THE ANNUAL CHARITIES REGISTER AND DIGEST, 1924-25. (Longmans. 7s. 6d.
net.) CivaurY in its financial sense is not one of the Christian virtues ; it is a bounden duty. But charity, thoughtlessly applied, may very well be one of the deadly sins, and it is certainly an effective form of misanthropy. Most of us can do no better than entrust our contributions to the experience and resources of such institutions as the Charity Organization Society. However, those who wish to act independently should first consult this classified register of London charities. Although untrustworthy institutions are excluded, the book must be used with thought. A few reputable societies, quite unwisely, do not supply details of their income and expendi- ture; many overlap and .cause congestion in their special fields; some, with excellent intentions, unwittingly encourage pauperism and mendicancy, and are therefore economically unsound. While this wastage of effort is deplorable, the Charities Register provokes the consoling thought that there exists a remedy for almost every kind of misfortune, and it is itself the pharmacopoeia that indicates and shows how to apply those remedies.
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