St. Landry democrat., 1880-02-14
Does Charity Pay.
IN. @, CITY Iten.l

y. ". t-tJ Ittii.1
The announcement that the New
York Herald has beaded d subscription
to the Irish relief fluid with the
magnificent gift of hundred thousand
dollars, will naturally suggest the query
to many readers Does charity pay 2
In this very practical and probably
hard hearted age, immense donations
for charitable purposes are probably tar
more common than even III ages OF
faith, when every celebrated shrine or
cathedral was enriched with the gifts OF
kings, and edifices were erected 10y
religious sentiment which no modern
architect can immltate and no modern
civilization can attempt to rival.
Works of charity in these days,
however, take a more practical shape
than those of preceding centuries.
Purses of gold are not flung to beggars
or silver largess distributed to gaping
crowds; but we have fine hospitals and
asylums unknown in the past. For
tunes are not expended in the purchase
of useless ornaments for places OF
worship, but are btqneathed to educa-
tioual establishments with a better
purpose Nevertheless, while this age,
as Judged by its works, is beyond all
question an age of great charities, it is
also a VIGOROUSLY skeptical one, AM,
its greatest eleeMnsynary deeds are
performed by men who are evidently
not influenced merely by evangelical
religion nor IumanltarlaE compdsSlnII
for suffering. 1t was IL European Jew.
not Christian, who did not hesitate to
pay all the Indebtedness of all the
merchants Of Hamburg wien the cl'y
was ruined by conha grafton it was a
jew who offered to support All tn,
inhabitants of Memphis durlng liis'
recent epidemic, and who sent aid to Il
famine stricken population Oh the
Kansas frontier. We believe that boi!i
these men are religious according tU
their own creed !; yet their charity can
not be regarded us an act of piety 10y
ANY means. We do not know whether
it should even be considered as
begotten by compassion. Men who dc
not scruple to use the enormous power
of enormous wealth to ruin hundreds OF
merchants in IL single day, are not
likely to be very sensitive to human
suffering. We might give large
number of instances of great charity
prompted, to all appearance, neither 10y
religion nor by humanity. In such case>
we can only answer that the good work
was prompted by Il desire for popularity
a sudden spasm OF remorSe, or Il
practical knowledge OF the fact that
charity pays from IL business point OF
view. And as the last suppOsition is
far more sensible than either of the
first two, we feel strongly tempted to
accept it under certain conditions
The natural philanthropist who builds
a college or endows an asylum belongs
to another category. TO him work OF
charity is work OF pleasure. Charity
is his amusement, his pastlme, the most
agreeable method OF spending money he
hungry for gain that his path through
the world is strewn with victims, like
the way traversed by the car of Jngger-
naut, and that every thousand dollars
in his grasp represents the wreck Of a
hnman life, can not be generally
believed to perform charity merely fol
charity's sweet sake alone. lie has in
all probability discovered that charity
paws in business and he only casts his
bread upon the waters that it may
return to him after as short time as
possible. The person who paid the
Indebtedness of q ruined city well
knew that once restored to prosperity
by his sole aid that city would repay
him hundred fold. But the value OF
the good work is not impaired by the
analysis of its motion. SO long as the
charity is given judiciously, wisely,
justly, as only shrewd business man
knows how to give, the merit remains.
The Importance Of human action is
shown rather by its results than by its
motives; and we may even observe
that the charity bestowed simply from a
business point of view is usually caleu-
lated to do more good than any other,
because it is administered by a man
who knows how to make his money do
all the good that money is capable of
doing, and who is too shreWd ajudge of
human nature to be deceived by
pretended woes and melted by crocodile
tears.