Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-12-15
Our Poor.

Elitor Rutland Herald Gen. Graut
appears to have seized upon, and applied
practically great principle, in his recent
ly adopted Indian policy; a principle
worthy of being considered and acted
upon by every State, city, town and viii
lage throughout the land. The principle
is this: that the State is bound to protect,
and provide for, as its "gards," those who
are too old, or too young, too feeble,
too .imbecile, or las in the case OF
the Indians) too ignorant and unoivilized
to take care of themselves, and who have
no friends to care for them bit that the
State can only properly care for such
wards, when it uses as its agents those
who from Christian motives look upon all
who are poor and afflicted as their
brethren, and ask no greater privilege
than to be allowed TO minister to them.
There is hardly village so small as not
to have some unfortunates under its care.
The Overseer of the Poor is an officer re-
oognized in almost every village or town
corporation, but in many cases may it not
be asked, "Who oversees the overseer"
Would it be an unhesrd of thing if that
officer should often consider it his chief
duty TO save the towns money, even if
that were done by grinding the faces of
the poor and sometimes when they are
too numerous, or too unfortunate, paying
the fare to some town beyond the State
limit of some mother with one or more
little children, there to starve, or take to
bad courses as she preferred
l have no desire to accuse or attack any
one. To take proper care of the poor is a
hard and thankless office. To be con-
tinually assaulted by needy but often shift
less, ungrateful applicants is more likely to
harden than to soften the heart of man
of average humanity. To give man abso-
lutte power to do what he pleases, provided
on the one hand that no one died by the
roadside, and on the other, that the select
rnen make no complaint that he is not suf-
fioiently economical, to give him the con-
troll of houseful of Improbable, feeble,
pevish old people, children, and bed rid
den paralytics, on farm so remote and
inaccessible that no one knows and few
care what is done with them, nor how
they live and die,-is to confer such an
amount of irresponsible power as will
make of man of only ordinary selfish
ness and hardness, an absolute tyrant,
and to add an intolerable sting to the suf-
ferings of the poor.
I will not now any further take up
your time, but will briefly state the points
I wish to make.
First-That the Christian people Of
every town should arouse themselves to
inquire what ought to be done for the re-
lief of the poor, the instruction of the
young, the spiritual and physical con-
ISOLATION of the old, the sick, the bedridden
in their own community remembering
who is it that will one day say to them
"Inasmuch az ye did, or did it not, unto
one of the least of these, ye did, or did il
not unto mew
Secondly-That the officers should fol.
low the example of our Chief Magistrate
in calling to their aid the Christian minis.
tiers aud laymen of all denominations, in
order that they may be assisted to temper
justice with mercy, and to mingle the
|, doing of aims with Christian charity,
and the keeping life within the body with
spiritual food for the immortal sonl. II
, would cost nothing to do this, it would
; relieve untold misery, 1t would prevent
, unnumbered crimes.
Thirdly-The town poorhousc should
; not be perched on the top of an inaccessi
BILE hill, central only from the fact that il
is equally hard to reach from whichever
direction 1t is attempted; nor should the
road leading to 1t be 30 little better than
an OK track, SO steep, 80 full of stones and
: holes that sick paupers die while being
jolted over it.
/ have called attention to this subject
. only because know too many narrowing
3 facts connected with it to keep silence any
: longer. would not be understood to say
that ! consider one village more to blame
r than another. Probably in all our rural
districts these things are managed nearly
in the same way. But let each town looA
' to itself. Let Rutland do 50, and when
abuses call for reform, let our motto moi
J. be SEMrER IDEM always the same.)