outdoor

his entire system of relief is that it is likely to increase the Ordinary poverty it is supposed to alleviate, because shiftless individ- forms of uals will look to the government for help, when they should relief. support themselves. For a few people most of the time, and for many people part of the time, some assistance of this Warner,

Am.

kind is necessary. Provisions, clothing, and fuel are the Charities,

Defectives,

articles most commonly furnished, much more being done Chap. VII. in winter, or when work is scarce, than at other times. A few cities have established public lodging houses, wayfarers Henderson, being furnished with beds for the night in return for a rea- Dependents, sonable amount of work. Sometimes temporary employment Delinis furnished through the government to those in great need, quents, or in order to rid the community of those tramps who will leave if forced to find employment.

52-70.

Delin

131. Other Forms of Charity. · There is perhaps no set Care of the of persons so deserving of sympathy and help as the sick sick poor. poor. Needing skilled care, delicate food, and expensive Henderson, medicines, or still more costly surgical attention, they are Dependents, unable to protect themselves against the ills which, if un- Defectives, checked, will cause death or lives of unending pain. For quents, the care of such unfortunates, public hospitals are maintained 121–137. in most cities and by many counties and towns. Physicians and nurses are paid by the public to look after the inmates Kirkbride, of the hospitals. Visiting physicians, in addition, may spend a large part of their time without pay in attendance on the needy sick who are in their own homes. Those whose ailment is less serious can often obtain treatment gratis at the dispensaries, which are to be found in most of our large cities.

It is customary, especially in cities, to make appropriations of large sums of money annually for the benefit of private institutions-children's homes, schools for defectives, hospitals, and others. This may be done because the heads of private institutions or organizations are able to discriminate better and are less likely to be imposed upon or defrauded, or it may be due to an unwillingness to grant help both

F. B., in

Annals

Am. Acad. Pol. Sci., 23 (1904), 424-433.

Public aid to private

charities.

Warner,
Am.

Charities,

publicly and privately in cases where there is no good rea son for the government assuming entire responsibility. Chap. XVII. Many cities which follow this plan have been singularly lax in supervising the expenditure of the public money contributed to private parties.

Benefits to the poor.

Zueblin,

Am. Mun. Progress, 242-275.

with Slum, 279-309.

Harris, G.

GENERAL WELFARE

132. Parks and Playgrounds. — Certain activities of our cities particularly have been extended for the purpose of developing a better and healthier class of citizens. Among these are the beautiful public parks, which appeal to public pride and the æsthetic taste of all citizens, with their drives, lakes, zoological gardens, and numerous forms of free amusements. Still more important are the children's playRiis, Battle grounds that have been established as breathing spaces in the tenement districts. In our larger cities playgrounds have been created on pleasure wharves, in roof gardens on the tops of school buildings, and in squares where rookeries have been demolished. For the children of the poor they W., in Rev. have replaced the old playgrounds of dirty streets and dark alleys; they give room for sunshine, spontaneous play, and healthful sports. With the public swimming pools and bath houses, their influence for health and cleanliness remakes many lives. Band concerts and other forms of amusement on Sundays and evenings attract large multitudes of adults, to whom innocent amusement is a necessary form of recreation. To the multitudes whose days are spent in grinding toil, whose homes offer little or no attraction, whose vacations come as periods of enforced idleness when times are hard, the ever increasing number of parks and playgrounds are an inestimable blessing.

of Revs.,

32 (1905), 574-580.

World's Work, 8 (1904), 4963-4979, 11 (1906), 7191-7205.

Circulation departments.

133. Public Libraries.—A silent, uplifting force but little inferior to the public schools is exercised by the free libraries that have been established in probably one half of the cities and villages in this country. Their work is valuable, even through the distribution of the lighter forms of fiction,