THE PROBLEM OF POVERTY 345
stand in fitting relation to the number of those seeking help. In this regard, the greatest success is displayed by the communities which are able to raise a sufficient number of volunteer helpers who enter into intercourse with the indigent in the spirit of brotherly love. Herein lie the roots and the power of the Elber- feld system, already referred to. The paid helper is perhaps better trained, but he lacks that vital element of love which distinguishes the voluntary helper. It is true that the voluntary-assistance office must have rooted itself in law and custom, as has been predomi- nantly the case in German communities. This custom hardly exists in England and America. Hence the predominance of indoor over outdoor poor-relief in both these countries. In its place, however, America and England can point to a very great develop- ment in the sphere of private charity, which centers in the chari- table organizations and societies, and offer here wider oppor- tunities not only to volunteer helpers but also to paid workers who are trained by various plans and now by highly developed schools of philanthropy. The most valuable assistance rendered by woman makes itself conspicuous in the sphere of private charity, and leads to the demand, now advanced alike in all civilized states, that in public poor-relief woman shall have equal rights and duties with man.
The method of rendering assistance is closely bound up with the question of the organization of poor-relief. The German preference for outdoor relief is without doubt a result of the old custom of employing the help of volunteer assistants. In England the great reform of 1834 established as the very test of indigency the readiness of the applicant for help to enter an institution in which he had to forego his freedom of movement and many of his accustomed enjoyments of life. Whether this demand is expe- dient or not is today a matter of much dispute. The transactions of the National Conference of Charities, and the reports of state boards and of the English Central Poor Board, contain numerous discussions of the matter. That the number of those receiving assistance is lessened by a stringent application of the principle is without doubt. But, on the other hand, it remains doubtful \\hether in this way adequate relief is in all cases afforded, and
