, 1881-10-16
PAUPER. PROBLEMS.

What TO Do with n Larrc and Grnxu
Ing Class OF Non-Producers. bu
Healthy Consumers.
. Mr. W. }. Ella. President Of the Chicago Phil
osopn1cat society. read paper before that bod
last night in Apollo Hall on the subfect. Wn,
shal! be done with our paupcrsY' The utte,,danc
was moderate. The Rev. Dr. Thomas was an In
teFested listener to tho PAPER When he en-.
tered the nall few minutes before tho reud
ing commenced, there was set up quite an en-.
fhusastfc clapptng OF hands and stamping n,
1cet' all of which Dr. Thomas acknowledged
| with q graceful bow
Mr Efa's paper was full OF Interest and sta
'''t'es' and was quite lengthy. lie began by
| stattnR that nineteen centuries ago 1t cost onlr
"nat would now he 81 to reur u boy up to man-
mood; now four-tifths OF aIl mankind worked nil
u une ~ors'nR hours, and remained puor. 1t
required t] @ no more food or clothing now than it
az then to sustain life, so why had
the cost increased SO ENORMOUSLY; The %
as Iauit could cnnld be traccl to civilization.
! were the demands made upon indiyid,,oi mari
| Dess Or society rs the demands increased. The
III hunger OF people who we're unwilling TO acce,Ie
4 man moderately wen OF a hundred or 'so
@ years ago would he poor nun today. Pauper-
NEVER A SPORADIC DISEASE,
but would always be connected with the ovreat
uuesuons OF social sclence--questlons Of land.
taxaton, law. property, aud so on, Dut na,1-
sn pexs ioua 10 ra De REDUCED and the question was
1lclent interest tuken in the rraut
question nsa TO furnish any statistics reid i've
rnereo It vas supposed. for cny time TINT
Paupers were NOT Indigenous to this free ann
GLORIOUS country. but it was gradually coming
70 nG Understood that tho paupers had furnished
IN the census Of 1851 cfurt was nude II, show
statstics s on tue panper q'les11on, nd il might
, oe sate1 estimated lint there we're enst as
tne} were to be found ut the rure ar
thrse to loo Prot. Royce estimated 'e that at
rate Of four to 100. But En1iund was oid ma
cr!t;;waeds having 2Gs persons to every sot,nre
mli.e a Ut land. while this country had only four-
o. panpertsm IN this country was alarming, and |
1ne commanding feature Of tile problem ,rns |
staet m''s nvf Wins ader nny ut all
.no condition was slightly i'm proved In Nav
York, however, =" A'e"
PAuPEE!sM INCREASED GOO PER CENT -
rom the year 1870 to $780, although the popula
t1on m only doubled In thut time.
. 1ne English Poor law was without doubt tha /
2 ane most likely to reduce pauperisn-it Ind re-
yer +, ,paIHRsr1s in faet In ls9 the
[s.l 81 at the rate Of U-lo to lO0 and in 1S;o at
me rate of three to 10J This law WITS The same
to!e to work was made to labor in tho work
,ouse ,o at less wages than he could earn
" gas Sol9nt4sy enrnyyp labSr .hat and gradua
sas the most desirable. In England Enriand, tou anoe tne
lnnbcr OF paupcrs bud been reduced by orxnn~
1,.ug ,ug tue chnritlcs and preventing. by meuus of
i. ,a.s!uauoas, donations to unwurlny uppljclnts
n1s system Ut organized charities had becn |
aopted 4u lndfanupo!is, Ccyelund. Detrnit, and !
ne or two other small Western cities. The pop. r
lar county system, in vogue in this Country
'as taken from the English plan OF 100 ur aSl
ears ago. It had long been discarded rs d faiI- G
rs across the Atlantic. The Illinois aims h
ouses were particularly distinRujshabl. far | ;,
le'r filth, dirt, poor ventilation, moor manaue- | =
lent. And ntnorulisy Of minutes; and the Tank | >
ounty Alfnshouse was probably y
THE WORST OF THE LOT
$ atmosphere and scenes werc absolutely ra f
1!ting. b
The obstacles in the wny Of following after b
70 English system were the corrupt condition | p
politics In the civil service and the tuuilsh II
nttlnentaEity Of the people regarding tho pau-. "
II. = charity commissioner was too apt to he | p
politician, nl1d the seuriulentality Of the pec- IL
Z WAS opposed TO separating pauper man "
ON their pauper wives. although it had beer | y
own beyond the possibility of doubt that II
uperism wuS hereditary. ri
another way Of uprootiug pauperisin WIS to Il
ucate the puupeF children, and to educate ali ~
iidrcn tn the Industrial branches Eventually tn
9 public schools of this country would he pro- Il
1ed with industrial branches This reform. ST
sether with the others mentioned as bei,1E | pit
.ctlced 50 successfully in England, would re- In
ce pauperlSm.