The self-dependent and th3 pauper classes do not, however, together constitute the whole of human society. There are some whose earning capacity, when exerted to the utmost, does not suffice for the means of livelihood ; there are some who are temporarily disabled and have been unable to provide in advance for such a calamity. While many of these are isolated individuals, for whom institutional care of some kind may be advisable, there are others who are grouped in families and for whom the essential elements of normal family life, aside from finan cial income, remain or may be supplied. It is a task of the greatest difficulty and delicacy to distinguish such cases, and a great responsibility is assumed by those who undertake to supply the relief which will enable family life to be continued, when this must be done otherwise than by the normal earnings of its members. It is true that in particular instances an equal responsibility may be involved in a refusal to supply such relief, with the con sequent breaking up of the family. In other words, the responsibility of those who are in position to aid and to whom a direct appeal has been made, can be met only by reaching a sound conclusion as to whether or not the con ditions are such as to call for relief at home.
It is for this reason, primarily, that official relief from the public treasury and ordinary almsgiving are unwise and harmful. The conditions under which alms are given to passers-by, and the conditions under which public relief is disbursed, are universally unfavorable to any adequate consideration, on the part of the giver, of the following questions : first, whether the home conditions are such as can safely be perpetuated through relief; second, exactly what kind and amount of relief are required ; and third, whether there are natural sources, other than the one to whom the appeal has been made, from which any needed relief should be supplied. It may justly be questioned, also, whether churches are in position to give dispassionate answers to these questions, except as relating to their own members. One of the chief concerns of the church organi zation as such is to holdithe allegiance of those already affiliated with it, and to secure the adhesion of others. It is only in rare instances that a relief system under the control of the church or auxiliary to it can be carried on with efficiency and success. There is no reason to expect that strict observance of correct principles of relief will invariably promote the religious objects recognized by the churches, or that church membership can be in creased or maintained, under existing conditions of sec tarian divisions, by a legitimate use of relief funds.
If, then, public relief funds, indiscriminate almsgiving, and relief by churches should eventually be discontinued, the particular task of supplying relief to dependent fami lies in their homes will fall upon private individuals and such voluntary associations as may be formed with this end in view ; — and private charity, individual or associ ated, is precisely the best reliance for such relief. In so
far as it is organized, it should be unsectarian ; it should not be subsidized from the public treasury, but should be spontaneous, voluntary, and of a broad, catholic spirit, even if some place is allowed for patriotic or religious motives in its form of organization.
If a society were to be organized in a community in which there is no general relief society, and it were ex pected that it would undertake only this particular task, it might well take some simple descriptive name such as the Society for the Relief of Distress,' or the Provident Relief General relief has in fact been undertaken by societies which differ widely both in their names and in their methods ; and if there is no society for organizing charity or for promoting social reform, it will usually be more advisable to found a society with broad scope which will undertake among other things either to supply relief as one of its corporate functions, or to obtain relief from private individuals or from miscellaneous relief sources, if it is deemed that these are sufficient for the purpose. It 1 A society under this name, commonly known as the S. R. D., exists in London and works in cooperation with the Charity Organization Society.
2 This is the name of a fund from which temporary relief is supplied to families found upon investigation by the Charity Organization Society of the city of New York to be in need.
is now not uncommon for the charity organization society, the associated charities, the bureau of charities, the asso ciation for improving the condition of the poor, or the provident association to undertake itself directly to give relief and also to promote cooperation among charitable agencies and individuals, and to work for such changes in the laws and in their administration as to ameliorate the condition of the poor.' There is scarcely any city with a population of ten thousand in which there are not the beginnings of some society which with more or less modification of plans and methods might readily occupy this position. It is essen tial that each city should build upon its own historical foundation. It is also desirable that there should be such a degree of uniformity in various cities as will lead to easy communication and comparison of results. These two ends will be found not to be incompatible if they are both kept in view. The danger is that one or the other will be completely disregarded. A newcomer who hap pens to be familiar with the form of organization in an other city will, with greater zeal than prudence, attempt to draft immediately the identical institution with which he is familiar upon the new community; and, on the other hand, those who have given no attention to the progress made in other cities will follow blindly their traditional customs, and if a new condition arises will attempt to meet it with no guidance whatever from the score of instructive attempts that may have already been made to meet the same condition elsewhere.