occasion of Schiff’s $10,000 gift to the Sanitarium for Hebrew Children,
did the burdens fall only on a few committed ones? The banker too com-
plained of American Jews whose apathy in response to relief needs was
“shocking and discouraging.” He also criticized those who did give for
often limiting contributions to hospitals and poor relief and ignoring
schools and cultural institutions.^42
During the period corresponding roughly to the Progressive era in
American history (1890–1916), the scope and methods of Jewish charities
were undergoing major changes. Not only did the number of new agencies
mushroom (close to 1,200 by 1909) but they took on more specialized activ-
ities. There was one bureau that focused on wife desertion, another that
provided day care for children, and still another that dealt with juvenile de-
linquents. As in general American circles, the movement for “charity organ-
ization” was spreading. Among other things, it sought to put relief opera-
tions on an orderly and rational basis and to encourage coordination among
separate agencies. Attuned to the Progressive emphasis on efficiency, ex-
perts such as social scientists and trained social workers increasingly urged a
scientific approach to the multiple facets of charitable institutions.^43
Ultimately, the new approach prevailed, usually weakening the influ-
ence of individual patrons. The latter continued their contributions, but
their personal leadership and involvement waned. Not so in the case of
Schiff. Self-confident and domineering and a man praised by contempo-
raries for his commitment to social betterment,^44 he made use of scientific
experts, but he was hardly likely to abdicate control to trained technocrats.
His years of philanthropic service spanned the transitional period between
the old and the new approaches; but even as he incorporated modern ideas
and methods into his activities, the banker took old-style paternalistic lead-
ership to a dramatic climax.
A young Jacob Schiff joined the ranks of Jewish philanthropists before he
established permanent residence in New York. In perhaps the earliest no-
tice of the man by the press, the Jewish Timesof 1871 recorded his contri-
bution to Mount Sinai Hospital. Other sources for the 1870s reveal his
support of the Hebrew Benevolent and Orphan Asylum, the newly
founded United Hebrew Charities, the YMHA, and the Hebrew Free
School Association. One friend recalled the banker’s personal association
with the free schools: “[Schiff] offered prizes for essays that were read at
the anniversary of his parents’ death, and at these times he usually visited
the schools and said Kaddish,the anniversary prayer for the dead. Often he
himself read the evening service [in Hebrew].” On the lighter side, he be-
came active in the Purim Association, whose annual masked charity balls
brought out the city’s Jewish elite. Early on, appearing unrecognized at
Leadership and Philanthropy 57