Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-12-22
Civic SOCIETY TO
STOP BEGGING
National Organization Begins a
J War on ImpOStOrS.
TO Be WAGED IN ALL BIG CITIES

Chiefly Preventive Rather Than Re-
pressive-Row Unfortunatesl Will Be
HeIped-Odd Stunts Of Some CeIe-
brated Beegars.
comprehensive effort to deal on a
national scale with the problem of
mendicancy in all the large cities of
the United States and in time, if pos
Sible, to stamp out the professional
phases of it, as represented in the pro-
fesSional impOstor and charity fraud"
is the work that has lately been launch
ed by a newly formed organization,
having it's headquarters at New York
city with James Forbes as it's director
and secretary.
The society is practically an out
growth of Mr.. Forbes own work in
the mendicancy bureau of the New
York Charity Organization society,
which was aimed at the same problem,
but not upon so ambitious a scale.
The society, which is called the Ma
tional Association For the Prevention
of Mendicancy and Charitable Impos-
ture, will cooperate with police de-
partments, charitable organizations and
individuals in every one of the large
cities of the United States 1t pos
sesses 800 photographs of the most no.
toriOus professional mendicants in the
United States, showing them plying
their trade" and also 1900 records of
the history and the practices of mendi-
cants, rogues. frauds and knaves Of
every description. These will be used
as bureau of information to enable
police departments and charity organ
izations to deal intelligently with any
mendicants and rogues who may be
found imposing upon citizens.
Unfortunates to Be Helped.
The chief work Of the society, how
ever, will be directed to the social
police" work of assisting mfortunates
and detectives who have been forced
either by physical or mental incapaci-
ty or real need to beg in the streets.
The method to be used. it is announc-
ed, is to find work or permanent aid in
some form for the crippled and dis
abled.
Decoyed boys found begging for
tramps will be sent home to their
parents. For the most part, it is an
nounced. the work with the mendi-
cants will be preventive rather than
repressive, and it is hoped by COM
bined method Of warning, advice and
assistance to discourage many of those
just entering the field and help them
to earn an honest living.
One of the first efforts of the society
will be to clear the streets of every
large city of the United States Of the
professional beggar. Work to this end
has already been started in New York,
and in the last few weeks Mr.. Forbes
and A. p. Curtis. special officer of the
society, have been rounding up pro-
fessional beggars in the Sixth avenue
shopping district. where they had be-
gun to concentrate from all parts of
! the United States to reap the harvest
! Of the Christmas season. Some of the
most notorious beggars and impostors
in the United States were rounded up
as a result of this search.
Celebrated Impostors.
Among these celebrities were the no.
torious "Shivers," an old man whose
| speciality is to lie on the ground and
give a horribly realistic stimulation Of
an epileptic fit; Charles Berkowitz Of
| philadelphia, one of the INSCRIPTIONS
blind beggars of the country, who in
| two days work had obtained $54.41 by
the time he was arrested; Nina Saliva
tore, an old italian "black hood"
whose speciality is simply to look
starving and hideous; Leon Lemaire,
| the French "crust throWer." whose
special device is to throw piece Of
bread in the gutter when he sees a
charitably looking woman approach
| ing and then to pounce upon it and
begin to gnaw it ravenously; old man
Dublin. the "copper"" Broken Backed
Smiddy.'' whose appeal to sympathy is
a dislocated hip; Shenandoah SLIM"
who was working a deaf and dumb
racket, and several others.
In all there were about sixty-fve
professionals who had been in the
trade for years and earned comfort
able competence at it. Some of these
were sent to the workhouse; a few Of
them were shipped out of New York;
all Of them have been cleared out Of
the shopping district, SO that women
will be practically free from imposi-
ton and fraud during their Christmas
shopping.
To Be Supported by Contributions.
In explaining the object of the soci-
ETY. Mr. Forbes said that Police Com
missioner Baker has been in full SYM
patty with the work, and, while no
mendicancy squads have been estab-
lished. such as were formed by ex-
Commissioner Bingham, Commissioner
Baker has been assisting the new or
ganization in every possible way. The
society is still practically in a forma-
tive stage of organi- IN. 1t will be
summarized hv voluntary contributions.