The Sunday herald., 1882-03-19
4 DEBT IND ITS DISCHARGE

=" The Associated Charities - organization
is pursuing its good work with energy and
success. Branches are rapidly forming in all
sections of the city, and soon every inhabited
block will be well covered by agents and
district visitors. 1t is gratifying to see that
funds and willing hands seem to be coming
forward il numbers that it may be hoped
will before long be quite adequate to the
immense task. A class of intelligent and
cautious persons are now enlisted who viewed
with distrust previous methods of almost in
discriminate giving; and such as before were
Jealous will now find that there is not less but
more TO be done in this new method of help.
ing the helpless to set themselves on their
feet, il possible. Nor is this merely like the
former Labor Exchange" for it combines
free aims where necessary-as in cases of
immediate want, corporal infrmity, or lack
of employment. Though its chief and most
exacting demand is for places, work and
wages for its wards, it will also undertake to
apply or direct the application of all the
food, money, and clothing that is likely to
come forward, provided it is not offered as a
substitute for employment, and in a way to
pauperize and break down the self-respect of
the recipients, which last is the main hope
of their elevation from the slough of beg
gary. We would this week merely throw
out the suggestion, in helping on this re-
form OF charity all we can, that it is of spe-
cial interest, for several reasons, to all good
householders, and puts them under weighty
obligations to the "cause." All of them
must have noticed the difficulty of getting
and keeping, we willnot say good servants,
bnt servants suierably bad. A month is
the average term of service for the husses
and trollops, the hoodlums and sturdy
loafers who troop through Washington
kitchens, dining-rooms, stables, and offices
in endless procession, more like a maurading
army marrying the countryside than peace
full domestics. No crime is more common
here (nor more inadequately punished, by
the way, in the Police Court than robb cries
from masters and mistresses by house SER
wants. combining with larceny species of
/
petty treason, or at least embezzlement. Yet
householders must still continue to take on
fresh servants with little or no proper refer
ence, perhaps just out of the jail or penten-
tiary, " from their last place." or consent to
see work lying undone or do it themselves
for weeks at time, while looking out for a
recommended " servant at any reasonable
price. In brief, is it not apparent that one
great cause of this dearth must be the IN
discriminate alms-giving in which the Gov
been engaged for years Persons who have
neither natural industry, high desires, or
self-respect to spur them on, will neither
work themselves nor set or teach their child
rem to work unless they are impelled by
sharp necessity. This incentive it has ap-
parently been the work of all the agencies
named above to remove as much as possible.
Food, fuel, light, clothing, and medicines
have been showered around certainly without
any thorough or cooperative investigation, so
that in many cases double, triple, or indef-
nitely multiplied relief has heen afforded to
the same tribe of professional "askers," who
often end by getting quartered on the Gov
ernment service under one OF the reflex
effects of the vicious spoils System. But We
specially speak ofthe class that ought to afford
our house servants, and which has thus been
to large extent corrupted and spoiled
ignorantly, indeed, but not altogether
blamelessly-by those responsible. With
the good year 1882 We hope better order Of
things has been set in train, and the least
that househOlders can do toward this result
is to aid the working of the Associated
Charities.