New-York tribune., 1896-04-21
LONDON POVERTY.
,,1wpsES OF A GYMNASIUM
CHURCH AND soclAAsTlc
TENDENCIES.

rde who has recently Deen delivering
canOn ~ lectures at Cambridge. has directed
e'a,s. ,o, % the fact that the England for which
did so much during the last century
pn' "A ~ small country towns and villages
~ ling the only city outside Of London
sS'o' ,oO 900 population. and Birmingham
| ap'A"I Manchester Sheffield and Newcastle
per ,ass than onc-half that number To-
h'"e r,v three-fourths Of the English popula-
49,. In towns There is a swarming urban
uo' '" "a IN pace of the rural England which
ps wss,ey profoundly influenced. The con-
jon" ~ population In towns has created
sn"s =, social questions Of paramount impor
lance. ssos csrtrsa IN these nonu,ous
az" =. protected against disease. kept In
".s sao,th. auara ntned against discomfort and
n"e trained for Industrial occupations and
S'', the way Of bettering their condition? :?
w. can the State help these millions Of workers
~" % remain ali~a? Have the churches
..,,., as we'll as a religious work. and does 1t
IT.. the same luminous common-sense which
s,s.,.v displayed in his dealings with the poor
=, ornressed? These are the vital English
~..,,ons Of the day; and 1t is In London. where
v. ,ut Of every five deaths occurs In a public
-.,,,r,,on and where one out Of every four
'...ors dies pauper or dependent upon charity.
r., ,o,itics ana religion have more or less to
:. 18th Socialism Society. the word Is
1s,,or,lv used. with bated breath and whs-
'.a,. humbleness' is centred In the West End
:, s,,nnaon: and highly privileged are they who
... N. shoes from. off their feet and with their
~. IN their gloved hands approach the inner
49,, .brne 1t is a world Of wealth and fashion.
..,h..ns the best one in its genial hospitalities
.ra reonIng influences; but 1t is only one world.
.ns. all. whereas London is social universe.
...,.n AZ worlds alternately attracting and re-
.u,,, each other. yet indissolubly bound to-
80, The poles Of modern civilization are
-. vthn a few miles Of each other The
r.s, End with its poverty, starvation and deg
-,a,aon touches the West End with its social
,,rr,,y accumulated wealth and luxurious en-
yhonment
WHERE EXTREMES MEET.
Where the contact between wealth and poverty
1. elosest social discomfort is deepest and i'm
ronality most fragrant. 1t is in the West End
and In the thoroughfares leading to 1t that the
.ossug-sweeps stretch out their hands for
ynny from every passerby, and beggars thrust
tlr arms against muddy cab wheels to enable
addressed people to get ir or out without soil
us their clothes The faces Of these street
ptndicants are the most discontented In Lon
coa They spend their lives in witnessing the
Triumphant progress Of wealth and fashion. and
in picking Up the pennies which are flung to
them; and their hearts are hardened and their
iaces sharpened year by year. The East End
Is the haunt Of poverty, but II Is not seething
with dscontent. Beggars are not seen in the
streets; the faces brighter and cheerier;
envy is not excited by social contrasts; poverty
has been inherited generation after generation
and there is no instructive revolt against II. Not
only is the East End contented with fits lot, but
Its vices are not paraded and flaunted like those
Of the West End. midnight stroll through
whtechape reveals little immortality In compari-
son with that of Piccadilly. which at night is
the wickedest and most shameless street In the
world The East End, with all Its degradation
and With Ii thousands Of unemployed massed
with the crimina classes. cannot rival the West
END In nightly scenes ci vice.
WSaf q mosr noticeable in the East End is
'ne PHYSICAL deterioration caused by continuous
poTerfy, low diet and lack OF employment. The
fsces are not discontented. but they are wan
and ackly. Thousands Of families are living in
snsk rooms They lack air and light. as well
a. bod, occupation and exercise. Men and
women are enfeebled by starvation. disease and
vsnt Of steady employment. Their children are
growing up around them. prematurely old and
haggard. without muscular energy and strength
will and inferior to their parents ir physique
That Is the most appalling thing about the vast
masses Of poverty centred In London-the process
degeneracy which Is visible wherever a swarm
idlers collects In street or alley. Then men and
women are not what their fathers and mothers
we're before them In energy and strength, and
their own children show signs Of diminished
ngor and vitality. One does not think Of the
curse Of heredty when he sees the beggars stand
ms 1t street corners in the West End and hang
ms on to the fringe Of wealth and respecta bity in
ua1 favored quarter. He can think Of nothing
~ when the magnitude Of the East End with
wOreeding myrads impresses his imaginatioa
AN ARMY OF POVERTY.
The number Of unemployed in London is es.
urated BY Mr. Charles Booth at about $4,000.
ua an accession OF 10000 during the winter
months from class which has meagre occupa-
wa some kind during the remainder OF the
VA The same investigator computes that the
Uof nearly one-fourth Of the population Of
htopolis do not average more than
sweek. Half million during the worst
Without any means OF subsistence. and
'a0saer million irregularly employed In wretch
wy pad work! Mr. Glodstone's talent for
""'enns statistics pictorial Is not needed In
~s East End. These figures represent an ag
...s.* Of human misery which ID absolutely
ps'hpe This million and a half live In the
-. Ss soosings which can be found. and on
,as so@sest food. They are accustomed to the
~ .s. sAndaros Of life and comfort. and have
Ts.s ambition 10 rse above their present level.
Sen,s .s /" the bottom; yet there is lower
go somewhere for the generation which is
s.s-.n "p|around them, in the vitiated air Of
unhealthy streets
sAoHcH WORK IN DARKEST LONDON.
.h..' 'se't Lohdon is filled with churches and
=. -. Andeed. 1t may be truthfuily described
rN....,'re csn're OF the most active and practical
~. 60. "ofk OF the present age. Yet there
s,s, ''eA"' missionaries and workers In this