The Washington herald., 1909-07-26
PROBLEMS OF PAUPERIsM.
National Responsibility OF Caring
for the Destitute.

Brom the London Spectator.
In our own community we have for
800 years recognized a national responsi-
bility for tho preservation OF the lives
OF those who. whether by fault OF their
own or by sheer accident have become
destitute. The nation viii not look on
and see these destitute persons starved
20 death, whatever may be the cause
OF their restitution The recognition
OF this obligation Of humanity carries US
long way from the callOus indiffer-
ence Of nature. She let's the failures die
and the strong survive. We need not
pause 10 ask whether her method is
hnaily the best. We must preserve the
failures from the worst consequences Of
their incapactty or OF their misfortune
Ihey thus become a burden on the COM
munity' and clearly the community in
It's own defense must try to keep that
burden within reasonable bounds. The
real trouble Of the present situation Is
that for whole generation at least, the
tendency Of our legislation and Of our
social life has been IN the direction OF
increasing, Instead Of diminishing, the
burden Of pauperism- We have, in a
word. been manufacturing paupers. and
we have never paused 10 consider that
for every pauper manufactured there
IS man unmade.
The main cause for this progressive
manufacture Of paupers appears 10 lie IN
the increased tenderness Of heart, or
sentmeutalitY or whatever word may
be used, which comes over a community
that has grown rapidly in wealth. Hence
arises demand that suffering in all it's
many aspects must be relieved at once
regardless Of cost II the only cost IN
volyed were the expenditure incurred by
those who really have more than enough
OF this worlds goods. no serious op-
position could be made 70 this demand.
The important point is that the cost 20
the community Of this undlscriminating
relief OF poverty IS not 70 be measured
by the pounds. shilings and pence that
come out OF the pocket OF the taxpayer,
but by the degradation Of the persons
who hold out their hands for relief al the
first sign OF trouble instead OF making
an effort 70 meet their own misfortunes.
The whole situation was clearly
grasped By the authors OF the famous
poor law report Of 1894 They had had
experience OF what lax administration
OF the poor law meant IN practice, and
they had seen tho manufacture Of pau
pefs gong on under their eyes as we
see It to-day. only they saw il q little
more closely than we are able 10 see II
now because the scale was smaller and
the extreme scandals more crude. and
therefore more obvious. To-day the
manufacture OF paupers takes place al
most entirely IN the towns. and the proc
ess OF manufacture IS obscUred by the
complexities Of urban life. whereas sew
enty years ago 80 was mostly IN the vii
lagos that paupers were manufactured,
and any casual observer could see the
actual change from the independent
laborer 70 the cringing pauper. Pro-
ceeding upon facts which were then
widely. II not universally patent, the com
ulissioners OF 1894 laid down the salutary
dictum, which ought always 10 have
been an axiom. that the condition Of the
dependent pauper must not be made
more attractive than that OF the 1de-
pendent Iaborer. II only this condition
had been steadily adhered TO. and also II
outdoor relief had been suppressed IN
stead OF being merely frowned on. we
could IN the last seventy years have al
most completely extirpated pauperlsm
from our midst