Evening star., 1896-11-14

A street Scene.
houses and business offices. They levy
tribute on every one. They obtain band
ages. medicines and bath tickets from the
hosptaiS-and sell them. They obtain rail-
way tickets from deputies-and sell them.
They obtain musical instruments on the
plea of being destitute artistes-and sell
them. A cripple in such a family means an
extra income of $50 a year in wooden legs
alone. Their names are on the lists of
every municipal charity. All the private
charities contribute to them. 1t is for
them that charity feasts are held; they
They are false blind men, false lame men,
false paralyZed men.
Down to Il System.
Then there are the master beggars," at
the head of bands, who lead campaigns like
generals. They have store houses of in
struments for begging. They choose and
defend the best begging places on the
streets, and they instruct the beggars un-
der them how to set atioat thousand beg
ging letters. This does not even end with
the professional hordes. There are hun
dreds of working people in every ward of
Paris. not needy, yet clamoring at the
portals of the Assistance Publque, to get
their share of public charity. There is
money going. Are not more worthy of
ii than the lOafers?
The most difficult reform to accomplish
however, is to make the public cease gil--
ing money on the streets. The crowd is all
u,
mother and the p;nk-eyed baby, faced
stupeied and limp. 1t gives its pennies
1t is the baby Who perishes with the cold,
it is the mother that trades on it who gets
all the benefit. In place of money the
pI Udent citizens of the sixteenth ward of
Paris-the old suburb of Passy. of the Rue
de Ia Pompe of George Du Mauricr-haVe
tried the personal bon These bons have
nothing in common with the bread, meat
and other tickets distributed 10y charitable
societies.
These latter were a real progress. but the
rofessiOnal besgar has Il progress of his
own. and transforms these common tickets
into two-cent pieces as readily as he trans
forms the two-cent pieces into absnthe
Along the quaTS Of the river Seine. in The
Quarter MaHbert. where the men who pick
up cigar and cigarette stumps CtorDhanS')
Sell their products, there is Il market for
such tickets. Their most frequent pur-
chasers are found among the honest poor.
They buy them up in quantities and thus
store their households with good bread
milk, m"at, coal. chocolate iicoyice and the
other deiicaCi,s so thoughtftIl!y provided
by the charitable societies for the miserable
and destitute.
E"ad Tickets.
lhe personal bons of the Passy associa-
ton are different from all this. They are
like the 'Wayfarers' Lodge Tickets issued
IN the prudent city of Philadelphia Coly
IN France they utilize rhe mayors office in
the dinerent wards, where they install the
ana Issue orders local bakery or
restaurant. All food must be c,ust,,.,ed on
the spot Such Il system InSurcs the per-
soIial inspection Of each he2gar who pre-
sehtS himself and the delegate of the so
ciety soon knows the professionals hy sj-ht
ana sends them packing The tickets are
thus rendered quite unsa!able. as they are
only good the day ard hour of issue
A still greater Resemblance to the wav-
farera lodges is found in the system of
''!p pH cfk This forms a special
section of the passy Association A Gill
zen responds to the bc@Sar on the street,
why do yOn h-g?"
'HecaTsc / have no work.
very we'll Here IS ticket which Will
CIV, give you entrance into a refuge. Yeu
| lodged, warmed ana cared for From,
! in the morning until noon you will be-
1ree to so about and look for work 1T
noon noon you VIII rhtura eat your lunch and
then YOU Will work til I in the evening.
when the hcSgar uses up such a ticket
the cost TO the association is about 50
cents. The work done by him has defray-
five besgars ont of ten refuse the ticket.
anG OF the five who accept only two ire
sent themselves. During the hardest win
Ter known In France for many years only
hfty-liTe presented themselves to this
asylum in the Rue de II Pompe and ONLY
eleven returned to eat luncheon Oh the
morning of their second day.
Paying for Work.
Other associations have been started
having for their plan the payment of
money for work, while leaving the subject
free to keep up his home life if he nave
any. This is especially suited to women.
most of all when they have small children
At some of these places women, who are
nu sing their children, are allowed to bring
them also. The work is paid for at the
rate of 4 cents an hour (The ordinary
femme de menaee' or cheap house serv
ant who comes and goes receives in Paris
an average of cents per hourD Each
one has as much soup as she chooses, and
there Is from time to time a distribution of
linen. One day of each week is set apart
Tor the women to repair their own and
their families clothing, this work being
paid for at the same rate as the other.
Last winter this association distributed
20 tickets, of which only ninety were util-
lied.
The object of such associations. scattered
through every part of Paris. is TO do a
work which the Assistance Publique should
do. but cannot as it is now administered
The Assistance PubliQua is described as an
old. rich and powerful administration
which does great deal of good, but might
90 more. In Paris alone its revenue is
4O00O.OOO francs a year. Resides the city
hospitals of various degrees ard kinds it
has Help at Home department. whose
complicated workings would require a. spe-
cial article 1t is also charged with the
refugees and homes for the aged, into
which ii is so difficult to gain entrance,
municipality boasts. But at present the
funds of the Assistance are far from going
to the most worthy and most !.7istra BILE
They fall directly into the outstTetChel
hands of the most adroit and--tha most IN
fluential. STERLING; HEiLIG.