Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-04-07
STREET BEGGING.

From the Philadelphia Record,

Attention.
From the Philadelphia Record.
The question Of how to deal with that class Of
humanity known as street-beggars has vexed
many philanthropic SOUL For fear of refusing
to give to one who is worthy 1t is quite too much
the custom of the benevolent to bestow aims
Unfortunately. Such giving is not produc-
tive OF the greatest good in any case and has
proven to be the source of much evil. The con-
stantly increasing number of mendicants upOn
our thorOughfares is an evidence of the evils of
lndlscrirninate charity. The Great Teacher said:
~ have the poor always with you" Under this
text the Rev. Dr. Charles F. Deems, in the cur
rent number OF The North American Rerieac.
eiucidates the difference between the
poor and the ''paupers," and offers
some suggestions worthy the consd-
Grafton of the beneyOlently inclined He
says that while all paupers may be poor, all poor
are not paEpers- Paupers are ordinarily poor
people. whose poverty is due to themselves
lie uses the word Ordinarily" because it is pos
sible that certain poor fall into the class of pau
pers for lack of delicacy which perhaps ought
not to be expected of them. He considers it
safe to conclude. however. that almost all beg
CARS are paupers. and not more than one in a
thousand of those who infeSt the streets is
proper subject for aims. The worthy poor rarely
beg; those who have the greatest claim upon
our charity will perish in silence; but they are
always with us. To cultivate our moral sense
so that We shall become quick to detect the
actual needs OF others and swift to relieve their
necessities was the divine command The
worthy poor are to be helped and the unworthy
are to be cured, says DR.. Deems. But how to
do the work of healing Is problem. The sug-
gestions of the reverend DOCTOR however might,
II adopted, go a long way toward it's solution
He thinks that the teaching in our churches and
schools should go to the root of the matter.
Every human being should be taught that he
Is born debtor, not creditor, to humanity. 1t
must be shown that the possession of great
wealth excuses no one The sons of the rich
should feel their responsibility. The 'gilded
youth of the avenue, the daintily dressed
young fellows who go months without day of
mental or manual labor, should be made to feel
that thew are the trilled tramps' at one end of
society and no more to be respected by thought
fui men than the shirtless 'tramps' at the other
end Indeed, it will be well to stir the con-
sciences OF the men who spend whole days in
utter ldlencSs or saunterng or gazing vacanty
from the windows of our fashionable club
houses, by agtating among them the question
how far they are responsible for the street.
be@gars, who are often asking themselves the
question why they should not be fed without
work. seeing that their genteel brothers do not
work and yet fare sumptuOusly."
Secondly. He proposes that each resident Of
a city make himself acquainted with the sOcie-
ties already existing for the relief of the needs
OF various classes. and as each applicant comes
let him be sent to the institution provided for
his case.
Thirdly. "Let each citizen sond all those who
may apply to him for aid to some special society
which he may select, stating frankly that he
does not give pecunary assistance to any who
are not known to him. This work may be facil-
itated by carrying the cards of the society in
one pocket. In the jOrity of cases the card
VIII probably be thrown away" The ordinary
street-betgar is too sharp to invite inspection
of his Dretenses.
Fourthly. The writer considers it duty which
every good citizen owes to himself that he
should give some time to the attentive con-
sheraton OF the poor who come under his i'm
mediate observation" This, however, would
seem to be a matter for every one to settle with
his own conscience, and not materially affecting
the cure of street-begging.
Fifthy. "All good citizens should unite in
seeing that wise laws are framed and promptly
enforced against mendicancy to the execution
OF which every man should be willing to con-
tribute time and effort, as well as mOI.ey. To
every man who says Il would work if l could
get work to do should be given the reply of a
house provided. to which he should be compelled
to 90. and where he would find some work
which he should be compelled to do The pro-
duct OF the work probably would not meet the
expenses OF the establishment, but the balance
could be procured by enlisting the interest of
philanthrOpic men of means"
PauperlSin is that which hurts society at large
TO the question. What must we do to eliminate
that which produces paupersm?" Dr. Deems
makes answer: First, we must abstain from
everything which tends to offer a premium to
those who are willing to live off the toll of
others; and second, we must strive to destroy
that willingness in individual cases by moral
Reform" The thriftless and incompetent, he
says. are tine most difficult to deal with. Patient
instruction is what they need. But it is so irk-
some for man of robust and energetic char
acter to tolerate those who are born inefficient
succeeds. ShOn6 iCf no
question which the successful ask He who has
never had any sickness can have no conception
OF the burden which that man bears who has
secret malady or perpetual invisible weakness;
much less can he have sympathy. AS it is with
the body, so it is with the character.