The Jeffersonian. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1853-1911, 1872-03-07
PauperiSm in New York.

While its pauperism is its shame, the
charity of New York is its glory, aud
covers a multitude of its sins The city
has one hundred and five private charities
fully organized and constantly engaged
in succoriug the distressed. Such institu-
tions as the Five Points Mission, the
Childrens Aid Society, the several orphan
asylums, homes for the INDECENT, and
hospitals for the sick, which are mainly
supported by private funds, are aggressive
charities. They seek suffering insteand
of waiting for it to seek them, as almoners
of public funds most always do, and they
find vast deal more of it. While they
do not wait for the last extremity of dis
tress before extending relief, they dis
cover cases of poverty as urgent as any
which have been stated, and many only
a little less urgent, which never come to
the knowledge of the public function
aries. In the relief of such destitution
as they find, these private charities
expend more money annually than is re-
quired by the Commissioners of Charities
and Correction for all the sick, destitute,
and criminals coming into their charge.
1t is therefore apparent that hardly half
the pauperism of the city is matter of
official knowledge, and the gaunt legion
of %, 1872 starving people is but frac-
tion of the army of misery which the city
can muster. .s
Another aud perhaps more sorrowful
phase of human helplessess is found in
the public hospitals; and it is equally
convincing proof of the fact that New
York in her youth is afflicted with the
disease of pauperiem to an extent normal
only to a city in its decrepitude. Bellevue
Hospital at the foot of East Twenty sixth
street, and Charity Hospital on Black
wells Island, which are the two great
receptacles for the sick and injured
thrown upon the public authorities, last
year received 1870 patients. OF this
army of the helpless, many when in health
were self-sustaining, but all, with few
exceptions among the victims of street
accidents, belonged to the class that is
constantly doing uncertain battle with
the wolf at the door, so that if disabled
even for day they must receive charity
In this sense they are paupers and to be
added to the public burdens. Besides
these, the hospitals for contagious diseases
received during the year 6,l65, and the
Bureau for the Relief of Out door Sick
prescribed for 16,S50 persons, who be-
come paupers for the hour by some simple
sickness for which they could not provide
the means of relief. Grouping now all
the poor for general view of this
metropolitan misery, [ must add to the
list the 4,3l5 permanent inmates of the
public almshouses, which brings the startl
ing total of &c, ,2S6 persons dependent dur.
ing the year upon the public charities
To these must be added at least so ,00O
succored by the private agencies making
a grand total of 1l6,2S6 human beings
who, in the year 1870, in this city OF
New York, were the recipients OF
elemosynary aid. This shows the poverty
of the city complete but to see its
poverty, its improvidence, and its crime
at glance, add to the figures given the
40,205 who during the year applied for
work at the Labor Bureau of the Com
missoners of Charities, and the IL ,S49
who became inmates of the various prisons
aud reformatories of the city. Here we
are face to face with the fact that 22S $3.50
out of a population of 942 ,292, or only a
small farctiou less than one-quarter of the
whole population of the city, were de
pendent during the year, in whole or IN
part, upon the other three quarters
''Nethcr Side Of Neto York;" an The
! GalaJy for March.