The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1907-07-26
PAUPERS AND CRIME
COST SIX BILLIONS
Yearly, while Yearly Increase in
wealth is OAly IS, 900. eoo, 600.

wealth is OAly $1,000. eeo, eco.
A correspondent TO the New York
World from Washington furnishes the
World the following interesting infOr-
nation and facts
This country spends $1,000, OOO, 900
annually on the criminal, pauper and
vicious classes, and the annual increase
Of wealth is only s., 900, O00, 900. Does
not that look as IL the pubic were
bankrupt?
This statement was made in lecture
by DR.. Charles J. Bushnell, who Is con-
Quoting q model public playground here.
He Is q graduate Of Heidelberg Univer-
sity and an authority on civic matters.
DR.. Bushnell has the support Of the
leading citizens of Washington In his
work.
DIR. Bushnsll's figures are taken, be
says, from authoritative sources and
represent years Of careful study. He
challenges any one TO disproVe their ac-
curacy. He and his wife have made q
special study Of what they call the
''social illness" of the United States
Continuing, DR. Bushnell said
"Why, the Sc, 900, coo, 600 that this
nation spends every year on its crimi-
nal cases equals the amount spent on
all churches, public Libraries, the Young
Mems Christian Association, the Saliva.
ton Army, public hospitals, asylums
for the insane and all benevolent insti-
tutions. The average factory hand
earns $40 year, while IL is estimated
that the average criminal costs the
public at least 81 200 year.
Disease as a result Of vicious habits
Is on the increase; suicides are increaa-
ing six times as fast az the population,
and murders three times as fast; in
sanity is also increasing faster than the
population. We are manning and kill
ing in accidents resulting from our In
dustriRl enterprises as many persona
as were killed in an average year OF
the civil war, the Philippine war and
the Japanese Russian war combined. In
other words we are practically carrying
on these three wars all the time. And
these deaths by accidents, due 10 our
fast commercial spirit, are from two
10 nine times a. numerous as similar
deaths In Europe, where experts have
shown that three-quarters Of such Acci-
dents are preventable. We are living
entirely too fast. ..ese.
eve have 1000, 900 pRupers in this
country, and 10, 900, 600 persons are on
the ragged edge Of pauperism. -
| DR.. Bushnell endeavored to show par
ticularly the need Of work TO effect the
growing evils Of social conditions In the
large cities. In 1870, he said, only per
cent Of our population lived IN cities OF
1000 or more inhabitants, while today
over one-third live in cities Of this class
and in the East and Northeast the per-
centage is much higher even than
that.
81 believe" ne said, "thst more and
more people will move to our large
cities. This will be due TO the availa-
bility Of factory products and the small
Ter need Of men on the farms, where
work is being done more and more by
machinery"
The public playground where chill
dren are given outings and useful Oc-
cupation, ID obviating 70 some extent
these conditions, Il was pointed out by
DIR. Bushnell. While the facts he pre-
sented, he said, might lead one to take
a very pessimistie view of the world 3
future, he nevertheless favored the ut
most effort to turn the tide in the other
direction, and he said he believed It
could be done by herculean efforts.