Durango semi-weekly herald., 1904-12-05
GREAT ARMY IN WANT.
Robert Hunter, Formerly Of Chicago,
Says Nation Has 100000
Paupers.

NEW YORK. Dec S.-Robert Hun
ter. who became prominent in char.
ity work in Chicago and recently mar
ried the daughter OF Anson Phelps
Stokes. OF New Yerli. an heiress to
millions, has written book scoring
American millionaires and denounc
ing the economic conditions of the
United States. The book is entitled
Poverty" and in II Mr. Hunter as
serts that l0,00o,000 persons in this
country are in want He calls 1900
600 paupers and the remainder wage
earners. The pauper depends on pub
lie or private charity for his susie.
nance. The others work. some of them
night and day, and yet are unable to
obtain those necessities which will
permit them to maintain state of
physical efficiency.
That 10000, 900 OF the people OF the
United States are in poverty. either
as paupers or as laborers pinched by
the iron Vice OF nccessity, Mr.. Hunter
calls to witness an array of statis.
tics.
community" he continues. ''is a fair.
ly good measure of the minimum dis
tress. In the year 1908. 50,463 families
in the borough of Manhattan were
evicted from their homes That is
about IA per cent. of the total num-
Der of families in the borough
AS another indication the number
h.
Everyone familiar with the poor
knows how desperately they struggle
to give decent burial to their dead
Even the poorest people have friends
politicians or others. who save them.
II possible. from this last disgrace
And yet one out of every ten persons
who die in New York is buried in
number Of pauper funerals does not
represent half the actual distress OF
the community"
Mr. Hunter quotes reports from Of
fetal sources to the effect that in
1897 and 1899 Is per cent of the inhab-
itants Of New York State were in
distress. He declares this figure rep
helped by charity, and adds that he
would not be surprised If the number
of those in distress in the metropo-
lis and in other large Industrial Amer
lean centers rarely fell below 25 per
cent of the people.
Mr.. Hunter finds in the fact that
2 100000 wage earners IN the United
States are out of employment from
four to six months OF the year addi-
| tional data for his estimate
He thinks that an annuai income of
| $500 year is the average amount ON
which family of father. mother and
| three children can live and keep
above the poverty" line
ut is hardly to be doubted" the
social agent continues. that the mass
of unskilled laborers in the North re,
ceive less than s4G0 a year and that
| the same class in the South receive
less than $500
Mr. Hunter declares that the con,
ditions of want are increased by the
arrival every year of 100000 male i'm
migrants, who seek work in the very
district where employment Is most
scarce. He declares that 100 600 lit
tie children are forced to become
| wage-earners in this country wher
they should be in school, and thai
about 5,00O.0 900 women find II neces
sary to work, OF whom 1000 900 are
employed in factories and mills.
There must be thousands. yer,
likely 10000 to 10000 children IL
New York City alone. who often ar
rive at school hungry and untitled t,
do well the work requiIed'
Shorten hours and higher wages. .
he suggests as remedy for some o
these conditions. Steadler employ
ment, improved sanitary condition.
In workshops and protection in dan
gerous trades are reforms which Ii
time will decrease materially tn
amount Of pauperlsm.'