" Fourth. The inquiries of the committee also embraced the legal provision for the poor, which resulted in the con viction that no form of charity which has not especial ref erence to the removal of the causes of pauperism can fail to increase its amount ; and it appeared equally certain that no such provision could embrace all the objects of private benevolence or supersede its efforts ; and after the laws had done their utmost an immense work would remain unaceomplished, which could not be effected by isolated individual exertions." The agent of the committee, Robert M. Hartley, vis ited Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and other cities, and by correspondence in this country and abroad attempted to gather information that would be of use in inaugurat ing a better plan. It appears, however, that he consid ered these visits entirely profitless, and that the system which he subsequently put into operation was elaborated from his own The New York Association for Improving the Condi tion of the Poor deserves special attention, not only be cause its foundation marks an epoch in the creation of valuable literature on the subject of preventive charity, but because in the practical details of organization it formed a model upon which many similar associations in America and Europe have been formed. It is an interest ing coincidence that the foundation of this Association and the appearance of its early reports, discussing with much vigor and insight the principles underlying the new movement, should have taken place just in the middle of the century, and that within the five years following there were published a number of extremely valuable reports, tracts, declarations of principles, and suggestions for vis itors, of exactly the kind that would be most likely to prove useful to other societies desiring to take similar action. In the language of Mr. Hartley's biographer : " The design of the association was to advance the social, moral, and material interests of large masses of the community by a united effort embracing the whole city, through the operation of a system which, so far as possi 1 Memorial of Robert M. Hartley, p. 187.
ble, would provide for existing difficulties, avoid unknown evils, and secure beneficent results. It contemplated es caping the evils inseparable from isolated and independent exertions, through the united and concerted action of a general organization, hoping thus to diminish the chances of imposition, to ascertain the exact amount of charity each individual received, and to secure its judicious dis tribution. Moral means were also to be employed, from the fact that no other would be adequate to produce the results which the condition of the indigent required. It contemplated, likewise, preventive rather than remedial measures. It was primarily and directly to discounte nance indiscriminate almsgiving ; to visit the poor at their homes, to give them counsel, to assist them when prac ticable in obtaining employment, to inspire them with self-respect and self-reliance, to inculcate habits of econ omy, industry, and temperance, and, whenever absolutely necessary, to provide such relief as should be suited to their wants. Such was the platform upon which the association proposed to build, and such were the aims it thoughtfully set before it." The following clear and definite rules were laid down for the guidance of visitors : — I. To regard each applicant for relief as entitled to charity until a careful examination proves the contrary.
II. To give relief only after a personal investigation of each case by visitation and inquiry.
III. To relieve no one excepting through the visitor of the section in which he lives.
IV. To give necessary articles, and only what is imme diately necessary.
V. To give what is least susceptible of abuse.
VI. To give only in small quantities in proportion to immediate need, and of coarser quality than might be pro cured by labor, except in cases of sickness.
VII. To give assistance at the right moment ; not to prolong it beyond the duration of the necessity which calls for it ; but to extend, restrict, and modify relief according to that necessity.
VIII. To require of each beneficiary abstinence from inViii. To require of each beneficiary abstinence from in- toxicating liquors as a drink; of such as have young chil dren of proper age, that they be kept at school, except unavoidable circumstances prevent, and to apprentice those of suitable years to some trade, or send them to service. The design being to make the poor a party to their own improvement and elevation, the wilful violation or disre gard of these rules shall debar them from further relief.
IX. To give no relief to recent immigrants having claims on the Commissioners of Immigration, except in urgent cases for two or three days, or until that department can be informed of such cases, when the responsibility of this association toward them shall cease.
X. To give no aid to persons who, from infirmity, im becility, old age, or any other cause, are likely to continue unable to earn their own support, and consequently to be permanently dependent, except in extreme cases for two or three days, or until they can be referred to the gov ernors of the almshouse.
XI. To discontinue relieving all who manifest a pur pose to depend on alms rather than on their own exer tions for support, and whose further maintenance would be incompatible with their good and the objects of the institution.
XII. To give to those having claims on other charities a card directing them thereto, which indicates thereon why such relief was refused by the association ; also a card, a duplicate thereof, which the member should require the applicant to produce when he affirms that the association has denied him relief.
It will be seen that the association did not undertake to aid those who were entirely and permanently depend ent nor, unless in very exceptional circumstances, those who were permanently but not entirely dependent and who were in receipt of public outdoor relief. There seems to have been disappointment in the operation of the twelfth rule, since in an address by the secretary to vis itors in the year 1847 he was compelled to admit that "unfortunately, as our own experience will attest, though there are numerous charitable organizations in the city, few have been found of much practical use to this association." This was regarded as proof that the association was fill ing a place• in the systematic charities of the city which was filled by no other, but was not to be regarded as a reason for abandoning the practice of refusing to give assistance to those who were clearly the proper benefi ciaries of other existing agencies. More interesting, how ever, is the confident belief of the secretary that after excluding permanent paupers and dependents properly be longing to other agencies, fifteen thousand persons in New York City remain in whole or in part dependent for sub-. sistence upon gratuitous relief, and that each of these "has a distinct mark set upon him by Providence or his own character, which mark clearly indicates the department to which he legitimately belongs, or the source from which he should derive relief," The mark which visitors of the association were asked to recognize as indicating their own poor was the possibility of elevating the moral and physical condition of the applicant. Those who could not be elevated were not to have relief. Furthermore visitors were to bear in mind that there were practical limits to the amount of care and attention which they could give, and the constitution was interpreted to allow relief only to those whose moral and physical condition will be im proved by the amount of relief and attention which the visitor in the proper discharge of his duties is able to bestow. As if to emphasize the importance of this dis crimination visitors are told that "their recollections will confirm the declaration that every exposition of our ob jects which has been given to the public, whether in the visitors' manual, the annual reports, or other documents, enforces and illustrates these as the fundamental objects of the association." In sharp contrast with this class were to be placed those bearing the "corporation mark," — that is, those who should be helped by the public authorities in the almshouse or otherwise. The association refused to dignify public sup port by calling it charity, and did not hesitate to say that the present system of outdoor almshouse relief is one of the most productive sources of pauperism in the city. The association enrolled a large number of volunteer vis itors who became not only its almoners, but also its agents in the work of personally improving the moral and physi cal condition of the families with which it had to do, and remonstrance was often necessary to prevent the visitors from relaxing efforts at moral reform, and calling in the discredited system of relying entirely upon almsgiving. The visitor is constantly enjoined that it is his duty to send all who bear the mark of the corporation to the house commissioner for relief, when the of the association toward such families ceases.