Devine, Edward T. Principles of relief. [**]$2. Macmillan.
Dr. Devine’s experience as general secretary of the New York charity organization society has put him in vital touch with the practical aspects of a great cause. His convincing treatment is arranged under four heads: Part I “is a strong, clear, logical presentation of the essential ‘principles of relief.’ The fundamental and most fruitful idea of this discussion is that there is a normal standard of living which can be known and approximately measured, and that all relief work is to be judged by its success in aiding social debtors to find their place in a normal and well-balanced life.... In Part II is printed a most interesting and instructive collection of typical relief problems.... Part III is a sketch of certain aspects of relief. Part IV gives the story of relief methods at times of disaster.” (Am. J. Soc.)
“While a certain amount of repetition of thoughts already published was inevitable in a systematic treatise, every chapter and paragraph has its justification. Looking back over the literature of charity produced during the last twenty years in America, we are bound to place this volume in the very front rank, with few companions in the specific field; and we must regard it as indispensable to the serious student of the general subject.” Charles Richmond Henderson.
| + + + | Am. J. Soc. 10: 554. Ja. ‘05. 670w. |
“In it are brought to consciousness, perhaps for the first time fully, the underlying principles on which the charity organization society movement is based. Moreover it undertakes to give a comprehensive statement of the elementary principles upon which all relief giving, whether public or private, should rest; and it correlates these principles with the general facts of economics and sociology in such a way as to leave no doubt in the mind of the reader that the author has mastered his subject. The point of view of the book is constructive throughout; and it is safe to say that for many years to come it will be, both for the practical worker and for the scientific student, the authoritative work upon the ‘principles of relief.’ I cannot help feeling, after careful reading, that the book shows too much the bias of the author’s personal field of labor. Its point of view is too exclusively that of the charity organization society worker.” Charles A. Ellwood.
| + + | Ann. Am. Acad. 25: 143. Ja. ‘05. 870w. |
“No one who is interested either historically or practically in the subject of charity can afford to neglect this volume.” Winthrop More Daniels.
| + + | Atlan. 95: 556. Ap. ‘05. 340w. |
“The book will help us to give a quantitative value to our vague notions about the standard of living and the minimum wage; and no writer has applied this definite standard to the methods of poor relief more thoroughly. Especially valuable to a student is the analysis of typical relief problems, which enables one to arrive at principles of relief much as a study of court decisions takes one to the heart of legal principles. The work will be recognized as one of the chief contributions on this vital subject.” Charles Richmond Henderson.
| + + + | Dial. 38: 155. Mr. 1, ‘05. 330w. |