State Supervision and Administration 

 of Charities 



By Frederic Rowland Guild, A.M. 



I. Introduction 



In a study of the systems of State supervision and admin- 

 istration existing in the United States it is useless to attempt 

 a classification of any but the more general characteristics of 

 the various State systems, and it is impossible to make any 

 satisfactory comparison of the detailed functions of the nu- 

 merous State boards.^ The most satisfactory classification 

 that can be made is that which divides the boards according 

 to their primary function, — of supervision or of administra- 

 tion. The great controversy which has arisen during the 

 past twenty or twenty-five years has been over the relative 

 merits of these two types of boards, which are more gen- 

 erally known by their statutory titles as State Board of Chari- 

 ties (or Charities and Corrections) and State Board of 

 Control, respectively. The standard definition of these is 

 contained in the report made by Chairman Frank A. Fetter 

 of the Committee on State Supervision and Administration 

 at the National Conference of Charities and Corrections in 

 1909. "The two words in the title [of the report], 'super- 

 vision' and 'administration', have been taken in this report 

 not as synonyms, but as indicating two aspects and functions 

 of State boards. By 'administration' we understand the busi- 

 ness management, the control, of institutions, so far as this 

 is done by a board and not by the superintendent, the execu- 

 tive head of the institution. Perhaps the most essential ad- 

 ministrative function of a board is the appointment of a 

 superintendent. Every institution in this country has at least 



1 "As regards the field covered by the administrative board [board of control] there 

 are fifteen possible variations, eight of which are found in practice, to say nothing of the 

 many minor variations in details." See National Conference of Charities and Corrections 

 Proceedings, 1909, p. 398. See also National Conference of Charities and Corrections Pro- 

 ceedings, 1903, pp. 358-360. 



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