have tried to teach my children. For
years it was our custom to read at the table the letters we received
affecting the various benevolences with which we had to do, studying
the requests made for worthy purposes, and following the history and
reports of institutions and philanthropic cases in which we were
interested.

CHAPTER VII

THE BENEVOLENT TRUST--THE VALUE OF THE COOePERATIVE PRINCIPLE IN
GIVING

Going a step farther in the plan of making benefactions increasingly
effective which I took up in the last chapter under the title of "The
Difficult Art of Giving," I am tempted to take the opportunity to
dwell a little upon the subject of combination in charitable work,
which has been something of a hobby with me for many years.

If a combination to do business is effective in saving waste and in
getting better results, why is not combination far more important in
philanthropic work? The general idea of cooeperation in giving for
education, I have felt, scored a real step in advance when Mr. Andrew
Carnegie consented to become a member of the General Education Board.
For in accepting a position in this directorate he has, it seems to
me, stamped with his approval this vital principle of cooeperation in
aiding the educational institutions of our country.

I rejoice, as everybody must, in Mr. Carnegie's enthusiasm for using
his wealth for the benefit of his less fortunate fellows and I think
his devotion to his adopted land's welfare has set a striking example
for all time.

The General Education Board, of which Mr. Carnegie has now become a
member, is interesting as an example of an organization formed for the
purpose of working out, in an orderly and rather scientific way, the
problem of helping to stimulate and improve education in all parts of
our country. What this organization may eventually accomplish, of
course, no one can tell, but surely, under its present board of
directors, it will go very far. Here, again, I feel that I may speak
frankly and express my personal faith in its success, since I am not a
member of the board, and have never attended a meeting, and the work
is all done by others.

There are some other and larger plans thought out on careful and broad
lines, which I have been studying for many years, and we can see that
they are growing into definite shape. It is good to know that there
are always unselfish men, of the best calibre, to help in every large
philanthropic enterprise.