The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-03-13

1T . POUW OkNevv Yerl~rVvhat should b dome
~ thens-WOEk for tho PhiianthruPast.
In this age Of reform and G ristian philan-
thropy, and in city like ours, distinguished
for the generosity, the benevolence, and the
practical character of IT'S people, it is, we think,
surprising that there 8, Ould be 30 much physic
wretchedness and misery existing in our midst.
There are thousands in New York who have
learned from e sad experience of poverty
what is the smallest amount of wages necessary
to keep body and soul together; young and
delicate women working out their lives in Gel
lars and garrets for a miserable pittance men,
strong and Lardy men, W ose lives are constant
struggles to keep themselves and families from
starvation; children, who, though young in
years, have Leen made lrematurely old by hard
adversely and want. In every large city tap-
pears natural that we should expect to find the
extremes Of wealth and poverty, Of luxury
and Irivation. in Euro can countries this may
be SO; Tut here, where o. ulaton is not cramped,
where there is room for tens Of millions of human
beings, wLere the energies of tie people have
| free scope for their fullest developement-here,
VIII r the laws are mad for the great mass,
!
| should not see such an amount of physical
wretcht dness. Much of this is attributable,
doubtless, to the heartless exactions of employ
ers, to the extortions of spectators, and much
of it is the fault of the sufferers themselves.
OF the three quarters Of million who, accord
ing to the last census live in New York and its
suburbs, betw> en- one and two hundred thousand
are Of foreign birth. The majority of these
arrive with no other means of support than
those with which nature has furnished them,
and many after landing become dependent upon
our charitable institutions They take up their
abode among us, crowding into the poorest 10
calities, and increasing the sum total of pauper-
ism. Some Of them are driven by extreme
restitution to the commission of crimes and to
course Of life from which they would other
wise shrink, for pow, rty is bad school for the
incubation Of morality-while others, and they
are many, battle against adversely with
strength of principle which nothing can shake.
Charitable institutions have been established for
their relief the Five Points have in q mea-
sure been -'regained although it is to be
regretted that benevolence there in it's extreme
zeal for the spiritual good Of the poor, has led
to the establishment of rival charities, which in
wrong spirit Of emulation occasionally come
in dangerous collision with each other.
Now, we are not of that class who think that
every enterprise of this character is mere hol-
low display of philanthropy, and that those who
are engaged in it are actuated by selfish and
interested motives; we look upon every move
ment Of the kind with favorable eye, glad
that some efforts are made, though often in
wrong direction, for the relief Of the poor
But while we are willing to accord to all in
situations like those on the Five Points their
due need of praise, when managed with
honesty and with sincere desire to do
good, we believe that more efficient,
more thorough, more practical way of
beneftting the poorer classes could be de-
vised. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are
spent in and out of this city yearly for
the benefit Of the negroes in Borio-
toOlah-gha; for the dissemination of tracts
. among some benighted heather, with an un-
pronounceable name, at the antipodes; or for
the proselytism of poor half-starved emigrants
in our midst-hundreds of thousands of dollars
are, we say, spent yearly in and out of New
York for such purposes, while thousands in our
city are living in extreme poverty. We have
no federation for such telescope philanthropy,
and are as much opposed to it as we are to the
insane theories of Fourierites and communists
Why should we seek for objects of commisse-
ration so far from home, while we have them at
our very door. Let charity become practical
in its operations, for this is practical and ma
terial age, in which every enterprise is judged
only by its results, and by the profit and loss
account which it presents. Has it never oc-
CURED to our philanthropic friends that they
would be doing more real good by expanding
their money in sending the poor out to the
country, away from the abodes of misery, of
destitution and of crime. There the strong
man will find work--healthy and invi-
gorating work-and there he can bring
up his family free from the contami-
mating influences of city life; there his children
may breathe the pure air Of heaven, and want
will never reach them. There is no lack of
work the forests must be cleared away, and
millions of acres Of land are lying uncultivated
for the want of men to till them We can spare
twenty, aye tlrty or forty thousand LOT this
great work, and after all be the gamers by it.
Let those who have the real interest of the poor
working classes at heart establish an association
whose sole object shall be the settlement in the
country Of all who are willing to accept its as
sistance. Give them an opportunity of making
themselves independent, and thus a permanent
benefit will be effected.
The Temporary relief afforded nv manv of orr |
charitable institutions, as well as by individual
benevolence, very frequently does more injury
than good, for it tends to make pauperism a |
profession and takes away every incentive to
manly selfexertion. By procuring employ
ment for the poor in the country, or by
furnishing them there with the, means
of becoming Independent, a great prac-