The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-14

Soup Kitchens and Their Advantages.
At o time like the present it is necessary to
resort to extraordinary measures to relieve
distress. 1t may be conceded that to COM
pietely relieve is impossible but that society,
In order to give the best effect to benevolence.
must restrict its efforts to what is plainly
possible. 1t Is scarcely possible to give good
ire to oil who are cold or to put comfortable
flannel on all the shivering little ones. or to
add good meat to the meagre fare of those
who need it, for people who have any food.
though 1t be not the best, or any clothes,
though thin, or any home, though cold one.
will not class themselves with those dependent
on charity. Such as cannot be reached bv
simple, uncomplicated measures are without
the pale of general assistance. Nor does
public remedy propose to help those that can
subsst without it,
Society can at least prevent starvation.
That may not be the limit of what can be-
done but society addresses itself mainly, as
we understand it, to relieving extreme misery.
and to do this, we believe, soup kitchens are
a good practical means, simply because they
involve the least possible machinery and leave
the largest proportion of money to be devoted
to the purchase of food. No other system of
charitable aid Of which we have heard is SO
economical in this respect In great cities
they have generally been opened in some
places connected with public service, as now
it is proposed to open them in station houses
or similar places here. Thus the charity
escapes the charge of rent. AS soup houses
are the remedy for on occasion and are not
permanent, the service is generally per-
formed either by persons in public en-
ployment or by the benevolent whose
service is gratuitous. So there is but
little to be paid for salaries /; some
utensils are to be bought, and save for that
small reduction all the money the charitable
may give is actually spent for food and fuel.
Let those who look upon this as q small fact
sened by the expense of administering ordi-
nary charities. In a donation now in process
Of administration Mr.. Delmonico gives his
services gratuitously in the organization of
soup houses, and this generosity is itself
equal to large addition, for the regular char
ity-mongers would in such cases charge against
the fund the salary of a superintendent
It is objected that soup houses do not re-
lieve class of poor that are ashamed to have
their misery known. This may be true, but
is not shown by experience. We have it only
as the opinion of some empty-headed specu-
lators in benevolence But if it be true there
is no reason why the charitably disposed should
not hunt up these silent sufferers and carry
nutriment from the soup houses to their
homes. But the police. we believe, are apt to
| know all such cases. and there is enough true
charity in them to help such as keep away
from sense of shame. Another point is
that if the police assist in the distribution Of
public charity-and their assistance is usually
part of the soup kitchen machinery-the So
called voluntary paupers can be restrained and
kept away There seems to us, however, to
be an undue apprehension of this class
Some superhuous persons will profit In every
case where charity comes to the assistance Of
the wretched, and it is our opinion that not
the ''bummers, but the canting hypocrites
who administer charity on fat salaries, are the
worst Of these
CHEAPER TRANSFORMATIONS FOR THE WORR-