The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-12-01
DIR. WALK ON CHARITY.
Interesting Lecture Under the Auspices
of the Board of Associated Charities at
Y. NJ. c. \. Hall.

Interesting Lecture Under the Auspices
of the Board of Associated Charities at
Y. NJ. c. \. Hall.
DR.. j. w. Walk, of Philadelphia, ad-
dressed large audience at the Young
Mems Christian Association hall last
night under the auspices Of the Board
of Associated Charities. He was in
troduced by Rev. Rogers Israel who
in .fellctious terms referred to the
subject which was to be discussed.
In opehing his lecture. DR.. Walk re-
ferred to the great influence possessed
by the press in assisting the board to
carry on the work. and expressed his
high appreciation of the. services they
had already rendered. He first re-
viewed the field of labor in which the
charitable organizations work. The
whole community, he said, was divided
into the Independent and the dependent
sections the former supported them
selves and needed on assistance or
favor, and the latter class included all
those dependent upon the first men
toned class for aid and assistance.
The dependent were divided into three
classes: The A class, criminal; Il,
vicious, and c, insubordinate.
Poverty Is Disease.
With regard to destitutes and their
relief, DR.. Walk paid a high tribute to
the Jewish people as the pioneers in the
work of private relief and then minute
" explained the errors which had crept
into the system of charity giving, the
great blunder being made in misinter-
preting the scriptural quotation, The
poor ye have with you always anu
regarding alms-giving as virtue. The
great mistake was in not considering
the benefit to the recipients. Poverty
is a disease of humanity and ought to
be eradicated, and the time will come
when it will be abolished and 1t would
be the fault of civilization If the prob
lem was not worked out.
The outdoor relief system has been
copied from the English poor law sys-
TEN, and the speaker then explained,
how, through the errors of that sys-
TEN, people eventually claimed charity
as a right and labored under the delu-
sion that the world owed every man a
living. The alms-hOuses were the pre-
ventative to this, and the time must
come when all outdoor relief must be
taken away The foundation of pau
perism was the influence of English
poor-law, and many large cities were
taking up the question and abolishins
poor law This had been done in Phila'
delphia, during a spasm of reform and
economy. when 100000 was reduced
from the appropriation to the poor
board, this ensuring in all out-rellei
being abolished. What was the result
The extra calls on private charity did
not make ripple on the increase, and
the population of the aims houses de-
creased instead Of increasing, as was
reasonably expected. The result was
that in the first twelve years after the
change was made $1,000, OOO on the whole
expenditure was economical as com
pared with the last twelve years under
the old system. Outdoor relief IL
theory was not charity, money takeI
| by a tax collector could not be regarded
as charity, it must be given.
Method Used in Philadelphia.
DR.. Walk then described fully tn,
technical methods by which the organ
lied charity associations worked il
Philadelphia, and at the conclusion o
his address questions were asked b,
Rev Rogers Israel. W. r. Smith, e. ]
Lynott, w Gaylord Thomas, Rev. War
rem Partridge, Luther Keller anc
others, and were answered in detail b,
the lecturer.