The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1904-12-02
s'POYERTY.': !.
a Book That Ought to Mako the
World Think.
B. HUHTER, SOCIAL HEFoRMER,

Arraigns Conditions that Give Ono
Hundred and Twenty-five Thou
sand People Half the Ma
,ion's Wealth.
Like voice crying in the wilder.
ness of wealth and luxury, Robert
Hunter, the young social reformer,
has uttered an appeal for the ten mil
lion people of the United States who
are stepped in proverty. To give effect
to the appeal, Mr.. Hunter, with his
young and beautiful wife, formerly
Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes. daughter
OF Millionaire Arson Phelps Stokes,
has abandoned mansion of wealth
and luxury In fashionable Madison
avenue and established in Grove
street, where sloth and proYerty abide
on all sides, a home from which he
and Mrs. Hunter will be able to devote
their efforts toward the alienation OF
the suffering.
4soo WAoh hlJ AiaiC VI uluhPSlS LAS
Mf. Hunter taken this radical step.
He and his pretty wife, whom he met
year ago while they were separately
ministeriDg TO the poor of the slums,
had been in their quarters week be-
fore the newspapers found them out.
They modestly dsclaim any purpose
to do anything but bear their just
share of any responsibilities that the
perilous situation may impose upon all
lovers of mankind. But already they
are actively engaged in score cf
practical charitable movements.
HIS BOOK ON POVERTY"
Co-incident with their removed to
No. 89 Grove street, Mr.. Hunters
book on Poverty" was published by
the Macmilians. 1t Is the result of Mr..
Hunters fifteen years Of labor among
the poor OF the nation, and it Is ter
-Ttbfe 'arraignment Of the State, the
corporations and the individual en-
ployers Of labor, whom he charges
with joint responsibility for the con.
ditions that prevail.
Startling as is his statement that
there are O,OOO,OoO people in the
United States-ono- eighth Of our pop
ulatiOn-suffcring from proverty to.
day; that the scourage or mcnkind-
cOnsumptinn-is epidemic, &S-sthat
Jne poor are poorer Jnan ever; nSSyl77777
not stop there, but predicts, unless fsss
medal measures are adopted, an even
worse condition, ending in an ec'
omic feudalism worse than the baron
ial feudalism of the Middle Ages.
Mr.. Hunter ldoes not especially
charge the Trusts with responsibility
for the conditions, but the Inference
which he draws is plain.
Poverty" is book which is bound
to create a sensation among thinking
people.
At the beginning Of his tcok, Mr..
Hunter. In chapter IN general .pov.
erty, defines the geographical limits
Of the state OF misery with which he
proposes to deal. After referring tt
the slum districts of foreign cities, he
says:
CONGLoMERATE POVERTY.
In our American cities negroes
whites, Chinese, Mexicans, half
breeds, Americans, Irish and other.
are 1ndiscriminately housed together
I
the same rooms. Tne blind, the Grip
pied, the consumptive, the aged, the
ragged ends Of life, the babies, tie
children, the half-stalve1, underclAd
beginnings In life, all Euddled to-
gether, waiting, drifting This is pau
perism. There is no mental agony
here; they do not work sore; there is
no dread; they live miserably, but
they do not care"
Continuing, the author says:
How many people ia this country
are In poverty? Is the number year
ly growing larger? Are there each
year more and more or the urskilled
class pursuing hopelessly the elusive
phantom or self-support and indepen-
dence? have ro,
the slightest doubt that there are in
the United States 10000, 900 rersons
in precisely these conditions of power
ty, but | am largely guessing, ard
There may be as many as fifteen or
twenty millions. But ought we not
to know?
The number OF evictions in any
community is fairly g. Cd measure OF
the minimum Of distress. In the
year 19O3 bO,463 families in the
Borough of Manhattan were evicte3
from their homes. This is about IA
per cent. Of the total number OF the
families in the borough.
AS another indication the number
OF pauper burials should be cited.
Every one familiar With the poor
knows how desperately they sturggle
to give decent burial to their dead
and yet one in every ten per-
sons who die In New York is buried
at public expense In Potter Feld.n
Summarizing some Of the facts
which he then gives Mr.. Hunter pre-
sentS this table:
STATISTICS OF DISTRESS.
1903-Twenty per cent Of the peo
pie OF Boston in distress.
1897 Nineteen per cent Of the peo-
pie OF New Yor In distress.
1890 Eighteen per cent OF the pco.
n NJ Nrtr II I,nt