Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-01-17
rAs Poor Hoping Each Other.
lLondon Daily Ncws.l

1uo TOUT AoiPAhw 1"Sh OtAots
lLondon Daily Newsl
Having shown, or endeavored to show,
why the poor sympatize with and help
each other, let me give few instances to
show what practical forms their sympa.
thies invariably take. l shall not Gull
them haphazard here and there, but all
from the same neighborhood, which has
furnished the bulk of the facts on which
these articles are formed. have shown
the vices of one of these districts; it is a
pleasanter task to chronicle the virtues.
The first thing which visitor to the
slums asks is: What becomes of the
children of the men and women who are
sent to prison, or who are removed to
the hospitals? The answer is simple.
The neighbors take them in and take
care of them. Orphans are by no means
rare in the slums, but they are almost
alway "adopted."
In the house Of Mrs. X. lived fam
lily named Hinde. Mrs Hinde died of
consumption, leaving four children and
husband out Of work. He set out to
look for it, and Mrs. r. took the four
little ones into her room to sleep with
her own six. Out Of her scanty earnings
she fed them too, and when she was
asked why she had taxed her limited re-
sources to this extent, she answered:
Poor young 'uns! how could see 'em
a.starvin', and their father out of work,
and no mother!" The man is still out OF
work, aud Mrs. r. has thought it her
duty to keep his children for over six
months.
Orphans are not only kept, but are
passed on sometimes from family to
family. There is little cripple lad /
know named Dennis Sullivan. I'LL lately
he was kept by an old water-cress seller,
who had adopted him. A month or two
since the poor old soul fell into the fire
aud was so severely burned that she died.
And when the boy was to be sent to an
institution, brother of the old water
cress woman, poor hawker, came for.
ward and said: NHe shan't be sent away
I'll keep him for the sake o. the old wo.
man as she was so fond Of him."
One Of the most touching cases Of this
kind ever met have alluded to else
where, but for the sake of my argument
will repeat it here. A poor woman had
taken charge of three children whose
father was away in the country. She
had children of her own as well. Sick
ness came upon her, and terrible dis.
ease almost disabled her. Yet she re.
fused to let the little ones go uncared for
Dying slowly of dropsy, she was found
one day propped up in chair with a
wash-tu in front of her, and with her
poor weak hands making brave strug.
gle to wash the little ones clothes, that
they might look clean and tidy at school,
A maker OF wooden toys deserted his
child and left it starving. A poor
woman with eight children of her own
and an income of los, week, "felt her
art bleed for the poor little thing" She
took the child into her own room, and
her eight are now nine.
When these people have no money
and their friends are in distress, they
will often pledge their clothes rather
than see misery unrelieved.
The other day, at police court, a
woman was fined %. 3d., and in default
sent to the cells. Her 'pal' went out
of court, took the shawl from her shoul.
ders, collected few more Of her gar.
ments and, pawning the lot, returned
and liberated the prisoner. Pawning is
frequently resorted to by the women,
who attend each other in their confDe-
ments. In these districts the female
neighbors, be it remembered, invariably
take the place of the doctor, and their
kindness and gentleness to their suffer.
ing sisters is marvellous. They will sit
by the invalid day and night in foul
den, destitute of every comfort, and
perform all the housnhold duties as
well. They will see to the children,
get the husbands tea, and if there is
as is too often the case, lack of all the
sufferer needs, they go and pledge all
they have and buy it.
These people do not inquire into a
persons creed or moral character before
they hold out the helping hand. When
n thief comes back to his district from
prison. his "pals" find him money and
food for weeks, until he either gets a
job or takes his former line OF business
again. A notoriously bad character has
just died here. He was ill for months
and his pals" kept him the whole time,
and gave him grand funeral when he
died. l have known men out of work
aud i'll, kept for months and months by
the subscriptions of their poor neighbors.
A street hawker was found last Sun
day sharing his dinner with man, his
wife and children, who lived in the same
house with him, and who were penni.
less. The hawkers takings on the pre-
vious Saturday had been is I'd, and de-
pending on him were wife, two chill
dren and donkey. How improvident
but-how kind.