New-York tribune., 1906-03-07
"a Study of Pouerty in Relation to
childhood and Education.

,,s title OF THE Bitter Cry Of the
lno- rrhe Macmillan Company Mr.. John
0hN~- Aos made & useful contribution TO a sub
spa -,,olvsns problems that every year press
9s0s a.. more urgency upon the attention OF
W." A,,, The immediate cause of the book
ue s,,ear 10 have been the excitement
w Va bv the statement made by Robert Hun
So, wear in HIS volume on Poverty" that
10 .-s probably no fewer than from 10000
"-oooo children IN New-york City alone who
arrive at school hungry and untitled TO
oi' N the work required" The statement was
co .-,.ooo TO mean that so many children went
uI--s,kssstless'' 10 school every day. a not un-
-, inference in that form" as Mr..
- allows. the statement was naturally
,-v iustly criticised, for. of course, moth
60 GO IN, that number Of children go absolutely
s,Ao,,, breakfast" and Mr.. Hunter, in the in
'-.,rc.,on he has written to Mr.. Spargo's vol
hss seen IT TO substitute the word under
I,~ COR hungry" used in his own book
= salvation Army at the time undertook to
.-,v breakfasts for the starving children, and
= raoard q. Education instituted an investi-
-, The results OF both movements appeared
,,s,-ove Mr. Hunters somewhat loosely
stated opinion
= q personal investigation in the schools
= ,n Dupils' homes. which. while far from ex-
-...,ve tended largely TO bear out Mr. Hun
-. contention at least in its modified form.
s...ras,twent, the authors inquiry much
-, ,n.ir1ate and searching than that made
:. -, tes hers who mostly contented them
.,,rss he declares with asking those children
,.o have not had breakfast this morning.
s,snd up"-a method as lazy as IL was likely
:. sotest the purposes OF the investigation. II
!. ,npossibIe to go into Mr.. Spargos statistics.
h,,b are admittedly incomplete and inconclu-
,ir. hst they are sufficiently startling TO recall
,,h1,o attention TO the subject, and to raise
s,sw the problem OF poverty in its relation 10
,hgshood and EDUCATION. Some OF the individ-
nal instances that came under the authors OBJ
ssrystion we're pitifuI in the extreme. and the
number OF child- n he actually encountered who
we're living on only one or two meals a day
s.d those consisting almost entirely of bread
snd tea or coffee. were such as TO give pause TO
tbOse who lightly dismissed Mr.. Hunters hasty
generalization.
The facts and the conclusions that he drew
from them in regard 10 underfed school chill
drsn led Mr.. Spsrgo 10 extend his inquiry into
the condition Of working children. and TO go
further back into an investigation of the general
pOr from their very birth. The results Of these
studies and the remedial measures which he
suggests are embodied in the present volume
IT'S 20 be regretted that the author has shown
AZ inclination 10 jump al conclusions from the
msagre data at his disposal and a tendency TO
fan into the slipshod methods that characterize
90 much Of the half-balked sociological literature
o. the day; for the conditions which he treats
are real enough and the problem is vital enough
70 demand the best powers OF the ablest minds
snd the united energy OF the whole people TO
lhng about its solution MI Spargo at least
deserves credit for the individual work he has
accomplished and for the interesting manner in
which he has presented It He has. so 10 speak
blazsd way into the jungle, and even if the
path that he marks out is not the one that will
ultimately be followed, he has nevertheless sue
0esdet n revealing more than a little OF the end
"a Be gained and Of the difficulties 10 be encoun-
tered.
Since compulsory education has been estab-
Ished in the United States as a purely self
protective measure, in order that the children
q the country shall be fitted TO become good
citizens, he urges that the same argument
equally prevails 10 render the children ft 10
receive The education already provided for them;
mderfed children are unable 10 keep up with
leave school 10 assume tasks which they are
equally United to perform, and pauperization is
ne almost inevitable result. State-supplied
meals accordingly, he contends. would in no way
increase the tendency TO pauperization, but
would on the other hand, enable those who are
loW condemned 10 lives Of misery, poverty and
Glns 10 become healthy, strong and self-sup-
porting men and women. There is no more rea-
soh ne claims, why the state or city fed child
sloaia thereby feel pauperized than by receiving
nS eoucaton gratis by availing himself Of
1s privileges OF a free library. 1t is a large
tuslecl and Mr.. Spargo is far from claiming
1-t he has said the last word on ii. Many Of
Is |oros are random and appear TO be self
p0ais-dictory Yet, If his book shall serve, as il
u0eouess will to stir up an agitation OF these
ssAAcant questions, IL cannot be regarded as
A1'lhs been written in vain. His tone and his
purpose are earnest, and If his figures are
O-'eh unsatisfactory and his percentages largely
.-sssVork he has at least pointed the need Of
.s''f statistics, which others may be moved
supply.
ne meek and humble altitude of wives toward