New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-04-02
THE PROFESSIONALLY NEEDY ONES.
IMPRESSIONS OF n FORMER INVESTIGATOR FOR 4
NEW-YORK CHARITABLE SOCIETY.


which were to be supported by the testimony OF
eyewltnesses and by my own direct experiences
I set about the matter with unusual pTeCau-
tions The influential officers of the society
had. i'm giving money TO the woman. SO persist
emily ignored the recommendations OF inVesu-
gators that they would certainly be prejudiced
against any radical change ! might propose III
treating the case: would they not by lmphe@-
ton thus admit that they had till now been IN
the wrong? Such admission would BE the
more damaging because the case was SO not0-
TiOus.
| saw that the point of departure In investi-
eating Mrs NJ must be the music hall actress.
who had tasted OF her hospitality for nine
months a cleW led me TO the newspaper stand
Of her father; he had long ago repudiatea neF !;
he directed TO her aunt. who had seen her
niece as a servant in family some months
before I called the family and found the
actress with her obviously legitimate chilo.
Her long and eloquent confession did not reflect
favOrably upon the peFsDicacity or even nom
esty of charity investigators nor upon The
good judgment and cOnscientiOusness Of char
ity administrators. As | gathered from what
she said and from what she left unsaid she
had been deceived by the Mr. c. whose name
she bore. and had legttiniiZed herself by gong
through the ceremony of a mock marriage. she
found a natural refuge with Mrs. NJ. because
Nj NJ. frequented the music hall where she
sang and danced. She told OF the nightly
orgies al Mrs. MS. Of beer brought up from
the music hall OF the rooms full OF men, women.
children and babies, tumbled pronl!scuouSiy
about. She tod how Mrs. NJ had trained her
Into the begging business had brought her 20
the rooms Of the charity society. had instructed
her what story to relate, what questions 10 an
swer and what to ask OF the society: had begun
to initiate her into the route OF sympathetic
donors, and into the story that must be told TO
each; everywhere Mrs NJ. accompanied her and
took Immediately whatever she received. The
monthly visit of The charity investigator who
came with the pension money was always an
exciting occurrence AT the home OF the NJ s..
The day was approximately known. and at that
period The house kept in strictly poverty
stricken condition; rugs. curtains, superhUOus
Ctf.AE 9th
in closets or in neighbOrS' rooms, and leweIry
and tiueTy were hustled to the pawnshop for
safe keeping. All the family presented itself IN
rags so as to secure from the investigator q
sympathetic recommendation for more cloth
ing or more money.
Mrs. NJ. had many ways Of arousng SYM
patty The most successful was TO appear in
winter i'm the financial district wearing torn
SHOES and thinly clad in a wrapper with a six
months old baby on one arm and few newspa-
pers under the other. After aNfew hours work
she would return hOms with many dollars and
with the same number of newspapers that she
stdIteI OUT with But as the carrying of The
oaby got her into trouble several times she was
reduced finally to selling papers without its
valuable assistance This baby nlaypd an i'm
poItant role in her occupation and aCcompa MED
her. whenever feasible. on all her charity ex-
cursons. For, besides money. the baby brought
her cIotnes' ana these clothes she could always
convert into money.
The confession of Mrs. c. led me to look for
ana TO secure the testimony of her former hus-
banui incidentally, too, OF friendly bartender:
then of a music hail proprietor and through
the latter TO come I.nwittngly back to Mrs NJ
herself For Mrs NJ. had learned that some one
was making inquiries about her. and FASTENED
AT once 10 the scene. She threatened TO throw
scalding water on me and to do other disagreea-
BILE things il did not stop. while she boasted
that / would never succeed in having her re-
moved from the pension list. that others had
tried this and had failed, and finally assured me
that l would not find out anything about her
IN any case. / fourd subsequently that this was
no idle boast Further investigation among the
neighbOrs showed that she had so thOroUchTv
hUil1nYp6 fhaVo fHot ri It'd
say anything but Hon-COmmittal words az pity
for her poverty. But l had learned enough to
show up the character of the woman and the
nature of hsr associations. and I embodied this
in special report