The record-union., 1894-12-10
and incapables, who never had any such
rightful claims.


/
his has been thoroughly and systetlati-
cally demonstrated,
IN the nrst place, it is shown that in
Europe The ratio of dependents range all
the way from one to fifty to one TO fifteen,
wing 10 the amount and availability OF
ChaIltapie institutions and charity funds
IN IN given locality. 1t has been found
that under this system of food and cloth
ing supplies, promiscuously given out,
Inefe nave been raised a vast army of pet
paupers found in all the churches and
benevolent societies, who are chronic
nangers-on from year to year.
Durlng forty years of carefully calcu-
lateu iacts, 1t has been found that in Eu-
rope, London included. the paupers and
! dependents have increased five TO one
OF Inc population. pro rata. Herbert
! spencer states that 30 per cent. of the
population of London frequent the hos
| pltals, dlspeuSarieS and almshouses; and
lnat most OF these are not IN absolute
need, bat on the other hand able TO pay
their way and their doctors bills.
W are informed upon good American
! authority that II fares nearly as bad with
| The Un1ted States in the same matters. In
THIS country and in our own State there
1 are chronic annual applicants to directors
| OF county hosp pitfalls and homes for admis-
1 sion Ior quarters Tor the winter. Some
are BIRDS Of passage, and go from county
10 county with the same plea, and obtain
admission; others are of the swallow
KIND, and finding a congenial place re-
/ peatedly return to it.
| VI course we are mindful of the fact
| that we have with us the poor of certain
class with certain reasonable claims-lhe
blind, the deaf, the disabled and the abso-
Iutely helpless. But even here much of
! the time responsibility is shifted from
those VINO are perfectly able and prepared
to care for those whom they push to one
slde, To within the walls OF public institu-
lions, where charity Is doled out by the
| vote OF legal machines, feeling that they
| nave reason 20 congratulate themselves in
that they have removed the burden of in
dlvldual responsibility to that of the
/ State or county.
If every one to whom it is possible
would care for the disabled one next To
! MN there would be but little left for
! charlIy institutions tOdO.
Besides, the hard working industrious
man would not be taxed to the last penny
10 support lnulgents for whom he is III no
| way responsible, since the vast sums OF
| puDIlc money Tor immense buildings
ana appointments and for numerous sal
arled officials would not be called for be-
cause not needed.
Alter all, little of this great outlay of
lunds ever touches the spot of need. but
goes TO oIling the machinery and keeping
IL ID running order. In places 10 per
| cent. OF Ieglslated poor funds Is applied
| toward institutional machinery, while %
! per cent. only reaches the mouth and the
| BODY. Truly, Is this to be called charity?
Alter these comes a host of non-incor-
| pcrated societies and associations, such
as are brought together in churches and
non-sectarlan citizens public char
ltles, where much Is attempted but Tar
less brought to successful results.
Largely The faults here are: First, that
business men and people generally feel
| that they have no time to investigate as
| 10 the WorIhlnesS or unworthiness OF the
unknown applicant tor help. Hence
they give lndlscriminateiy, rarely in
vestigating the case.
Again, the most wo1tny are least likely
TO receive assistance, because they shun
the personal exposure of their temporal
circumstances. Such would rather suffer
| than ask aims or even assistance, while
| the unworthy take advantage ofthe mod
eSty and refrain OF the worthy, and with
braZen face and pititul story go up and
take the funds or assistance, and thus the
drinking, idle and lazy fellows are en-
aDled TO i've oil generous public, but
the needy continue 10 need.
In England number of associations
mostly OF religious promptings-that
were engaged in all sorts of charita ble
enterprises, from soup-houses and cloth
| ing clubs to land allotnents and house
/ providing, have been abandoned, because
! OF practical inutility and the detrimental
| tendencies growing therefrom, even those
conducted under close discriminating in
| yeStlgatIons and appropriations.
| This whole plan was thoroughly tried
| at Bath, England, and the eminent Rev.
! Thomas Spencer, who had more TO do with
! this movement and who was the ONLY
Clergyman III 1t, who took a part in the
agitation for the repeal of the cCrn-law,
said grace at the first auti-corn-law ban
quet, as we'll as at the last, all, as he says.
! because he saw the mischief the society
was working in various ways, particu-
| larly because he esaw that the beneficiaries
were becoming less contented and pros
! porous.
| Nothing is more evident to the careful
! observer than the fact that unwise and
| indiscriminate giving most emphatically
! tends to pauperizing men. 1t is bid for
| deceit, for lying, and vast amount OF
! hypocrisy. The very needy thereupon
! practice an inconspicuous hypocrisy and
false modesty, lest they be judged
| unworthy, while the undeserving
! poor practice conspicuous hypocrisy by
working upon the tender synpathies of
| the church people for the purpose OF ex-
tracting aims from these whose latch
string" as Lowell says of The United
States, Twas never drawn in against The
poorest child of Adams kim" which
| latch-string being pulled first and hard
| est by the Smooth-tongued loquacious
beggar who gets the help, while the mod
est, retiring needy gets none. Perhaps
! the credulous Christian consoles himself
with the experiment with tho beggar
similar to that of Francis of Assist with
| his wolf of GubbiO; having stipulated
! that he should have q daily alloWa ce
| from the community, the wolf duly ted
! from house to house until he grew 10 be
! good and renounced his murderous
| habits. In this course | think we might
! hope for at least as good results as had
! the people in the Middle Ages who PEN
! stoned the brigands in order to con vert
! them.
There is another way in which charity.
so-called, is doled out or rather sold out
| TO class OF drinking paupers and scum
/ paraSites-l mean the Tree lunch counters
/ in most of the saloons of the land. This
is the most detestapie and degrading sort
J OF uncharltable charity. The lunch is
! free" and not free. The luncher is sup
posed 10 contribute something toward
keeping up the lunch counter 10y way OF
! investing i'll drinks. a gentleman liv-
! ing in San Francisco told me that one
can get fairly good lunch III that city
/ Tor 10 cents and even IN many places for
/ cents, beer or wine included. SO Judge
We what is done with the dime or nick ell
which you give to the tramp at your
door, or as you meet him on the streets
| it goes straight TO the saloon aud the
/ saloon lunch counter. Seldom for bread
and meat strdlght.
| An enterprising editor of Chicago
paper who investigated this matter for
public news, estimates that during the
| last winter season the 1000 saloons
! of that city fed 60,000 persons per day
! This is concentrated uncharitable charity,
! since the saloons pose as benetactors
| while they dole out, rather sell out, the