he head of the family should be
conferred with on all questions of relief._

II. A due regard for the self-respect of the poor prompts us, when
relief is needed, to secure it from the most natural source or sources.
A family that still has credit does not need relief at all, and it is
better for them to run in debt to those who still consider them a fair
business risk than to receive charity instead. Next to credit, as a
natural resource, come relatives. Charity weakens natural ties by
stepping in, unless it is certain that relatives have done all that
they can, or unless it has brought pressure to bear, at least, to
induce them to do their part. Sometimes relatives have good reasons,
which the charitable should {150} know and heed, for withholding
relief. The next source of relief is friends, including neighbors and
former employers, and a visitor who is seeking aid for a family may
often discover better ways of helping by consulting with these. The
tendency of indiscriminate charity is to destroy neighborliness. (See
p. 27.) The next source is the church to which members of the family
belong, or fraternal societies of which they may have been members.
Only when all these sources fail, and it is not possible to get
adequate relief from charitable individuals whom we can interest,
should we turn to societies organized for the purpose of giving relief
to the poor, and, even then, special societies, like the St. Andrew's
Society for Scots, St. George's Society for Englishmen, and Hebrew
Benevolent Society for Hebrews, should take precedence of general
relief societies, which were not intended to assume other people's
charitable burdens, but exist to care for the unbefriended families
that cannot be relieved from any more natural source.

There remains one more source of relief for the poor in their own
homes. Many American {151} cities still give public outdoor relief.
This relief is called "public" because it is voted from funds collected
by taxation, and it is called "outdoor" to distinguish it from indoor
or institutional relief. There are several reasons for regarding this
as the least desirable form of relief. In the first place, it is often
administered by politicians, and becomes a source of political
corruption. But, what is even more important, it is official and
therefore not easily adaptable to varying needs. Private charities can
undertake a large expenditure for one family, when a large expendit