t doing.

Following "natural laws" makes sad work of a charity-show in an Asylum;
but it leaves fruit over the land, in renovated characters and useful
lives.

THE MULTIPLICATION OF CHARITIES.

One of the greatest evils connected with charities in a large city is
the unreasonable tendency to multiply them. A benevolent individual
meets with a peculiar case of distress or poverty, his feelings are
touched, and he at once conceives the idea of an "Institution" for this
class of human evils. He soon finds others whom he can interest in his
philanthropic object, and they go blindly on collecting their funds, and
perhaps erecting or purchasing their buildings. When the house is
finally prepared, the organization perfected, and the cases of distress
relieved, the founders discover, perhaps to their dismay, that there are
similar or corresponding Institutions for just this class of
unfortunates, which have been carrying on their quiet labors of
benevolence for years, and doing much good. The new Institution, if
wise, would now prefer to turn over its assets and machinery to the old;
but, ten to one, the new workers have an especial pride in their
bantling, and cannot bear to abandon it, or they see what they consider
defects in the management of the old, and, not knowing all the
difficulties of the work, they hope to do better; or their _employes_
have a personal interest in keeping up the new organization, and
persuade them that it is needed by the people.

The result, in nineteen cases out of twenty, is that the two agencies of
charity are continued where but one is needed. Double the amount of
money is used for agents and machinery which is wanted, and, to a
certain degree, the charity funds of the community are wasted.

But this is not the worst effect The poor objects of this organization
soon discover that they have a double source from which to draw their
supplies. They become pauperized, and their faculties are employed in
deriving a support from both societies.

By and by, one organization falls behind in its charity labors, and now,
in place of waiting to carefully assist the poor, it tempts the poor to
come to it. If it be a peculiar kind of school, not much needed in the
quarter, it bribes the poor children by presents to abandon the rival
school and fill its own seats; if an Asylum, it seeks far and near for
those even not legitimately its subjects. There arises a sort of
competition of c