The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-12-05
STORIES OF SUFFERING.
A Curious Record Showing Various
Phases and Causes of Human Misery.
The Township Trustees History of the Mis-
fortunes of Persons Who Apply 10 Him
for Relief from Povertys Pangs.

do without the trustees assistance It is easier
to set food and something to cover nakedness
than to gather enough coal or wood to keep warm.
The wastage of coal along railroad tracks and
about coal yards. great as it is, will furnish
scanty supplies to the few, hence the many,
when winter sets in, come to the trustee Orders
for coal take precedence In numbers over any
other form of assistance. The vagabond and
impostor, of course. show up at the township Of
fee with unblushing demand but he is left to
shiyer for it is rarely that his true character
escapes detection. An applieant-man. woman
or child-is subjected to n searching ex-
animation as to antecedents. It seems
but the work of a moment to these
people to see careful memoranda made of
what they say and they no donbt wonder why it
is done. Any one of the worthy who sometime
has been unfortunate and driven to ask aid of
the township may not like to know it, but. no
matter how long ago his period of poverty may
have burdened the township. the fact that he re-
seived aid is of permanent record.
A curious record it is, showing all phases and
canses of suffering, supplying the starting point
for romances, or but another item IN a centnu-
GUS round of misfertunes. The visitors reports,
whenever it Unnecessary for them to investigate,
from time to time, the condition of those living
on the bounty of the township. complete the rec
ord in unpleasant details. Yet, in all the misery
and restitution told, there occur incidents that
lmpart warm coloring to The amply written
history. Years ago. q man out of work, unable
to Hnd employment, but honest and Industrious
may have had the benefit of this form of charity
for time. 1t saved him for better times, when
good fortune again came his way and placed
him in a position Of comfortable independ-
snce. The assistance afforded to any one
family, unless in exceptional cases, must of ne
cessity be brief; but not infrsquentiy has it been
the last saving straw that has carried people to
means and work by which they could care for
themselves There are frauds who apply, and
lie Internationally about their ills and condi-
ticns but the visit of the visitor, which is pre-
requisite to the granting of help, exposes them.
Sometimes this class take fright at the closeness
with which their stories are taken down, and, as
escape from being detected in lies, give false
Plumbers One day last January young man
twenty nine years of age came to the trustees
office with pitiful tale of suffering. He had a
helpless wife who could not care for the babe
he had been out of work for months, his savings
were exhausted and want stared him in the face.
The visitor was given the details. the street and
number. He returned with the report: mo
such family there But a different concus-
sion was reached IL the case that
came directly after the exposure of this
fraud. The man and his wife had been out of
work for two weeks. When we'll the wife earned
q weekly pittance by washing. but rheumatism
afflicted her, They are very destitute" said
the visitor.
Down the record appears the touching history
Of deserving woman. deserted by husband and
on the verge of starvation with Ave children
about her. She is in the last stages of con-
SUMPTION reads the report land the family has
only 81. so q week with which to buy food and
necessities for the six. This money is earned by
the Oldest boy, who is sixteen years of age.
When she can the mother does plain sewing I"
There is a brief sequel to this short story of
misery Five months later the visitor found
that the mother was was dead, and that the old
est son and daughter were keeping house and
caring for the children. s'They are getting on
nicely" was the suggestive closing sentence of
his report More pitiful, perhaps. was the case
of a woman fifty years of age who lived in a
shanty in the northern limit of the city and
cared for a young granddaughter. 1.-THE
premises are destitute. was the officials finding
when l got there she, the woman, had Just
coHIe from the commons with basket of sticks
and chips. Fire from these was all she had to
keep from freezing. She manages to get food.
but needs fuel" A man and wife said they had
nothing TO eat, and no fuel or warm clothing
They wanted large supplies. as the man had
been out Of work for six weeks. 81 went to the
place. said the examiner, ''and found they did
not give the right name. This indicates fraud
and tho couple were not assisted.
Accidents, prolonged sickness and inability to
procure work enter largely into the causes of
temporary poverty. and the results of investiga-
tion credit great majority of the applicants
with telling the truth, Many who ask tread on
their pride with heart torturing almost rs
severe as poverty itself This is not forgotten
in the record, and assures assistance more gener-
ously than would fail to those who have no
shame In making thar requests But this his
tory of the destitute tells an incident of
mother on the verge of the grave supporting
four children and her aged mother. She had
done washing and ironing, but this labor, when
she was only poorly fed and miserably clad, had
taken strength from her. "They have had moth
ing TO eat for twenty-four hours said the re-
port. 'The family seems deserving
One day poor woman who hao difficulty in
getting the barest subsistence found 1850 in an
clubhouse of the miserable premises she and her
husband occupied. The man Appropriated the
money and was sent to the peniten-
tiary. The woman afterwards bore a child.
with food for herself no clothing for
the babe, and with fuel to keep them warm
A woKan's husband died and left in her care
four grandchildren, whose father could not be
found and whose mother dead. The grand
mother washed for the best families in the city
but could not earn enough from the wealthy to
feed herself and the children. After several
weeks OF assistance IL was ofnclally reported
that tho woman could get along, as she had
plenty of work; and II believe she keeps these
children" said the visitor. in order to get aid y
A young couple had very hard time of it
after their marriage The husband was Indus
srious, an ahstainer from liquor and eager to
work, but could find no employment They hsd
had two months of penury and want, as the
young wife was in delicate health and
could do no more than take care
of her child The day, one of bitter cold, the
nothing for two days, and had no fire. .sThev
would not ask for aid" the visiting Official said.
''if they were not driven to itn
II Is cases like these that are daily recorded in
the township trustees Office. for poverty aud its
causes vary in nothing but the applicants The
stories are the same the suffsrings the same,
and the tricks of impostors are as old as the
hills.
American Girl Students Abroad.
Lucy Hooper, In PhiladeIphia Telegraph