Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1909-01-08
SOCIAL PROBLEMS.
Inc Problem of Poverty-Some Poverty
Is Preventable, Some Poverty
Unavoidable.

Even thougn they receive Christmas din
llefs from the bounty of the well-to-do
anu presents not a few from the gener-
Gus and charitable, still a nail Of sad
ness hangs over their Christ,nastide
or t1ey know as well as the rest of
| US that 1t IS more blessed to given than
| 20 receive; but the poor cannot give
presents to their friends. Moreover the
SlIts lhey receive from the charity of
the prosperous do not bring to the poor
That unalloyed pleasure that TIE eiyers
| imagine.
Who are the Poor?
The Deggars and tramps who come
daily to our doors and ask for food or
clothlng or chance to work are a CON
stant reminder that there is a problem of
poverty. we know they are merely a fringe
OF the great army of the unemployed
ana that behind this throng of the un-
employed is a still greater multitude of
lO,OOO,OOO of our fellow countrymen who
are on the verge of starvation That is.
tiley are receiving barely a living wage
ana should sickness overtake, the bread
winner OF the family, his wife and chill
dren would be destitute
individual Charity Often Unwise.
what should be our attitude to the
beggar? There are many tender-hearteJ
CHRISTIANS who maintain that we ought
never to turn away from suffering ilu
man beng who appeals for help without
Trying to help him; and that it is there
tore our Christian duty to give food or
clothlng or money to every tramp who
comes to our door. There is a glaring
fallacy in this argument It is true that
as CHRISTIANS we must treat every man
as our brother, and are therefore under
Obligations to help those in need. But
It does not follow that we must help
them IN that particular way, at that in
slant, by giving them food or money.
IN nine cases out of ten we would not
be helping them by so doing. We might
be giving them another temptation to be-
come intoxicated, or encouraging an Idle
man who has deserted his wife and chill
dren. or helping to pauperize some man
we'll able to work
Many Applicants Are Frauds
have not the slightest doubt that most
beggars who come to my door are frauds.
By this | mean either that they are max
ing begging a profession; or they are not
telling true stories of their misfortunes,
or they are criminals fleeing from justice,
or they are simply looking for the price
of drink or they will sell the clothes
you give them and squander the money
in vice.
| have often had men come to ME and
tell me very plausible stories about the
hard luck they have had, and ask for 4
small loan Of money to transport them
10 some Otnor CITY where they ildt NOilN
promised them, or to pay their rent. or
to enable them to make themselves pre-
Sentable enough to get job. In my
guilelessness | have often loaned money
to such people. Here let me record the
results of my experience. Never have
and repay the money.
4 Good Rule.
Most of us have learned by experience
IT, IL. .,f4
sort is not only Improbable and unwise,
but that it is often harmful to the person
who receives it. Such experience has
led many people to make the rule never
to give money, clothing, nor food to any
individual with whom they are not per
long been the rule of many people, | am
sure it will bear repetition; for there are
still many well-meaning people who
lcling to the old-fashioned view that it is
their duty to relieve on the spot every
case of need, by giving what the person
asks for if they possibly can.
Organized Charity More Effective.
1t certainly is our duty to relieve on
the spot if possible every case of need.
But there is a far better way OF per-
forming this Christian duty than by CIV
ing the person what he asks for. Ihat
is by giving every applicant whom we do
not know a card to the office of the Asso-
ciated Charities. If he takes it there,
his case will be thoroughly looked into.
and if his story is found to be true and
he is genuinely in need of help or work
he will receive assistance if that is With
in the power OF organized charity
OF course it goes without saying that
the people who thus utilize the Asso-
ciated Charities in performing their obi
cations of Christian charity should help
support that organization. Ihey shoula
contribute a definite amount each month
or year They will find that the amount
they thus expend will do more to help
the needy and the poor than hve tunes
that amount doled out indiscriminateIy
at their door.
Poverty and the Churches.
There is an extraordinary susplclon
prevalent among some church people
that good church members ought not 10
work through the Associated Charltles
but only through their own church or
ganizations OF course there are speclal
cases of pressing need that every cnuIch
has to look after. But why should TINS
| general work of caring for the pocf ne
the burden of the churches! Ihere IS 10
reason why every good work done III the
community should be done by the
churches The churches are no more re-
sponsible for dealing with poverty lhan
for dealing with a contaminated water
supply. Both are evils that attect the
| whole community, anu Silou ~ II
rected by the organized effort OF the
whole community Where the churches
go in in for charitable relief work on
large scale it is good neither for the
churches nor for the poor 1t allenates
the poor from the churches, and 1t pre-
no done nv one central organization.
More Poverty Is Preventable.
Good as they are. let US hope that
most of the organized charities III our
erroot cities are not permanent instltu-
lions. When the spirit Of real charity
becomes more widely prevalent these these
cities will take the necessary, measures
to do away with all poverty that IS pre-
ventable Most poverty is an un 1n,er;s
sary evil just as much e as ruoe ~ had
Streets and bad drains. Such poverty r,1
can be abolished when all our people
awake to their duty; just as these dis.