20 ALFRED 0. CROZIER 



the right persons in other places, showing them the advantages 

 and best methods of organization? 



When the writer first broached this subject at the Toronto 

 session of the National Conference of Charities and Correction, 

 he encountered the fear on the part of many that such effort 

 would be unwise. But an agreeable change seems to be taking 

 place in the minds of some earnest leaders, and there is con- 

 fidence that something definite will soon be undertaken to 

 take the light from under the bushel and hold it up to guide 

 those in other places from the mire of antiquated ways to the 

 rock of intelligent sympathy and business methods in philan- 

 thropy. 



The experience of Grand Rapids, Mich., may serve to 

 illustrate and give point to the above suggestions. There, 

 up to fifteen years ago, alms and charity were, to most good 

 citizens, synonymous. Twenty thousand to forty thousand 

 dollars a year was dispensed in outdoor relief, practically 

 without investigation, on the very poor judgment of human 

 nature possessed by the poor director. Children were al- 

 lowed to come regularly to the department for supphes. As 

 high as five thousand people received aid at a time in that city. 

 Many of these, it has since been discovered, owned houses and 

 lots, were earning good wages or had bank accounts. Grown 

 up, unmarried children who earned good wages, put their 

 parents to public charity as a measure of economy. Politics 

 played havoc with honesty in poor relief administration. 

 About the only record kept was an inaccurate Hst of names. 

 Each Thanksgiving day the best citizens, with sincere inten- 

 tions, advertised widely by pulpit announcements and under 

 glaring headlines in the newspapers, that the day was set apart 

 for the practice of charity, that ail people who respected the 

 divine injunction were expected to tote out their old clothes, 

 buy a turkey or other tempting provisions, and send to the 

 vacant store selected as headquarters for the occasion; and 

 that everybody who was poor was to come to the headquarters 

 and get in line to be practiced upon. They would get some- 

 thing good and in the lottery might draw something of real 

 value. It was always very successful, attracted splendid 

 crowds, made a fine demonstration and drew forth prayers 



