State Control of Charities and Corrections 3 



gone steadily forward in all departments. In the matter of public 

 education in nearly all the states there is recognition of state 

 control and supervision in reference to levying of taxes, erection 

 and repairs of school buildings, fixing salaries, terms of school, 

 courses of study, and qualifications of teachers. The "district 

 system" and the prejudices of the people in favor of local self- 

 government have greatly hindered progress in centralization in 

 some states. Especially has this been true in Ohio. Less progress 

 seems to have been made in that state towards centralization of 

 the public school system than elsewhere. On the other hand, in 

 Massachusetts and New York strong forces have been active for 

 half a century tending toward centralization and state control. 

 The same centralizing tendencies seen in the public school system 

 have been manifested in reference to public highways and in 

 sanitation. 



In the field of charities and corrections the tendencies toward 

 centralization have been very marked. The movement towards 

 state control has gone steadily forward in Massachusetts and in 

 New York until in both states -there have been established lunacy 

 commissions and prison commissions, which are boards of 

 control. In New York the finances of all charitable and penal 

 institutions have been completely centralized. Other departments 

 of charity and correction have come so completely under state 

 control that it may be said that these states have realized what is 

 meant by a state board of control and at the same time have 

 retained the advantages of the advisory state board of charities. 



Similar results have been reached in A\'isconsin where an ad- 

 visory board of state charities performed faithful labors for ten 

 years, from 187 1 to 1881, when a state board of supervisors was 

 created. These two boards continued in operation until the year 

 189 1, when centralizing tendencies in that state became so strong 

 that the legislature abolished both boards and established the 

 state board of control, which has been in effective operation ever 

 since. 



Minnesota tried an advisory state board of charities under the 

 most favorable circumstances for nineteen years, when the cen- 

 tralizing forces in that state led the legislature to abolish it in 

 1902 and to establish a state board of control. 



359 



