The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-20

An interview which philanthropist had
/ with one OF the employees of a jail in New
/ York not long ago throws light on one
! phase Of the ever present problem of the
/ Submerged tenth The visitor found that
among the habitues OF the jail were many
/ grey haired men who did not appear to be
+ vicious. and we're committed for drunken
/ ness or vagrancy. He was told by the vet
/ eran driver OF the Jail van that such men
/ drifted into the police court primarily from
/ their inability to get work The driver
said:
/ "Rheu a man Is over fifty nowadays it's hard
; for Liiu TO catch on 90 a job They are too cd
/ TO compete with The Italians and other husky
I chaps thst come TO ibis country by tie ship
load Business men rowadays don't seem 10
have any use for old men. II you don't believe
il. Won 90 ont and Try 10 get job for 4 man
who is 6fty or over 50. ] suppose, when one
o. these old fellows goes out and cam get any
thing to do, De goes for tie price OF few
drnks-you know chap usn gel that from
people who won't give him a iob-then he
loads mp and lands down here again. where
he is sure Of warm quarters and square meal"
The FEASIBILITY Of this explanation will
be recognized by everyone The difficulty
which men past fifty experience in obtain
ing work is a fruitful cause Of complica-
tons in the labor problem. There are rea-
sons for this phenomenon, OF course. In
most trades nowadays men o! strength.
skill, and endurance are needed. and the
old man loses something OF these qualities
year by year Besides, there are plenty OF
strong young fellows ready TO I'll all vacan-
cies SO il happens that the man past
middle life who loses his place finds It hard
TO slip into another one. he becomes de-
pendent on his relatives. if he has any.
and II he has not, becomes an aimless va
grant
II this tendency continues. II may easily
happen that In many trades no man over
fifty will be employed at all. This viii
make d necessary for the workman to pro-
vide FOR twenty idle years at the end Of his
life. instead Of for shorter period. and it
IS scarcely possible for man on mechan
les wages 10 bring up a family and save
enough money TO provide for himself and
his wife when both become too old TO
work The result will be an increased
burden thrown upon young people who are
able and willing to support their parents.
Some VIII repudi8te this duty: others. mora
conscientious, will accept it, and give up
their own plans for life Marriages will be
delayed or made impossible for the very
class whose homes are most valuable to the
Commonwealth. and whose children grow
up 10 be the best citizens; there viii be an
increase OF suicide and pauperism among
the older workers who see dependence or
homelessness staring them in the face
after a lifetime Of tsil. These consequences |
are dangerous to the general welfare They |
are also unpredecented In other ages of |
the world there has been chance for old |
people to earn at least their living ex- |
penses at some light work, but with the |
specialization OF all industries this has be- |
come less and less possible. II it Is hard |
for an old man to obtain work much |
harder is it for a woman The upshot of