A special service rendered by the charity organization societies is the provision of a central registration of the relief work of such societies, churches, and individuals as voluntarily make use of the bureau established for this purpose. No community has succeeded in obtaining a complete registration of what is done for the destitute, but in many instances all the important organized chari ties regularly report to the bureau, and receive in return information as to what is done by the other agencies for families in whom they are interested.
Even if there are not formal reports from the relief soci eties, the registration bureau of an active charity organi zation society gradually accumulates the information that is of value concerning nearly all of the families asking for relief, and almost certainly concerning those who are known to two or more relief agencies. This information is obtained in the course of the investigations made by the society when application is made at its own office or to individuals, churches, and societies who request an in vestigation by the society. The ideal plan, however, is undoubtedly for the registration bureau to receive this 2A information directly from the relief agencies, with the understanding that it is confidential and is to be imparted only to those having-a legitimate interest.
Attention may be called finally to a very important dis tinction between the charity organization societies and other organized relief agencies, and in this connection the experience of the Boston Provident Association, the New York Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor, and the Chicago Relief and Aid Society in the matter of volunteer visitors may be recalled. In each case volunteer visitors were formerly employed, and in each case, as a means of promoting efficiency in the disbursement of relief, such volunteer service was dis continued. The charity organization societies, however, have increased rather than diminished the proportion of their work that is done by unpaid volunteer workers. It is difficult to conceive a successful charity organization society working on any other plan. This is not only because of the difference in the character of the work done by the volunteer visitors of the older and the newer societies, but mainly because the object of the latter is nothing else than the organization of charity ; in other words, the education and training of the charitably dis posed individual, the men and women who are willing to give either time or money, or both, for the relief of dis tress. The charity organization society undertakes a more difficult task than the direct relief of distress. This is to insure that the limited amount of charitable work which any one society may perform shall be done in such a way as to train the volunteer who cooperates in doing it. It
is not too much to say that the chief aim of the charity organization society is to improve the charitable methods of the general public. Its aim is to help the poor, but to do this by persuasive teaching, and, so far as public opin ion can accomplish the result, by compelling the pastor, the church worker, the business and professional man, the volunteer of every description, to help the poor in wiser and more effective ways. This is fundamentally for the sake of the poor, and not for the sake of adding to the comfort or well-being of the well-to-do, though the latter are affected incidentally, in that their charitable donations are made to accomplish more real good, and they are afforded the satisfaction which always accompanies work intelligently performed. The distinction made by Mr. Frothingham is therefore entirely sound.' A provident association whose sole aim is to help the poor directly should rely upon professional agents. An associated chari ties whose chief aim is educational must have its corps of friendly visitors and must win the cooperation of those who do not in any formal way enroll themselves as work ers of the society. Whether it does this or not is one of the tests of its success. There are many different kinds of work which friendly visitors may do, in all of which the training that is desired may be secured.
What has been said will indicate the natural division of work between an association for improving the condi tion of the poor and a charity organization society if both exist in the same city. To the former will naturally be long the relief of the necessities of the poor so far as is consistent with the improvement of their condition, and within its scope will also lie numerous forms of beneficent activity determined by the social needs of the time and limited only by the financial resources intrusted to the association by the community, and by the capacity for management shown by those who direct its policy. Such an association may properly investigate its own applica tions for relief, or may adopt some method of cooperation with the charity organization society by which the latter will do this work. The charity organization society, how ever, should seek no monopoly of and if the decision as to treatment rests upon the association for improving the condition of the poor, there are dis tinct advantages in having its investigations made by its own agents. The task of the charity organization society will be to maintain a registration bureau ; to investigate all applications for assistance made at its office or referred to it by others ; to form a plan for the adequate treat ment of each case ; to secure the necessary cooperation, moral, educational, and financial, in carrying this plan 1 See p. 323.