Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-02-03
POVERTY AND CRIME GOOD
THINGS.

ed 10 have said:
The cry goes up to abolish poverty,
bet 1t will he indeed sad duy
when poverty is no longer with US.
Where Will your inventor. your artist,
your philanthropist your reformer, in
fact. ANYBODY OF note, come from then?
Ihey all come from the ranks of the
poor. God does not call his great men
from the ranks of the rich"
Upon this. Mr.. Ambrose Bierce, In the
n. Y. Journal, says:
That is not altogether true. The no
t6Dlc men do not all come from the
ranks OF The poor. though Mr.. Carne :ic
does and that ;;ives him the ri 1t t,
point out the sweet uses of adversity,'
as did Shakespeare and many others
The rich supply their quota of men
naturally great. but through lack OF n
sufficiently sharp incentive many OF
these give us less than the best that is
In them.'
Mr.. Bcrce adds:
Go further than Mr. Carnegie; not
onl, do THINK POVERTY NECEs-
sARY TO PROGRESS AND CIvlI.I-
ZATION. BUT AM PERSUADED
THAT CRIME, TOO, is INDISPEN-
SABLE TO THE MORAL AND MA
TERIAL WELFARE OF THE RACE.
In the ever needful effort to limit and
suppress it, in the immemorial and in
cessant war between the good and the
evil forces OF this world, in the con-
ty OF life and property, in the strenu-
Gus task of safeguarding the young, the
weak and the unfortunate against the
cruelty and rala ity ever alurk to prey
upon them-in all these forms and pha-
SEES of the struggle for existence are
generated and developed such higher
virtues and capabilities as we have. A
country without crime would breed a
population without sense"
Then, II we believe these gentlemen
poverty and crime are at least useful
and necessary evils, If not positively
tans made Il slave drunk as mocling
example TO their children: and it is said
that the carly teetotal lecturers took
around with them blo1ted and blear-
eyed sot as dreadful example of the
results of intemperance. But who be-
49, % -hi- y 81 4iSJi C " NIL NO
body,--except those who desire to
charge everything upon nature and the
fixed order Of necessary fate Men thus
rid themselves of all res onsi bilty for
hers, for conditions and events, IL not
for themselves and their own acts
"All's for the best" for others anyhow,
no mater how bad it is; but for our
sslves. nothing is as good as 1t should
he!
Poverty is no incentive to wealth. nor
promoter of ambition.-no more than
slavery is the incentive TO freedom and
the promoter of power. 1t is not they
who are born feeble and unhealthy
from whom grow the strong ana
healthy Speaking of the unmarked
graves OF the poor. and glancin.; at,
their lack of opportunity, the poet
Gray says:
Chill penury represscd their noble
rage.
And froze the genial current of the
SOUL
Poverty represscs and brushes far
more than it incitcs and spurs; and il
crime is necessary to any virtue. that
virtue is but n mega i've and fulaA pr
tension bred of a vicious nature ripe
for crime if it dared. Nor are we
likely TO become more careful of life
because OF murder in the land; on the
contrary, vice breeds vice. crime crime,
poverty poverty. and all diseases and
deficiencies. of whatever nature, are
not only disabling to their subjects but
are more or less contagious.
II the world is to b. made better and
happier it is The dJty Of all to do their
b $. 10 reform crime and remove pow
erty, so that neither shall cause the
Other aud al grow better as bstter con
Il lions for The worst will surely i'm
PROVE en- the lest.