The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-01-21

q. II. Us-many Exceuemt sugg es-
lions Made.
The regular weekly meeting Of the W.
&. II. U. was held yesterday afternoon.
This meeting was the second in the series
Of Civic Studies. Mrs. VIM. 4. Phelan,
wife of the pastor OF Preble chapel, and
city missionary, read q most valuable
paper on what Shall be Done with Our
Outside Poor" which we reproduce.
Mrs. President and. Members of W. G.
Il. u:
In coming before you to say q few
words on the Care of the Outside Poor,
feel like saying In reply to the remark
OF one OF your number. that my long
experience had lifted me to speak on that
subject" that the longer / work ON these
lines the less know in many ways. / am
aware that Is a Hibernianism, but per-
haps many OF you oan sympathize with
me In that statement.
] What Is their statnsS A broad subject,
one that must be looked at from many
points. 1 am glad your committee sug.
gested some special heads for considera-
ton.
. One was, do you find many who have
seen better days. and are cultivated
peopleg" My work has not been such rs
to bring me In conta1t with many Of that
class, yet it has been ny privilege to aid
some such cases. think most of such
can from societies and the known agents
OF such organizations, and we all feel
delicacy in making their sorrows public.
But there is large middle class Of
sturdy self-reliant people whom IL has
been my privilege to know, whv would
not coue into the first class, but who
have the quiet heroic endurance of
martyrs, ana genuine goodness and com.
mon sense, and only accept such aid as
they really need. l am glad to call them
friends. They are an honor TO thems selves
and a help to the world.
But there is u very largo class who have
been born In the lower grade of poverty If
may callfit so. who never knew what it
was to have enough of anything, who
were brought up in that state Of living
from hand to mouth. as we sar and evil
IDENTIFY the hand was ofiener empty than
filled. That is the most hopeless class to
do for or elevate You ask what are the
causes Of poverty. with the first and
second GLASSES. l think reverses in bust
ness. death of the bread winners and
chronic inyalidism, that falls to so many,
are the principal causes
In the last class In addition to those is
the rum curse. the great lack of work for
men here In Portland. imp-ovidence, poor
over wsening love of dress on
y
of the faculties, which as a friend Of mine
said, was the worst kind OF poverty. lhe
lack of old fashioned New England train
ing In doing things, gumption rs we
sometimes call 1t, ana the great lack Of
moral and religious principle and lastly,
poverty itsslf, That word / would ex
plain by the scripture that ''the destruc-
ton of the poor is their poverty"
What family who depend on the earn
ings of a laDoring man. who gets from
100 TO ST.. rs per day (often loadng rainy
days. can buy economically, be they ever
so good managers You buy flour by the
barrel; your coal by the ton; your butter,
night, with only six or eight dollars In
the best of cases, they must have food,
fuel, boots, rent etc. How much can go
for eaohs Could you do much better with
just the amount they have to speedy l
doubt It.
That is when the family are all WELL |
What would you 40 when there is sick |
nessY You all know how money melts |
away then; how wa get this and that for |
our loved ones. What can the very poor
doY l do not wonder when / think of 1t |
that In many cases they prevaricate, beg |
and do many things that we in our COM
Portable homes cannot lind excuse for
Let us In our Investigation remember |
the motto'put yourselves in their places"
for. think we expect to many
virtues, too much heroism from those
whose hands, hearts and brains are AL |
ready too heavily weighted with the
burdens Of want and toll.
You ask II large proportion are for
sign. In this small city | think there
would not be a great difference between
the aliens anu the American born, though |
many of the latter are of foreign parent |
age. The Irish and Canadian people lead,
should say. One of the queries you pro- |
posed was why many so willingly receive
outside help and so strenuously fight
against going to the almsnouse and
hospital. There are many reasons
With the genuine New Highlander there
Is the INFORM dread of the poor house. 1t
Is almost the worst thing
that could befHli him, only
second TO dishonor. With these who
lives, the better ptrt OF them feel there is
a stigma attached to 81, and you all know
the despisable twitting, especially among
children If the almshouse team comes to
any door Other relief does not seem to
have the brand that gives and every body |
does not ind it ou: SO easily.
Then going to the almshouse Is giving
up OF personal liberty to IL large degree.
Living by rule, asking permission to go
out and In eto., II repugnant TO II ost per-
sons. There Is no home feeling; the lack
Of little privileges, that one can have even
In the poorest home: ones cronies cannot
drop In for u chat.
They are also obliged to pay some atten
ton to cleanliness (which some of them
DO not like) aud refrain from some of
their bad habits l remember one
physician who told us of an old man who
said he didn't like the Maine General, be-
cause he couldn't spit on the floor l
think the foreigners do not have as strong
a dislike to these institutions as the
native poor do.
But u more important question than all
the others is, What can We do to better
the condition of the poor TO elevate them
physically, mentally. and morally. We
can never wholly do away with poverty.
Scripture tells us the poor We have al
ways with you" and 1.-THE poor shall not
cease from the land" But the Bible also
tells US that the rich and the poor meet
together and the Lord is the maker OF
them all. l fear we too often forget that
While L believe in thorough Investigation
out frauds, stopping the trade
OF begging in every way possible. | also
most firmly believe, that in addition to
all organized charities, night schools,
oooEfOn scbools nnrsariac nj tho "A