Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 6.djvu/797

 RELATION OF CHARITY- ORGANIZATION SOCIETIES TO RELIEF SOCIETIES AND RELIEF-GIVING.

IN order to formulate, if possible, a practicable plan of cooperation between charity-organization societies and relief societies an effort was made to ascertain the relations existing between them in those cities in the United States in which both are found, and also to learn the extent to which the charity- organization societies are accustomed to give relief from their own funds, upon which point there seemed to be some confusion of thought. Questions were sent out, to which replies were received from societies in seventy-five cities. Almost all the more important ones were heard from, and the conclusions based upon their reports may safely be considered as fairly represent- ing all.

With reference to the practice of giving relief from their own funds, fifty-one societies answered in the affirmative and twenty- four 1 in the negative; but an analysis of the reports leads to a modification of these figures.

Such an analysis shows that eight of the twenty-four socie- ties that classify themselves as non-relief-giving provide imme- diate relief in urgent cases, pending adjustment, either from their general funds or from special funds maintained for that purpose; three others authorize their agents to expend money from their own purses in emergencies, which will be refunded to them by the society from some source ; two have a combination of both methods ; five in cities of less than 50,000 are indefinite in their answers upon this point ; while the remaining seven societies assert that direct relief is procured wholly from outside sources. In two of the seven last mentioned the relation with the relief society is so close as to amount to a consolidation, as in one

1 These are New York, Boston, Baltimore, Indianapolis, Newark, Providence, Washington, D. C.; Minneapolis, St. Paul, Cambridge, Mass.; Charleston, S. C.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Hartford, Conn.; New Bedford, Mass.; Lynn, Mass.; La Crosse, Wis.; Maiden, Mass.; New Brunswick, N. J.; Salem, Mass.; Terre Haute, Ind.; Grinnell, la.; Newburyport, Mass.; Passaic, N. J., and Plainfield, N. J.

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