New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-12-03
THE PROBLEM OF PAUPERISM.

Twenty wears ago, when considerably younger
and more courageous than now, we grapped with
the great problem of Human Destitution and resO-
lutely endeavOred to find and enforce its solution.
We concluded, after some study and thought that
cline was afforded in the system of Cooperation in
Production. Distribution, and Consumption, whereof
the first clear outline was given in the works OF
Charles Fourier. In that faith we labOred and
defed the grossest misrepresentation, the most
knavish abuse and unmerited Obloquy, so long as a
hope remained that any good might thereby be
achieved When it became apparent that the La
boring Glass, as body, had neither faith in nor
desire for its own emancipation from industrial
serfdom, and that the leaders of opinion in the
political, religious, and even the philanthropic
world, had fully resolved not to hear nor compre-
bend what We urged, but to insist that what we
desired and commended was Infdelty Communism,
Free Love, or something else utterly Oathed by us,
we dessted from further effort as a frutless waste
of time and energy that might be turned to better
account. We ask, therefore, for once, TO be dis
tnctly understood as not now propounding any
theory or proposing any change in the social or
industrial conditions under which the worlds work
is performed, and its livelihood such as it is,
achieved. We propose only TO state the great
problem not at all to solve it, but ask Of thinkers,
writers, capitalists, philanthropists, Christians, this
simple question-Bhat do yOa propose to do about
PauperiSm
Manifesty, something must be DONE We speak
not of the manned, the halt the blind, the idiOtc,
the paraytc-the poor whom Christ truly says,
"Ye have always with you these must simply
be supported as they best may. For these, We
build Alms-H endOw Hospitals, and establish
various Public Charities. But, quite apart from
these, more pressing in their requirements, more
formidable in their numbers more appalling in their
steady increase are the legions Of ablebodied but
unemployed persons, who throng the streets of
every city, who saunter through the by-ways of
every village who are found even in almost every
rural school district idle and desperate for good
part Of each Winter because they can find nothing
to do.
Now, il will serve little purpose TO say that these
gaunt egions are deficient in the faculty of finding
or getting wOrk-that they have been miseducated
that they might find work if they would take
such as is to be had. This is not true of all of
them: not nearly true. II all the furnishing seam
stresses and would-be governesses or teachers in
the land were to seek places as cooks and washer
women tomorrow, they would create gut in the
household service market comparable, if not equal,
to that from which they now suffer All our young
men now irving to be merchants clerks or lawyers
could not find employment as coal-heayers and por-
tiers if they were ever earnestly 10 seek it, But
suppose the real evil to be that the unfortunates
simply don't know how to find work, does that rem
der their condition any the less deplorable Is it
sufficient that the blind might do well enough if
they would only seel
Let us try to form some adequate notion of what
even this country annually loses by involuntary
idleness.
In our judgment, founded on pretty extensive
inquiry and observation, there are at this moment
and usually for at least hall the year. One Hundred