New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-08

love of Old World calm and rest as any IN me !,
kingdom To look at it you would not DeheVe
the seat Of dread disease.
HARMFUL CHARITY.
But. alas, a good man in centuries gone by
planted the germ Of a generous grown W"c"
is eating into the root and stock OF the neisnpoi
hood vitality. This well-meaning citiZeh Oh one
Of the earlier Georgian reigns left to the village
a small tract Of ground for the pasturins y.
ten cows whose milk was to be given a pint a.
time the cows died. and the vicar of that day.
who had the charity In his control rented the
land a pasture for the cows OF his nelghDor DOTS
who paid him 10 shillings. or " oO. each year
for each cow that graZed there. .
Thus it came about that money instead Oh
milk began to be dispensed to the so-caneu pooi.
Why there should have been poverty TO any
considerable extent in village OF twenty vi
twenty -four houses in England's days OF proht-
able agriculture. whether there would nave
been any but for this premium that was put
upon it there-who shall say? But time went
on and not very long ago the rich men OF
some busy manufacturing towns near by turned
covetous eyes upon the beautiful village ana
began to buy land which to put up villas
there They bought the pasture land. piece by
piece until at last it was all bought up, ana
in it's place the poor Of the village looked TO
sum of something like 100000 we'll and safely
invested. -
The reader may be sure that the poor multi
piled proportionately to the growth of this char
ty Sadder tales than those OF the wrecks Oh
sucked IN by this charity could scarcely be con.
ceived. Farming ceased to pay it is true. but
from below the former farms the earth began
to yield a rich mineral store, and work was
made for people threefold as numerous as
the population of the original farming village
Cottages sprung up in rows. even TO the foriH-
ing of a new street or two. and earnest honest
men came there to labor To-day many OF THESE
families have succumbed to, the temptation CT
the local charity
To-day there is in that little village squalor
.t,t,f h. nVct in
holds have been transformed into families or
parasites. loafers and 'drunkards, who VIII not
work because aims money comes more easily
than wages. The charity must be distributed
If il Is withheld to-day it will be bigger and
more harmful later on. The kindly man VINO ~
in charge Of it at present has no alternative
except to dole it out to whosoever asks tor IL.
Unfortunately, ne is too credulous, too kindly.
too much absorbed in other work, too honest
to comprehend the wickedness of the people VINO
cringe to him for aims and laugh IN their
sleeves as they take them. To-day these para
sites go to him with any story they can invent
when they merely want the means for a de-
bauch. tale Of sick wife. lie abou. FORE
closed mortgage Of about police court fine or
"A fiction about an accident to a limb-lieS out
of whole cloth seven times in ten-suftice to get
them an order for any sum between 10 shillings
and Is
And what. then. thinks the reader? They sell
the orders to the shOpkccper-the largest bene-
ficiary Of the charity because he operates as q
broker cashing the orders for as little as he
thinks the holders VIII accept. TWO SHlllliiSS vi
A five shilling order or Il for e. am told. is
how he discounts these tenders. With what he
gives they get drunk. This awful tale of the
poisoning Of community may partly explain
how it possible that modern king or
finance" found several communities willing TO
let him dole out weekly sums in aims. right and
left in the country which he aspired to repre-
sent in Parliament. Hundreds took his gifts as
regularly as if they We're wages. and to many
who read Of this the story seemed worse than
the subsequent revelation Of the same oper-
ators alleged relations with the titled men
whose more valuable influence he also sought:
The tale OF the poisoning OF the village by the
gift of pasture land is well vouched for 1t was
told to me by of the highest standing in
the village who declares 1t to be form Of
ar evil which assumes many shapes all over
England endowed charity foundations can
branch out into Sooner or later England will
put an end to these pe.tilential endowments.
II will not prove too difficult a task to people
who reformed their pension system as they did.
and who put the crown lands into the public
charge when the time for doing was ripe.