New-York tribune., 1907-01-03
CHARITY USELESS.
Mrs. Rose Pastor Stokes Sags It,
Obscures Real Issues.

The room in the Academy OF Medicine vhers
the Woman's Health Protective Association
holds its meetings was filed to overlooking yes-
terday afternoon Women stood IN the door
ways and in the han, and the twilight fell and
the tea waited hour while the women asked
questions and Mrs Rose Pastor Stokes answered
them When the meeting finally adjourned IL
was only the understanding that Mrs Stokes
was to come TO them again. and also ernbody
some of her ideas in pamphlet which will be
distributed among the members.
Mrs. Stokes announced TO speak on the
Civic Problems Of the East Side,' but her ad-
dress might more properly have been called
THE Futility Of Philanthropy"
'I sometimes think" she said. "that it would
be a good thing If this whole philanthropic sys-
tenn could be swept out Of existence. because il
blinds people 10 the real issues. II is not true
philanthropy. Philanthropy is love Of man. and
It is not love Of man to take from him what Is
his. and then when he is lying robbed and
wounded upon the Jericho road 10 put him
a beast and take him to a soup kitchen. There
is little in trying to relieve poverty while
creating it, Just so long go on
leaving and women the Jericho road
will have these problems.
"It is a curious psychological fact that people
should want to relieve distress while they
careless about what they do to create it. Not
long ago Mr. Stokes refused TO become trustee
for a vast estate. He told the two men who
tried persuade him accept the trust that
IL he did he would feel bound to that those
who created that wealth received 1t again Hs
didn't think that the dividends mattered. Now.
these two very philanthropic. They
believe that they so, and others believe il OF
them. But they very much surprised and
hurt at this attitude. They told Mr. Stokes that
it was not at all his business how the dividends
that those who intrusted him with the estate
received them. and finally they said. as if con-
Guiding the whole matter: Our duty is 10 God
and not to the workers
This attitude is very common among the
sustainers of great philanthropies and churches.
They do not that taking dividends is taking
from the worker. They live in luxury denying
themselves nothing. and what they have 10 spare
they give in philanthropy. They do see
that they working at the wrong end. that
poverty can be cured only by doing justice and
seeing that those who create wealth get 1t and
that all help TO create IL.
THE care of the public health is the subject
in which you are particularly interested. and
sickness is one of the greatest OF our problems
under the present social system. Most OF
treatment Of IL is merely on the surface. Only
81 few forces are trying TO remove the
There is IA section of our city known as the lung
block Many efforts have been made TO have
1t torn down and replaced by park. but Moth
ing can be done because the proposition touches
vested interests Even the priest of nearby
church objects because il would remove his
flock To be sure. death removes them anyway,
but he doesn't seem TO think of that.
Many OF our workshops are so bad that II
people don't get tuberculosis in them they get
something else IL is inevitable. Recently. in
Philadelphia. I met in a settlement which he
himself sustained wealthy mill owner. He
employed loo girls, and he much con-
cerned over the way they dropped OFF and died
1t was terrible to see. but he didn't know how
10 help IL. He said they came TO him well and
rosy, but in six months or a year they grew
pale and thin and after dropping out and re-
turning to work few times they died OF tuber-
culosis. / expressed surprise that he couldn't
find way TO prevent this. but he explained
that he couldn't vsntilate the weaving rooms.
because the dust from the colored fabrics blew
onto the white ones and marred their purity.
thought that human beings were more impor-
tant than cloth. and II his heart hadn't been
hardened by business he would have thought
so, too; but it didn't seem to me necessary even
10 sacrifice the cloth. He might have woven the
different cOlors in different rooms. That would
have necessltated more supervision and more
expense and perhaps wouldn't have left him
any money for philanthropy. This man really
wanted TO be philanthropic, but couldn't see that
he was responsible for the killing of hundreds
OF girls And yet / do not blame him any
individual | blame the competitive system
AT this point Mrs. Ralph Trautmann presi-
dent of the society. asked if they could have
the mill owners name. She thought II he were
only told how to secure the necessary ventila-
ton he would get IL. Mrs. Stokes promised %
supply the name and Mrs Trautnann promised
that some would him.
In the rain of questions that followed Mrs
John Livingston Niver complained bitterly that
while she was trying TO relieve poverty people
went on having more children and making more
poverty for her to relieve.
Yes" said Mrs. Stokes. that just showsiths
hopelessness of trying 10 struggle with the sys-
tenn"
Mrs s. r. Weed thought there would be less
poverty il the unions would only let people work
when they want to. and Mrs Stokes admitted
that the unions were sometimes very tyrannieai'
verely for trying 10 do what every one else did
namely get much possible while giving -
little might be in return