the job done.
Institutions which have felt the ad-
monishing but sympathetic hand
of the churchmen r the Central
State Hospital for the Insane at
Lakeland, the State reformatory at
La Grange, the Jefferson county jul
venile court and children's (deten-
tion) center and Louisville General
hospital.
Prevention receives much atten-
ton from the committee. For in
stance, the child-care division, head
ed by Charles Walters, learned that
the police crime prevention bureau
keeps a spot map showing the homes
of all juvenile offenders. Studying
this chart, the committee noted an
area which had been producing
many boy delinquents.
A church which owned an unused
building in the area rented it to the
committee for 81 a year. The COM
mittee persuaded the community
chest to provide funds and the Sal
walton Army furnished a worker.
Now there is a flourishing boys
club in the area.
Tasks for C%haplains.
At the juvenile court, La Grange
reformatory and Lakeland Mental
hospital, the committee has placed
chaplains. These are not just min
listers to look after the spiritual well
fare of their charges, though they do
that, too. These clergymen have
been specially trained to work
among delinquents or the mentally
deficient. They also work with the
inmates families.
Lawyers, teachers, business men
all the professional resources of
Louisville-are tapped to aid the
committees projects.
Groups of citizens worked with the
committee of the legislature
to obtain an increase il the Lake
land hospital per capita appropria-
ton by so per cent.
A subcommittee is studying the
histories of the residents of the
county Home for the Aged to see
what makes an elderly citizen de-
pendent upon public funds.
All subcommittee have long-range
and short-range detectives. For ex-
ample, the jail committee has been
working on the immediate aim of
making the city lookup clean. At the
time, it has the eventual goal
If abolishing both the jail and an
''workhouse" in favor of
/ prison farm.