The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1864-04-22
Fashionable Begging.


A mania seems to exist just now in our
city for begging. Not that the poor and
really needy are asking aims, but that
sort of fashionable public mendicancy has
he ONE quite the rage. Every public con-
Germ seems to rest on eleemosynary
foundations, anil not to be SIR BENEv-
CLIENT or LAZY CHARITY is to lose cast
and public countenance at once.
Every matter of any public interest
must be tortured and its management so
shaped as to afford opportunity for a gen.
eral crusade after subscriptions and dona-
tons 1t seems to have become an actual
passion with some people to sally forth on
the public on dunning excursions; and
private benevolence or liberality is es.
chewed altogether. So fashionable and
universal has become this penchant for
begging that it has been remarked, that
probably private muniticent gift, for any
purpose, would be returned to the donor
in order to permit these aimoners to harry
the public with their lead pencil and in
terminable subscription lists.
"Will you take a ticket, STRIP" meets
you on every corner; and some PAUL or
PAULINE Pay pops in on you at almost sny
moment.
1t is truly wonderful how so many of
these homo missionaries of fashionable
charity. who seldom, if ever, give any
thing themselves, can afford to devote so
much of their time to this self assuming
work of super-excellent benevolence But
perhaps the answer to this is, that some
people are forever hating between the two
opinions; whether the public belongs to
them or they t, the public.
We contend that everybody has the
same right to the untrammelled exercise
of their own free intelligence respecting
their own ability or the prcpriety of their
donations to charity, religion or the pub
lie, as they have upon any other subjects;
and thai these intensified apostles of uni.
versal philanthrophy have no more right
to set upon and coerce theic neighbors to
conform with the measure Of liberslty
they prescribe than they have to lay down
domestic rules for their neigbbors' fami-
lies. 1t is true one is not compelled to re-
spOnd to all these solicitations, but then
along comes the subscription list, headed
at high figure, and circulated by one of
the exclusively benevolent. Your friend
JONES or SMITH, of the same pursuit as
yourself has subscribed generously and
you must do likewise or be a marked mean
man forever afterwards.
1t is MOI asserted that the people as a
body, even through the coercion of these
appliances, contribute too much for any
proper purpose; but complaint is made
bscause all the spirit of charity, philan.
thropy, or patriotism, is extracted from
these forced levirs thus collected. The
poor are compelled to give more than they
ought, while the wealthy pay less than
they are able to, and consider that their
discharge Of their public subscription re-
leases them from all further demands.
In this way, tor, people are comp He'd
to contribute Unfortunately to unwo thy
as we'll as meritorious objects. We must
sui scribe for crutotes for lame grasshop-
pers, as well as for the support o. the sick
and poor We mu t take chances in the
lottery for the green cheese in the moon, if
on, benevolent sisters and brothers get it
up in the name of charity, humanity, or
patriotism But it is generally found that
the unsel6sh and altogether charitable
originators of these schemes 50 manage
these affairs as to get all the credit at
tached to the enterprise. 1t sometimes
happens, too, that they do not come oct
losers in a pecunia'y way, since many SO
contrive that the wheat that they garner
for charity shall be threshsd in their own
barns.
These things have become matters, of
extreme public annoyance, and tile really |
charitable people of ou- city begin to look
upon these good "a naritans as iutolerable
bores.i Our business ,nen are unable to
comply with one half Of the demands in
this way made upon them. In fact, to lie |