Lexington weekly intelligencer., 1886-06-05
CAUSES OF PAUPERISM.

eighth in his series of dhscourses o,
"Chrisiianity and Modern Socialism,
in the Central Congregational Church
Brooklyn. The editicc was completed,
filled, and the address was listened tt
with the closest attention. The topIc
of the discussion was, "rhc Persona
and Social Causes of Pauperism." DIR.
Behreuds said:
The GOrdian knot of industrial life is
the problem of pauperism IL is al
evil OF many firmly twisted strands
whose tough fiberS have momcntarily
relaxed under determined handling
only to fly into closer alliance and Ia
oiler more determined resistance M
sword has been able To cut il, no skill
has succeeded III unraveling it Many,
indeed, claim that the evil has only
been made worse by meddlng, and
that we should let it severely alone
Modern socialism, on the other hand.
insists that the state should provide
every man work and secure him against
iutnre want. But what is pauperism
III Is not poverty, which can not be
eradlcated. 1t is not indi@euce, which
may be relieved and which may he in-
nocently suffered. Paupcrism is VOL
untary and deliberate poverty and the
suffering it entails is criminal. The
pauper must be eradicated He is a
drone and Il thief, who wants to live
by the industry of others. AT bottom,
the problem OF paupelism is this-what
shall be done with the lazy and the i'm =
provident, with those who will not
work and save? Idleness aud improv-
ldence are the personal causes of the
evil. If there is one thing that nature
forces man to do it is to work for his
living, and she leaves him to find his
own work or starve. And from that
necessity of caring for himself and for
those dependent on him no man should
expect or enjoy the slightest cxemp-
ton. An able-bOdied pauper is a
criminal, and should be dealt with as
such. So, too, is it every mans duty
to provide against the day of sickness
and the intirmities of age; al.d no
agencies OF relief are to be encouraged
That place premium upon idleness or
improvidence. These personal causes
are nightly reinforced by social causes,
IN whose treatment government has a
clearer duty. These are illiteracy, over
crowding, intemperance and the loose
ness of the marriage tie. Ten years
ago the almshouses of New York were
carefully inspected, and nearly 10000
OF their inmates personally interview
ed. Few were found who had ever
owned any property. Thirty two per
cent were wholly illiteratc, and only
~ per cent had received fair common
school education. Eighty five per cent
OF the men had been intemperate, and
II per cent among the womem-an
average of 623 per cent. Fifty-five per
cent. had Incorporate fathers and over
81 pei cent. Incorporate mothers The
gradual decrease of pauperism in Eng
land dates from the Introduction of an
enlarged educational policy. Ourown
Ilhieracy is of alarming proportions,
reaching from per cent. in some states
to 4o per cent. of the population in
others Two things are needed-com-
pulsory education and the introduction
OF manual training in all our schools.
But it is intemperance that holds the
citadel of pauperism. 1t furnishes 81
per cent. OF all the recruits. | need
not paint the picture. Drunkenness is
the great curse of our time It's hor-
! rlble cave is full of the bones of it's vic
tins. 1t is always busy. 1t is defiant
and aggressive. Ii controls parties.
1t buys up legislatures. 1t bribes
Judges. 1t commands an annual traffic
OF nearly $1,000, ,OUO, 900, and musters
al army 100000 strong. What shall
be done to check the evil? | believe
the moral sentiment of our time to be
in favor of effectual restriction and
cOntlOl. Ii will not undertake TO say
what man shall cat and drink. 1t
will not permit Il guard to be placed in
his diningroOm. IL will not tolerate
offensive personal inquisition. But it
Will insist that personal liberty shall
not be SO exercised as TO endanger pub
lie order. High license, strict super
vision and local option seem to embOdy
the methods of control that command
general and growing approval, The
fight must be narrowed to ward and
township. The state must not look to
the nation; the city must not depend
on the rural districts. The RESPONSE
bility must be laid upon each separate
community. Overcrowding is first
lieutenant in the army of pauperisln.
whose captaincy belongs to intemper-
ance. lntcmperance compels herdin9
in cheap, scanty, unwhOlesOme quar-
ters, and these encourage the free use
of stimulants. The districts most over
crowded contain the greatest number
and the vilest dram shops. No city
cutters SO deeply from Overcrowding as
New York. The Tenth ward has
density of 243,0OO to the square mile,
which would give the city population
OF over $4,000, ,000-more than the
entire state contains. A space of thirty
acres in the Fourth ward shelters H.
Gil persons, nearly 600 to a plot 200
feet square. Sixteen families in single
twenty-five foot front dwelling are
common. One hundred souls in Il
single tenement OF that size is nothing
unusual, and in some cases this num-
Der is doubled. 1t is said there are o.
600 families in Berlin that live in a
single room, and that $50, 900 of them
burrow in cellar apartments. Here the
proletariat has its headquarters. How
shall these dcns be broken up? The
first regiment is adequate sanitary leg
lslatiOn and regular governmental in
spectiOn. No cellar tenantry should be
permitted. The Peabody plan of pro
viding homes at nominal rentals has
tailed and is indefensible, because even
the poorest should pay for what they
get. The Naterlow plan, buildin"
houses on ihe most approved plans as
a business venture, has been more sue
cessful. 1t has been found practicable
10 secure per cent. net on the invest
ell capital on these improved dwellings,
with rentals fixed at Sc to Sll month.
The ,o:tavia Hill plan contemplates
ts.n n..l.