The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1896-01-02

0ulCt Vi neutrality-suspicious. Fs.*s -s7sssss,-, i s.
|. If some of these evils are quite as
prevalent among the riehs as among the
poor,-laZiness and waste and,eXtrava-
gance and intemperance and ailnless-!
ness ere equally censurable in both;
but our thought here lhas been for the
removable causes of poverty. u -,
At the National Conferences of Chari-
ties and Corrections held during 1.-THE
worlds fair, there were some concln-
sions given in the report Of the commit
tee on prisons, that seem to me equally
| Applicable to the subject under cOnsid-
Grafton here. For the imperfections of
our prison management favor ,pauper-
ism, as we'll as crime. g The obligatory
Incidence, in. jails, ) is terribly hard,
both upon the inmates and their fami-
| lies; not to mention theindustrious DOr+
ton of the community called upon to
support them in idleness. BY afatuity,
which seems tquite !incon1prehenSible,
some working men insist that criminals
shall not be employed. Ehey assume
that there is only a definite amount of
lremunerative labor in the country, and
that If one person has it, another must
go without; whereas, The fact is, that
the amount Of potential work is. indef
mite and Understandable, and that the
more work one man does, the more Of
it there is for all others. . The habit,
of idleness engendered by Jail life isapt
to handicap a man when released.
Mai"r Burke, of the Washington jail,
believes that 9" an imprisoned persons
should be compelled to work continl-
ously, and THAT the money which they
earn should, after paying for their own
support in JAIL. be sent to their. fani7
lies, or if they have no families, that it
should be paid to. them when released
If every man could return. co a family.
whom. he had continuously assisted 10
support, OF could receive u sauna which
he himself had earned, The would have
more courage, as we'll as physical and
pecnniary ability to resume his duties
as Il free man. AS another practical
thinker has said: " With the sense of
possession will come a sense Of self re!
Fspect, self denial and self dependence,
that will be worth far more THAN the
money that helped to develop H." -. :
Abundant work should be provided
! fol. inmates Of poor-houses,, as we'll as
ljails, and should be compulsory to the
extent of, each ones ability. This
would give them, the |" mental and
physical discipline needed to- prepare
them to work for and support: them-,
selves, ~ Whenl thus s made conscious
F.of their own power of achievement,
they soon become unwilling to lose the
results of their "labor,1 and naturally
leave the poor house and make the EFF
fort to provide for themselves :. = -
Shall we dispense our aims personal
", or through committees, charity or
CARNATIONS of one form or, another 2,
The latter is sometimes considered the
lazy mans refuge, and through it we
are apt to lose much Of the blessedness
of giving. Seeing and relieving their
needs with our own hands. our hearts
are more warmed toward our suffering.
brothers, and, by contrast, our eWn
blessings seem brighter Relief through.
an agency is often regarded by the re-
cipient more as right than as a char
ity. And there is lacking the healthy
feeling of gratitude, prompting to eff
forts to prove himself worthy before
one wis., has shown personal interest.
Still, charity organizations have their
place; and many minds and hearts CON
ferring together devise the most eco,
nomical and efficient methods; and, in
the office of the "'friendly visitor"
have provided a field for the truest
christian charity, for, as has been wise
ly said,5 f" it is not aims so much as a
friend that the poor need, = who will
recognize their difficulties and discour-
agements. And, frequenting their
homes with fresh, unprecedented vision,
may perceive the causes that have led
to their present condition, with view
to their. removal, if possible, that the
family may be made again self-sup-
porting In short, be a friend to the
family and visit them often enough to
be recognized as SUCH" This is made
practicable in Mansfield, Ohio, by as
signing only one family, as rule, to
each visitor. Thus effort is concentrate
ed and there is no difficulty in finding
people to undertake the work.
Social settlements like. Hull House,
Chicago, do much to upIift the down
trodden. The opportunity forintimate
acquaintance, with realization of the
difficulties Of each others lot, tends to
break down the wall Of misupderstand-
|. ing between the rich and the poor,
make both happier, and prevent the
social upheaval so often threatened of
Late Z -
Now as to the relief. of the needy,
either by individuals, or by organiza-
TORS, we are strictly urged to giVe
aootbia3n faipdicorinip tnlv Or without