The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1902-12-19
The ShiftlesS Poor.
Dalles Chronicle.

AS the winter season comes on apace
the usual calls for assistance are crowd
ing in on our county Judge, who is put
merits of each. Not only is the county
besieged, but charitable institutions and
individuals are in the same box.
The poor we have always with US and
referring to such the Divine Teacher
said, "Inasmuch as We have done it unto
the least Of these, ye have done it unto
me-" There is a class Of alleged poor
to whom we believe this does not refer,
and these we have more abundantly
than the deserving ones. The latter it
is next to impossible to find for they are
not going about parading their wants on
the street corners, and the only way the
County can determine their need is
through some neighbor from whom they
cannot hide their destitution. Such as
these che county and private philan-
thropists would gladly assist, particular
ly as the season for gift-giving is close
upon us.
There are in The Dalles large families
who yearly make their appeal to the
county or others, whether times are
prosperous or otherwise. To them it
makes no difference. The public owes
them a living whether they have at
tempted to earn it or not. In these
families are grown sons and daughters
lying idle in unkept shanties. The har-
vest season comes and is gone, and while
the cry has gone up from all sides for
harvest hands, the boys have sat in the
shade of some tree and whitfield; the
farmers wives have begged for help at
this time and the city housekeepers
have placed advertisement after adver-
tisement in the papers endeavoring to
secure assistance in the kitchen, but
still the husky daughters of these Gun
fortunate poor" lounge about.
Winter comes and the mothers of
these "poorn boys and girls call upon
the Judge with pitiful tale of woe and
beg from door to door of neatly-kept,
prosperous homes, where the sons and
daughters have been out in the world
battling for a livelihood ever since they
left school, after receiving not the least
bit more education than is offered to the
children of the parents who now beg Of
their "more fortunate" neighbors. Why
this difference? Simply because the
one has made the most of their oppor
tunities the other has done nothing but
| live off the remainder OF the community
These people, OF course, grow i'll at
| times, and howl at once goes up and
l the entire city is exercised and assist
ance comes from all sides The physi-
clan is called to administer to them; to
| leave his bed in the dead of the night
and make his way to some shack lar
back of the city and give them the nee
essary assistance, without money and
without price One of these men said
/ the other dav, "If You don't come when
YOU are sent for I'll know the reason
| there's law that compels you to do so!''
| When, as a matter of fact there is no
such law.
What applies to the physicians in
such cases applies to all professions, all
/ trades. The shiitless live off the in
dustrious. We would not be understood
TO saw that i'm many cases those whom
the county and others are assisting are
not worthy and such as should be
helped; but the majority, we must say,
/ belong ~ the other class.
But what's to be done in the matter
In a Christian community none will be
left in want; and yet are We not in
many instances simply fostering idleness
bv helping such2 Is il uneharitable to
refuse aid in such cases? While such
questions are propounded each year,
they remain unanswered, for our people
would rather foster a whole army OF
undeserving idlers than that Zone OF the
least" Of the deserving ones should
remain in want.