Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 April 1909 — Blaine Gwin Delivers an Interesting Talk. [ARTICLE]

Blaine Gwin Delivers an Interesting Talk.

It was a very large and attentive audience that listened to Blaine Gwin’s talk Sunday evening at the M. E. church on the subject, “Poverty, a Curable Disease.” Having been for the last few months closely connected with the Charity board of Baltimore, he gave some interesting experiences. In his talk he outlined briefly, but in a careful way, some of the problems coming up in a large city and the remedies used. Blaine is a boy who gets right at the source of things when possible. Besides doing his particular work, he also carried some extra work and made some investigations of his own. The particular kind of charity work that he is interested in is private and not public. In their work they consider the family as a whole and before offering any aid a worker is sent out to get the history, of the family, and then they solve the problem accordingly. They are very careful in the giving of actual money to those needing help, for just as swn as mon* ey is given, that makes a different relation between them. The main thing is to keep the classes nearly on an equality, but at the same time to give help in such a way as not to cause too much of a separation between the fortunate and the less fortunate ones. In the large cities they have what is known as the Volunteer movement. By that they mean that someone becomes interested in a certain family and keeps in touch with them for a year or so by frequent calls. Often the family becomes so improved that in a few months it does not seem the same one. After all one of the main reasons for so much suffering now days is the fact that many lose their friends and soon think .that everything is against them. These Volunteers often revolutionize a family and put them on their feet and start them out again. Blaine started this morning for Winnipeg, Montreal, where he will be the assistant secretary of a charity board in that city. He is making a splendid success of his work, much to the satisfaction of his many friends here.