association which employed friendly visitors to visit the needy who applied for aid. The association itself did not provide relief but used existing soup-kitchens, fuel societies, churches and outdoor municipal relief to secure what was needed and used its own resources only to supplement what was available from existing associations. By this plan it was able to unite the charities of Germantown, to repress imposture and to diminish the pauperization consequent upon the uncoördinated work of the various societies. It had a good effect upon the administration of municipal outdoor relief and gained the confidence of the people of the community. A few years later it led to the formation of the Charity Organization Society in Philadelphia.

In New York City in 1874 a bureau of charities was formed to register persons receiving outdoor relief. The plan, however, was wrecked by the refusal of the largest relief-giving society to coöperate.

Reverend Gurteen, an English clergyman who had been active in the London society and who was then assistant minister in St. Paul's Church in Buffalo, previous to 1877 had so systematized the work of his parish relief society that every applicant for assistance was promptly investigated. In 1877 he proposed the creation of a clearing house to which the charitable societies of Buffalo should send daily reports. He gave a series of lectures which attracted considerable attention. At the same time a conference of citizens who were endeavoring to reform municipal outdoor relief and who had failed to secure legislation in Albany, created a commission for the control of outdoor relief, and secured an ordinance from the city requiring all applications for relief to be investigated by the police. Out of these two movements grew the Charity Organization Society at a public meeting held December 11, 1877. It was established on the principle of coördinating the existing relief organizations and giving relief from its own resources only in emergencies.

Growth of the Movement. The movement then spread rapidly to other cities. Philadelphia organized in 1878, New Haven, Newport, Cincinnati, and Brooklyn in 1879, and New York in 1882. Many other smaller cities soon followed.

Among those established early in this country there were two types, (1) those which combined relief with their methods of investigation, registration, friendly visiting, and (2) those who gave no relief from their own funds.

In 1882 there were 22 Charity Organizations besides about 10 other societies which had adopted some of the chief features of charity

organization and were acting as their correspondents. These organizations were to be found in the chief cities of the country, the places where the problems of relief were naturally most acute, and from which radiated most potently the influence of their example in charity work. By 1892 the number of such societies had increased to 92. Of these 32 had sprung up independently of other charitable societies; 15 were organized by existing charitable societies; 6 were reorganizations; I a consolidation; and I was the enlargement of a committee to study outdoor relief. In nearly every case the motive was to get away from the wastefulness of public relief and from the chaotic condition in private relief. In 1892, 22 did not give relief from their own funds, while 20 gave some relief, 9`only in emergencies and 2 in order to avoid official relief. In the 10 years between 1882 and 1892 there was a very noticeable tendency to get away from relief-giving. By 1908 the number had grown to about 200 in the United States and Canada and 300 in all the world.1 By 1918 there were 502 such societies in the United States, of which 159 had such standards that they were recognized by the American Association of Societies for Organizing Charity.

The war gave a great impetus to the growth of organized charity. As never before the importance of the principles on which organized charity rests was emphasized. The American Red Cross in its Home. Service work for the families of men in the service adopted the charity organization principles. Its army of field workers and its many institutes training secretaries of home service and volunteers to look after the dependents of service men gave unprecedented popularity to charity organization ideas. All its principles-careful investigation, coöperation between social agencies dealing with disadvantaged individuals and families, adequate relief when relief was necessary, and service as the foundation of its efforts to reestablish a broken down family-were borrowed directly from the charity organization movement. Covering some 15,000 communities, only 300 of which had any general family social agency, and enlisting some 30,000 people to whom the ideals of constructive family work were presented either by word of mouth or by printed page, the movement introduced a large number of people to the ideals of constructive social work. Consequently a large number of the chapters which carried on this work among the dependents of service men have asked the national organi'New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, 1908, p. 159.

zation to permit them to carry on similar work for the civilians in their communities.1

Variety of Activities. While a great many of the activities of later Charity Organization Societies are to be found in the early history of the parent society in London, the movement as a whole has shown development both in intensity of application to a limited number of problems and the stimulation of new activities either by means of subordinate committees or by the organization of new societies for specific purposes. The first report of the London Charity Organization Society pointed out that "on matters of detailed development, and particularly as to the best means of remedying the aggravated pauperism of the time, the Council of the Society have not as yet been closely occupied, but the daily experience of their committees in the various districts of the Metropolis shows that the great questions of Sanitary Improvements, Emigration, Education, Provident Societies, Improved Dwellings for the Poor, and other collateral subjects must at an early date engage their most earnest attention." As a matter of fact, the London organization soon took up a number of these problems.3

Perhaps the diversity of work of a large American charity organization cannot better be indicated than by reviewing the citation of the activities of the New York society. In 1908 these were: (1) organization and coördination of charitable work; (2) sifting and testing applications for relief and obtaining from proper sources prompt and adequate aid; (3) establishing new activities where they were required, giving expert confidential advice to the benevolent as to their benefactions, and giving information concerning charitable institutions and agents that appeal to the benevolent for contributions; (4) rendering service to the poor through wise counsel, either by the paid visitors or volunteers, so as to make the poor at the earliest possible moment self-supporting and self-respecting members of the community. In order to perform these functions the organization conducted: (1) an investigation bureau to furnish information to private persons, hospitals, dispensaries, and other charitable institutions; (2) a registration bureau containing a confidential record of all investigations made by the society and of action taken on behalf of families under its care, available to all legitimate charitable interests; (3) a wood'Deacon, "The Future of Home Service," Proceedings, National Conference of Social Work, 1919, pp. 365-371.

2 Bosanquet, op. cit., pp. 28, 29.

"For details see ibid., Chaps. VI, VIII, X-XVI.

yard to serve as a work test and also to provide an opportunity for families out of work to make their way; (4) a laundry to provide temporary employment for women with families, and also to train. laundresses for positions; (5) the penny provident fund for the encouragement of small savings; (6) a publication department which at that time published a weekly periodical called The Charities, the Charities' Directory, a handbook on the prevention of tuberculosis, and a directory of institutions and societies dealing with tuberculosis in United States and Canada; (7) a library of reference works on applied sociology; (8) a tenement house committee whose business it was to endeavor to improve the conditions of tenement houses by securing legislation, to enforce existing laws and to encourage the building of model tenements; (9) a committee on the prevention of tuberculosis; (10) a school of philanthropy which served to fit people for social service either as professionals or volunteers; (11) a department for the improvement of social conditions.1

Some of these activities have since been discontinued by reason of the creation of special organizations to take them over, for example, the magazine, Charities, was consolidated with The Commons published in Chicago, its publication taken over by a corporation and its name changed to The Survey. The school of philanthropy was turned over to a special organization and an endowment provided for it by Mr. John S. Kennedy.

In other places the Charity Organization Society, under whatever name it may exist, has varied activities. In the last few years organized charities have taken up other problems, such as bringing back family deserters. Out of their enlarged experience one other principle has been established-the family must be considered as a whole when an attempt is made to solve the problem of one of its members. However, the main purposes which lay at the bottom of the movement in the beginning are for the most part still operative. On the whole we can say without exaggeration that no single movement has had such widespread effects on social work as the Charity Organization

movement.

Development of Policies. In 1899 Dr. Devine declared "that there have been no radical changes in the ideals and fundamental objects of our society."2 There have been, however, as Dr. Devine admits, changes of far reaching moment which as a rule are "changes.

New Encyclopedia of Social Reform, New York, 1908, p. 159.

'Proceedings, National Conference of Charities and Correction, 1899, p. 276.

of methods or of scope or of emphasis, not changes of ideals or of goal." Some of these changes have been due to the varying needs of different communities; others, the results of endeavors to reach the same goal by improved technique. For example, in the early history of the movement both in England and in America one of the important purposes of the organization was to repress begging. That object has now been subordinated to efforts which would make begging unnecessary. Again, an increasing interest has been placed by Charity Organization Societies upon a campaign of preventive measures both legislative and private. Hence, out of these organizations have sprung campaigns to educate the public on preventive measures and legislative lobbying for preventive legislation as to child labor, and public employment agencies. Again, in the early history of the movement both in England and America, these societies were often active in securing the abolition of public outdoor relief. Recently there has been a tendency on the part of some of the leaders, to urge the legislative and administrative adoption of the principles and technique of the Charity Organization Society in public outdoor relief. The movement has, however, stood like a rock for investigation, registration of cases, coöperation between relief agencies, friendly visiting, trained personal service, and adequate relief. Never for one moment have the leaders turned aside from these ideals.1

SOME OUTGROWTHS OF THE CHARITY ORGANIZATION MOVEMENT

The direct result of this movement upon relief principles and methods no one can measure. Like a new evangel in religion, at first it was misunderstood and abused. It was charged with selfishness, with inhumanity towards the poor, with substituting for the kindliness of charity, hardness of heart and coldness of spirit. However, after these years of trial it has won to a place of honor. As Dr. Devine in 1899 said, "organized charity results not in the mechanicalization of charity, but in its spiritualization." Its fundamental principles of "investigation, registration, coöperation, friendly visiting and other forms of personal service, and adequate relief are, let us not say pillars of organized charity, but rather formative social forces wholesome, disturbing, purifying, healing and altogether essential."

1 For discussion of details see Devine, “Organization of Charity," Proceedings, National Conference of Charities and Correction, 1899, pp. 274-284; Brackett, ibid., 1915, pp. 450-456; Riley, ibid., 1916, pp. 342-345; Almy, The Survey, April 10, 1920, p. 82.

Proceedings, National Conference of Charities and Correction, 1899, p. 277.