Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 2.djvu/713

 PUBLIC CHARITY AND PRIVATE PHILANTHROPY 697

imposters, who now manage to secure duplicate or excessive allowances, could be avoided by keeping a careful registration of all those who receive aid and throwing the register open for the free use of all interested. In Hamburg such a bureau of information was established over a year ago, where at least the names of all those who receive public aid or are supported in char- itable institutions are recorded. Attempts to secure the coopera- tion of the various charitable organizations as well as of individual philanthropists in this matter have met with little encouragement. Similar experiments have been tried in other cities ; but their success is very doubtful, for private chanty organizations are very loath to reveal the names of their beneficiaries, and besides unsystematic and planless almsgiving is as yet too prevalent. It is clear that in the work of establishing proper relations between public and private charity, the education of the benev olent public will be one of the most important factors. What Warner says in regard to public poor-relief in America "It is time for us to stop bragging and humbly to take up the study of the science and art of administration " may be applied equally as well to the majority of the institutions of private charity in Germany. It is really time that the study of the science of poor-relief be taken up by philanthropists in this country (Germany). It is a plain fact that a sort of strange senti- mentality is exceedingly predominant ; a certain softness of heart which impels those whom it possesses to do something for their unfortunate and suffering fellow-men, without, however, trying to ascertain what is really needful to be done. Above all else it is essential that we break completely with the notion that poor-relief and philanthropy are in themselves meritorious. We must teach, and thoroughly convince everyone of the fact, that the first thing necessary is to find out the causes of poverty that those measures which aim to set the poor and needy .dependent on his feet again and to make him independent are of far greater value than all the beneficence in the world, however good its intentions. House owners who make regular contribu- tions to charitable societies must understand clearly that they