The Portland daily press., 1868-02-26
Paaperi.n, vagraney, Crlme.

A society called the Citizens Association of
Philadelphia, was chartered year or two ago
by the Legislature of Pennsylvania. Its OBJ
ject to provide suitable establishment for
the reform and care of inebriates. The Leg
islature imposed the duty oil investigating the
causes of pauperism, yagrancy and crime, and
the remedies. ota
In the discharge of this duty, the agents OF
the association have visited many jails, poor
houses and charitable institutions to obtain
the information they desired, and the result
of their labors and investigations has been
recently laid before the Legislature in an
elaborate report. The association designates
the inmates OF these establishments as g the
poor and dependent population OF the State"
and divides them into classes: First-Pau-
pers, all who are supported at public expense
in work-houses, or otherwise, By overseers OF
the poor. Second-Tha: considerable class,
moving about, without house, from county
to county, subsisting by petty tbieying and
beggary, called vagrants. Third-The blind
and iriendless, deaf and dumb, idiotic and in
sane, supported by the State in public institu-
tions. Fourth-Inmates OF the House of
Refuge.
The association has calculated the cost to
the public of the support of these people
class by class, and the figures are as follows:
For the support of the Poor Houses 81 597,-
72O, making a cost OF s2.67 annually, to each
voter in the State. For @,out-door relief.
S190,37G, making 80 cents annually for each
voter. The cost of meals furnished, was S54-
$50 making cents each to every voter; the
gross amount being S20,42 ,246, S3,0S annual
tax on each voter, for the support of the poor
This does not include the cost of "night. lodg-
ings" furnished to multitudes Accommodated In
that way. The number of inmates of the
ials and other prisons of the State is GIG.
The cost OF supporting these is 81, ,464 ,029,
s2.42 annually to each voter a 20
The Report says that fully two-thirds of
the pauperism and crime is chargable to in.
temperance, and sets down the average annu-
al cost ON this account to each voter at 1874.
For the blind, deaf mutes, idiotic and friend
less childen, the proportion OF cost chargable
to intemperanee is set down TT 20 cents to
each voter. The annual total tax on each
voter as the result OF intemperance, is So "a.
The cost of supporting panpers and criminals
made such by intemperance, is 50 2,204,244.
The association thinks that while such
vast sums of money, drawn from the sober
and industrious classes, are spent in taking
care of the effects of intemperance, some of
it may well be devoted to checking or re-
moving the cause OF it.
| The London Times, little while ago, said:
We are al loss to understand that theory
| OF society which admits what, indeed, IS alb
| solutely necessary for our peace and our very
| existence, that we may and must maintain
| an expensive police to protect us from drunk
| enness. to keep watch at the doors OF pub ic
| houses (orocshops) to observe the move
ments of their chief irequenters, and to pro-
tect their victims from being plundered; and
that we must also build prisons, and 20
TO other vast costs TOR the punishment and
correction of offenders who become what
they are by drunkenness-admits all this.
| and then maintains that we ought not to in
terfere at all with the practice itself as to its
hours. 1t says, or any other circumstance
The simple consideration that we must do
the cure, and that the cure is very costly
and difficult, Imposes on us also the duty o. OF
prevention, at least as far as is possible. Sell
| preservation requires that we should stop an
evil where We can, ii we must stop ~ sohe-
| where.