Water Valley progress., 1905-12-23
POVERTY IN LONDON
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE cITY's
GREATNESS.
The Recent Procession Of Unemployed
The Heartrending Contrasts in
the Worlds Metropolis-Child
Life in the Slums.

don's greatness is purchased at an
awful cost. Ever we have the tale
of wretchedness and misery existing
in the metropolis, of the great army
of unemployed there; but of late the
world has been called upon to wit
ness the spectacle of rising of the
poor in concerted plea for aid, for
work wherewith to obtain the neces-
saries of life when winter shall have
set in. A cable from London the
other day contained these suggestive
words: "The specter Of revolution
stalked through the streets of London
town to-day. Starving, pinch-faced
women-thousands of them; hundreds
with puny, half-clothed infants in
their arms-paraded in stumbling col
umns to the Office of the local govern
ment board to lay the distress and
grievances of the capitals poor before
the premier of the British nation
A deputation of 80 women was ad-
mitted to the presence of Premier Bal
four and such bold words were used
as these: Hungry men are desper-
ate men. Give our men work, for un-
less something is done speedily there
will be bloodshed" On the streets the
greatest excitement prevailed; to the
tramp of tens of thousands Of feet was
heard the strains of the 'Marseillaise;
at an enormous mass meeting COM
parison was made between conditions
in Russia and England, and there
were not few threats that ere long,
unless radical measures were taken to
appease the suffering, the latter
country, too, would be made an exam
pie of by the downtrodden.
A city Of greatest contrasts Is the
worlds metropolis; of wondrous COM
merce and of want of work for will
ing hands; of fashionable and beauti-
full West End, and of an East End
where myriads live in misery; city
whose mortality as whole is small
compared with many other large CEN
ters of population; but with an East
End that has an annual death rate or
from 80 to 60 for every 1000 persons,
want of work and lack of bread fore
ing down those that fall in the strug-
gle. The procession of the poor. how
ever, did not draw all its recruits
from the notorious East End; the
poor huddle also in the narrow streets
of the Rotherhitthe. Bermondsey and
Lambeth districts south. of the
Thames.
In 1901 the population of London
was 6,581,0O0, over one-fifth of the total
population of England and Wales. AS
whole the city is ugly and dingy,
the streets narrow and dark; the tene-
ment districts are so sunless and so
densely populated as to be impossible.
No wonder philanthropists organize
farm colonies, inaugurate various
colonization schemes to relieve the
overcrowding, seek better dlstribu-
tion in King Edwards wide domains.
Anyone that has read Richard White
ing's mo. 5. John Street" or his "Yel-
low Van" gets some realization OF
conditions In this city Of apparently
hopeless poverty.
In an article in the Cosmopolitan
Lady Somerset writes on the subject
Poverty in the Worlds Greatest Me-
tropolis,' and dwells on the children
of the London slums. This lady Of
high degree who spends so much
thought on how the "other half lives,
speaks thus of the little ones of Lon
don: "It is difficult to realize until
one lives among these children what
their constant suffering means In
the winter, always cold and hungry.
they sit upon the doorstep with blue
fingers trying to wrap their little scam
ty rags around them, going to school
pinched and underfed often faint for
want of food; but, perhaps, when sum-
mer comes, the trial is almost greater,
for I have seen them wilt away like
flowers, when the pavement is hot
and their houses are unbearable, sit
ting upon the doorstep with heavy
heads laid in little grimy hands. look
ing the very picture of despair"
In slums everywhere the little
mothers are feature, the very young
girls doing the big part of bringing
up the babies; the mothers often away
earning the days bread sometimes.
and in London very often, away spend
ing the family pittance in drink. The
curse of drink is a common one among
the women of the London poor, deepen
ing the wretchedness. But there are
the numerous homes Of the sober and
industrious. those that are able to
work and willing but can find no en-
ployment.
Well may one speak of the plague
Of the great city, the madness that
would mass human life.