The sun., 1901-12-12
New Phase Of Besgary in New York.

The turning over to a police officer
Of beggar by lady whom she pursued
with abusive pertinacity, on Tuesday,
in Madison avenue, brings conspicu-
ously to public notice nuisance which
has grown TO serious proportions in
New York, more especially in that par
ticular part OF the town.
This woman beggar was well and
comfortably clad, and in her appear
ance thus she typified whole class
of beggars who now "beat that dis
trict, though generally they are men.
Nothing in these fellows suggests pow
erty. Usually they are young and their
tales Of hardship are contradicted by
a well-fed look and all the outward signs
OF sufficient prosperity.
Almost invariably they are hardy
young fellows so obviously able TO work
for their living that their begging i'm
portunities provoke astonishment. They
pursue a method Of mendicancy which
is novel. 1t is not the woebegone way
Of other days, but bluff or insinuating
manner Of approach indicative OF we'll
studied preparation for the business
as a chosen profession. No pretence
Of assuming the habiliments or the
visage Of poverty is made. They seem
to take pains to go in the other direction
by exercising care in making them
selves presentable. They do not adopt
the slang Of beggars, all Of them exhibit
the signs Of some education, and few
are notable for their correct manner
Of English speech. In this weather
they all wear good overcoats, and gloves
are not infrequent among them; no
suffering from winter cold is indicated
or simulated.
Perhaps all this is part Of the scheme
to get larger aims No one who gave
at all to such a beggar, young fellow
so personable, would be likely TO insult
him by turning him off with a cent.
Even a nickel would seem paltry sum
to give a parsonage OF his seeming i'm
portance. Apparently, they are after
bigger game, and that they are success
full in the chase is indicated by their
persistence in it. Tho same men are
to be encountered on different beats"
night after night.
Now, all this goes on at a time when
the demand for labor is greater than ever
before. 1t persists, too, at period
when private charity is dispensed more
abundantly than ever T. fore, and when
organized charities. public, parochial,
and institutional are more numerous
and more systematic in their search for
people really needing their aid than at
any past time. Philanthropy has come
in to replace lost religious conviction.
Every church Of every denomination
has its scheme of charity, and in some
OF the parishes il is laid out on really
gigantic scale.
The new form OF street beggary now
so notable must therefore be regarded
as an "up-to-date development Of
the business Of mendioancy perfected
simply as the easiest way of getting
living. Is IL foreign importationl
The circumstance that these new-style
beggsrs usually speak English without
an accent and with the prevailing Ameri-
can intonatlon Offers no such suggestion.
The suggestion IL rather training in our
public schools.
The possible spread Of spirit of pau
perism 30 alien 90 our social conditions,
- disgraocful aud 80 pcrnicious ought
to be prevented at once by the poAoe
authorities, and the lady Who rendered.
assistanoe "a this end by securing the
arrest Of a representative ~ the gang
deserves much commentator for hrr
gUlsltg sglFf