El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-12-02

One of the most difficult problem:
that confront the Ell Paso housewife
comes in this winter season when the
bezear at her kitchen door asks foI
food. Her first impulse is to share
the meal with him-he always come;
about meal times. In way tha'
would be the easiest and bappiest way
ont OF the difficulty. She hates to
send = man away hungry; all OF the
Christianity in her urges her to iced
him She remembers tb at without
any possible question that Ia what
Christ commanded to do-to feed tn
hungry and clothe the naked. Blu,
suppose she yield to her gentle Inn
pulse. and, having the lessons OF the
church in her heart, be charitable to
all men. Then she will find herself
besieged with beggars at her door,
Ono housewife was saying that one
wirter morning when the day was very
cold and she was getting an unusually
good breakfast for her flock, q gauut
man came to her door and asked for
food She pitied him and babe the lit
tie Mexican girl serve him with break
fast and coffee and bake a plate OF
cakes for him. The man ate greedily
and asked for more cakes which were
bak ed and given him. The woman was
happier for having yielded to her
generous impulse, but during the
whole win ter that followed, there was
never = day without beggar at her
gates. The next winter, remember
1ngivhat had happened before, when
tho t3rst tramp came. she had the
Mexican girl fix him up little
package of bread and butter and cold
meat and handed 1t to him at the door.
She did not ask him to come within,
nor give him anything but the bread
and meat. Once or twice afterwards
when tramps came, che serv-
cd them the same way and
IS . result, her winter
Was almost entirely free of the burden
and bother OF supplying meals to beg
Esrs. Probably the first tramp put
sign on her gate post 80 that all other
sr2mps who came along could read that
this woman served hot breakfasts with
unlimited relays of "fsnneP' cakes and
sJraps, and so every tramp who came
to town wanted to breakfast with her.
Tho next year the first tramp of the
season, receiving only bread and meat,
pus some sign of disapprOval on her
back gate or fence and other tramps
fought shy of the place.
Il is easier to give food, warm
clothes or little money with kindly
word or smile to the beggar, than it is
TO send him off without. To those of
legion-it spoils day, or longer, to
remember having sent q man away
hungry when be begged for bread.
There Is q pitiful remem brance of the
whining asking, the human degrade
ton, the unsuccessfulness of the hun
cry one. Besides, here one il more
aseasy than in most places. for 30
many Of she beggars are sick and have
just managed to crawl away from the
IL Ia o. T.
their poor bodies. They make it seem
almost . sin to be we'll and warm and
TO have plenty of food and be happy,
and ae ain and again the thought comes
up OF the command to feed the hungry
and clothe the naked.
On the other hand, we of our day
have explained to US and we see that
giving to beggars is a sin
to the commonwealth. It INDUCES and
maa who won't work if he can
live without in his lsziness.
There Is no doubt that we
In oar country the professional tramp
d beggar. The dirty, shock-headed. |
ankempt individual who imposes on
zach community until the police drive |
him out, then imply "moves on" con-
'ineing his impositions forever. He |
1oes not regard beggary as degrading, |
he Infinitely prefers it to WORK. He |
loes not regard dirt as degrading, he'd |
'ather lie in the sun than battle any
lay He does not regard filching and |
1etty thieving as crime-it is simply |
getting along in the world with hin.
Az he goes along across the country be
caves a trail Of signs for others of the
iObo fraternity to read. Where h e
e treated gently aud comfortably he
marks the residence SO that the tramps
rho come after may benefit. Where
he discovers an unsympathetic watch
log. he leaves a sign of warning chalk
ID 90 the fence. Where barn is
lsuaiiy unlocked and there lie hay for
'ed n sign or two announces the fact
o every tramp that may go by. Josiah
flint, who has lived among the tramps
o study them, has said that they have
aite an extensive system of these
igRs-a secret code among the frater-
lily. This professional tramp should
e discouraged. He directly robs the
rprking man.
On The other hand there are men
mo have been sick and are discourage
d, men who have bsen disch arged
nd esnuot find new work to do, men
,ho have served a term In the Jail and
eel like outcasts and many men,. who
fortune were only a little kinder:
os Wish to be harsh or make honest
ffe impossible to any such. And then
hero are the sick - surely one must
eed them when they hunger and ask
10, even If, one knows that in feeding
beggar he may be warming a serpent
ha1 shall turn and sting him.
The housewife who served the hot
,reaa,fast to the tramp found that