CHARITY ORGANIZATION SOCIETY.
Assoeiations bearing this name or known as Associated Charities, United Charities. or Bu reau of Charities existed in 1901 in 131 cities of the I State:. a ith 17 other societies par tially adopting their methods. and in 7 Canadian cities. They are also found in the English and Australian cities and organizations more or less closely resembling them exist in Europe. The parent so. iety. known as The Sot iety for Organ izing Charity and was started in London in 1s69 and was supported by stub as I:lad-tone, Ruskin. and Cardinal Manning. The first Charity Organization Society in America was organized in Buffalo. N. Y.. in 1S77. through the influence of Rev. S. H. Our teen, who was acquainted with the work of the London society. The Charity Organization So ciety has already become 1,111. of the most suc cessful of charitable undertakings and wields great influence. The founders of the London ciety said that its Main object Was cure as distinguished from the mere alleviation of dis Another object was to bring about such a coiiperation between existing charities as to avoid overlapping of fields and duplication of efforts. To many of the earlier societies the reason for existence was ahnsgiving to those in distress, little, if any, careful investigation being made as to the cause of the trouble and less at tention being paid to the work of other agencies. Whenever such a condition obtains it is always found that many people are practically supported in idleness: that 'charity tramps' and profes sional beggars abound. The very existence of these various dissociated agencies is a tempta tion to those on the border line of self-support to seek assistance. As one person says: -We have no right to make our alms a temptation to the poor: and it is a dangerous, though easy. thing to teach a man that he can live without work." The charity organization societies, there fore. stand for certain general principles.
Co6PERATION. They act as a clearing house for all philanthropic societies and individuals. Careful records are kept of all eases. These arc preserved in envelopes—one for each family. In these envelopes are put all the information regard ing the individual and family history: the re ports of investigations; all letters and other relevant matter. The record is kept as nearly up to date as possible. These envelopes are so tiled that they can be found in a moment. The records are confidential and are given only to persons or societies having a legitimate interest. in the family. Their use prevents duplication and fraud. Public officials frequently find them of great assistance. The society undertakes to know just lvhat the other organizations do. A. they seek to cure distress. not merely to relieve it. whenever a east' comes under their care a careful investigation is made of the family's condition, sources of income, possible means of assistance, friends. former employers, etc. In cases of emergeney assistance is at once given or secured. Then some plan is formed—com prehensive, but subject to constant modification —ad this plan is followed until, if possible. the family becomes self-supporting, or, if this is im possible. Until 1)111(• permanent disposition may
be made so that the family may have no exense for asking further assistance. This often in volves the calling upon a number of institutions for their services. There is, however. a clearly defined end in view su that the organizations as sisting- are rendering a most valuable tion. The Charity Organization Society does not duplicate existing agencies. but seeks to sUppie Mont theln. :Many consider this the most impor tant feature of their work. Stnne charity organi sation societies have even had no relief fund. preferring to act wholly as mediators.
PERsONAL SERVICE. The pursuit of a eompre hensive plan involves an immense amount of time and labor. Under the old system a of money or other neevssaries were given and the recipient disappeared from sight and nfuce till trouble brought hint hack. The Charity Organi zation Society seeks to show a lier.onal, friendly interest in the family. To further this aim, a corps of 'friendly visitors' is developed—culti vated. intelligent men and women—who tinder take to visit a family regularly. to share sym pathetically in its trouhles :111d it- pleasures. The power of this personal interest of zi tactful and resourceful person on the family life is hard to estimate. These friendly visitors are ;always unpaid. and thus their interest is wholly The Way is opened for all sorts 14 sug gestions for improvement. for making the home attractive to the children and father. The friend ly visitors hold regular conferences.
So( iAl. SERVICE. t:rowing out of the intimate knowledge gained by frequent personal visits eomes the opportunity to influence the commu nity regarding the necessity for playgrounds, bet ter sanitary and housing condithins, factory legislation, and the like. Such service is of the highest value, often accomplishing great reforms. The present movement to reform the tenements ill New York City is largely the result of the labors of the Charity Organization Society and interested Here should be noted the possibility of handling special relief funds in times of emergency. The Charity Organization society, with its trained force and intimate knowledge of local conditions, caul act to great advantage. Mention should be made of the in fluence exerted to cut down unwise appropria tions for supposed charitable' purposes. Another valuable service is the investigation of eliarita hle organizations for the information of intend ing 410110r, 113' 110 means the least valuahle part of this soeial work is in getting so people directly interested in the work of the society.
The ohjeet. of the Charity Organi zation Society is to 'help to self-help.' It is not to give something for nothing. The self respect and the independence of the individual is always to he preserved. \Vork rather than alms is given. Laundries, sewing-rooms, wood yards, employment bureaus, are maintained ae cording to ]ova] needs. In cities the vacant lots and waste places have been transformed into vegetable gardens. carried on. under expert guidance. by the poor. When necessary the pro fessional beggars are prosecuted: lists of un •orthy alms seekers are published, to compel them to seek honest employment.