The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-12-23


ter the holiday season IL over. The les
sensd demand for public transportation
is shown In the laying OF Of many car
drivers. The livery stable business feels
the effect Of these times sadly. Gro
GERS report a largely decreased demand
for their more costly wares. and prevalent
domestic economy among the more pros
porous. which reduces their sales generally.
Tho butchers tell the same story. For
tunately for the great dry goods bazaars.
with their almost infinite variety Of articles
appealing to purchasers, they are able to
tempt custom by prices low beyond prece-
dent; and generally tho necessity Of manu-
facturers is inurlng TO the profit OF people
who have tho money to buy.
The plan Of raising large fund by tho
subscriptions Of rich men, for the purpose OF
supplying work for the great multitude Of
tho unemployed. Is commendable. unques-
tionably. Presumably. tho experiment OF
setting them to work ut street cleaning, as
a private enterprise. already made to a
comparatively small extent. will be carried
on as widely as the fund permits: but
the occupations are few in which the
unemployed can DO thus art1clally en-
gagged without damage to those who
hIo ~ "OIh III IUbm W sup
ply the actual demand for production.
The suffering, too, extends to every trade,
and 1t cannot he alleviated. except by the
dangerous remedy Of charity, or by
stimulating that actual demand. II the
demand Is no greater and the supply is In
creased by mistaken benevolence, the stu
alton will be made worse than IL was be-
fore. The consequence will be an oversup-
ply. which will cause a still further re-
duction In the force necessary for pro-
duction. 50 far as charity steps In thus
to interfere arbitrarily with the labor
market It will do damage rather than BEN
eft Hence we infer that the saRacious men
who are Initiating the movement OF which
we have spoken will conflne themselves to
the difficult task OF making work for the
unemployed. which shall not take away the
work OF the employed.
There is one way OF providing work
for many OF these destitute. which Is not
open to that objection. and on that ac-
count 1t deserves the special consideration
OF these philanthroplo men Of wealth. 1t Is.
for them and for everybody else to refrain
from all economy In consumption which
is not necessary. It Is. not to cut
down their expenditures simply because
their incomes have been lessened, when
the remainder is enough to enable them to
live rs they did before. It Is. not to econ
omize. merely because they are poorer,
though still they are rich enough to keep
up their old scale OF living. Thus their
selfish qualification will be better for 30
ciety than their charity. 1t will accom-
plish more for the benefit OF the unemployed
who are out OF work because OF the general
economy. both enforced and unnecessary.
II these phianthroplsts have any work
which they would have had done In
good times, and II they can afford to
pay for It now. in spite OF their decreased
incomes. let them set people at 1t. The ag-
gregate amount OF employment thus pro-
vided would not provide anything ap-
preaching the full measure OF relief re-
quired when 100000 Of the workers Of
New York are out OF work: but 1t would
help more than charity. and would not be
productive Of the evils inseparable from
almsglviDg.
The Erenin0 Post. always at variance with
human nature and the laws governing hui
man conditions. Is now zealously laboring
to destroy the beautiful custom Of making
Chistmas gifts. describing 1t as a method of
extorting reciprocal offerings. That paper
wants to kill the Christmas trade. which,
for the moment. Is giving to industry its
special activity! Rather. make your Christ
mas gifts. we say, in the full measure per-
mitted by your means and prompted by
your affections!