Henry Baird Favill, AB, MD, LL.D., 1860-1916, a ... - University Library

292 HENRY BAIRD FAVILL
the forces of these private organizations with individuals
who are satisfactory. This in spite of the fact that the
community is full of individuals, but there is no correct
and sure way of assembling them. To be sure, this situation
is being proved in a measure. People are too busy,
and it drops into the way of being executed by experts,
and yet what do experts involve? Experts involve money;
they involve pay of salaries, and they involve large amounts
of money for the carrying on of any of the activities —
which brings us to the next element of instability; that
is to say, the pecuniary element. It is well known that
the pecuniary factor in this situation is a difficult one.
Pecuniarily, these organizations are always in a bad condition.
Nothing is more deadly than that. Nothing is
more stifling. There is no such psychological drag anywhere
as to have a doubt and uncertainty as to whether
you can possibly get money enough from the public, no
matter how generous, to carry on a definite line of work.
It goes without saying that if there is money in the community,
some plan should be found whereby that money
can be readily and certainly found.
Get it and expend it without taking away from the
skilled workers their energy and system and their inspiration
in the struggle to raise the money.
And the second thing that I would call your attention
to, as inadequate in the foundations of our private sympathies,
is lack of authority. Wherever there is a public
activity going on, there comes a point where there is a
clash between public interest and public prejudice. I do
not care whether it is a milk-supply, or vaccination, or
plumbing, or housing, or juvenile court, or tuberculosis;
wherever it is, there is a clash between the agencies of the
activity and the general static condition we call public
prejudice.
Until the public as a whole assume responsibility for
activities,
until they get behind these movements and until