arriage; number of
rooms occupied; education; children's school; names, addresses, and
condition of relatives and friends; church; previous residences.

(b) _Physical History._--Health of each member of the family; name of
doctor; habits.

(c) _Work History._--Occupations; names {188} and addresses of present
and former employers; how long and at what seasons usually in work; how
long out of work now; earning capacity of each worker.

(d) _Financial History._--Rent; landlord; debts, including instalment
purchases; beneficial societies; trade-union; life insurance; pawn
tickets; has family ever saved and how much?; present savings; income;
present means of subsistence other than wages; pensions; relief,
sources, and amount; charities interested.

In addition to these detached facts, there is also needed whatever
other facts will make a fairly complete brief biography of the heads of
the family, including a knowledge of their hopes and plans. The
statements of relatives and friends, their theory as to the best method
of aiding, together with some definite promise as to what they
themselves will do; the statements of pastor or Sunday-school teacher,
of doctor, former employers, and former landlords; and the statements
and experiences also of others charitably interested may be needed
before an effective plan can be made.

{189}

Inquiries of present employers and landlords should be made with
extreme care, if at all, as they might create prejudice against those
we would help.

The outline here given of the facts needed is best filled in by a
competent trained agent, rather than by the friendly visitor, whose
relations with the family render searching inquiry difficult and often
undesirable. But the mercifulness of a thorough investigation is that,
once well done, it need not be repeated, and by saving endless
blundering it also saves a family from much charitable meddling. Its
seemingly inquisitorial features are justified by the fact that it is
not made with any purpose of finding people out, but with the sole
purpose of finding out how to help them.

3. Gathering facts about the poor without making any effort to use
these facts for their good has been compared to harrowing the ground
without sowing the seed. The facts should be made the basis of a
well-considered plan. It may be necessary to modify our plans often,
as circumstances change or new facts are discovered; but a plan of
treatment {190} is as i