ply consider whether the institution to which
they are giving is thoughtfully and well managed, without stopping to
discover whether the field is not already occupied by others; and for
this reason one ought not to investigate a single institution by
itself, but always in its relation to all similar institutions in the
territory. Here is a case in point:

A number of enthusiastic people had a plan for founding an orphan
asylum which was to be conducted by one of our strongest religious
denominations. The raising of the necessary funds was begun, and among
the people who were asked to subscribe was a man who always made it a
practice to study the situation carefully before committing himself to
a contribution. He asked one of the promoters of the new institution
how many beds the present asylums serving this community provided, how
efficient they were, where located, and what particular class of
institution was lacking in the community.

To none of these questions were answers forthcoming, so he had this
information gathered on his own account with the purpose of helping to
make the new plan effective. His studies revealed the fact that the
city where the new asylum was to be built was so well provided with
such institutions that there were already vastly more beds for
children than there were applicants to fill them, and that the field
was well and fully covered. These facts being presented to the
organizers of the enterprise, it was shown that no real need for such
an institution existed. I wish I might add that the scheme was
abandoned. It was not. Such charities seldom are when once the
sympathies of the worthy people, however misinformed, are heartily
enlisted.

It may be urged that doing the work in this systematic and apparently
cold-blooded way leaves out of consideration, to a large extent, the
merits of individual cases. My contention is that the organization of
work in combination should not and does not stifle the work of
individuals, but strengthens and stimulates it. The orderly
combination of philanthropic effort is growing daily, and at the same
time the spirit of broad philanthropy never was so general as it is
now.

THE CLAIM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

The giver who works out these problems for himself will, no doubt,
find many critics. So many people see the pressing needs of every-day
life that possibly they fail to realize those which are, if less
obvious, of an even larger significance--for insta