The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1910-09-03
LETTERS FROM
A WORKlNGMIAN:

The real curse Of poverty is not so
much the lack of money as it is the
lack Of opportunity Broadly speak
ing, no man was ever made happy by
wealth, and no man was ever made
unhappy by poverty. It is the OPP
portunities to broaden life that come
with wealth which give a greater
chance for happiness; and it is the
limitations of poverty that cause
misery. $3.50 %c%%#E u ~
The worse kind of poverty is that
which calls for the sacrifice of the
inner life. 1t, us bad enough to have
the body go hungry, but it is far
worse to starve the soul. Aud this
is the condition of great numbers of
the poverty There are really
four classes of people in the world;
the poor poor-those who have no
money and practically nothing else;
the rich poor-those who have no
money but who have an appreciation
Of many of the other things in life;
the Door rich-those who have mo-
ney but do not enjoy the refinements
Of the world; and rich rich-those
who have money as we'll as apprecia-
ton of the better things of life. The
last class are the happiest, but they
constitute very small percentage Of
the people. The great mass may be
called the poor poor; and they are
not always so by reason of their own
fault. For the crushing blows of
abject poverty have been such as to
reduce them to the lowest levels of
appreciation. For them, life has be-
come simply physical struggle and
only the instinct of self-preservation
impells them to continue the fight.
Ambition can live only when the
worker has an opportunity for self
expression. It will not suffice to say
that any man or woman who has the
qualifications may still get to the top.
We are not dealing with exceptional
people; we are dealing with the mas
ses who, it must be confessed in all
frankness, are very ordinary, but who,
nevertheless are human beings who
have right to live. Not all the poor
have the power of initiative, but even
though they had, physical disability
due to poverty or sickness may pre-
vent them from executing their wills.
Large numbers of the poor cannot
afford to rest during a time of illness.
They must keep on, for to stop means
even greater poverty than they are
enduring. It is this inability to prop
erly care for themselves physically
that results in an early death or at
best an old age at a. time when they
should be enjoying the vigor Of full
manhood and womanhood.
It Is true that some have risen from
the ranks of poverty, to positions Of
great power and influence, but in very
rare cases did these come from the
class who are cursed with the ex-
IRENE poverty found in our cities,
most of them, it will be discovered,
came from the farm where, even
though they may not have had the
advantage Of good clothing and edu-
cation, nevertheless developed strong
bodies which gave them the power
to struggle against the most adverse
circumstances. Those who have risen
from poverty to high positions in. life
had this physical capital to bank up
on, thus possessing an asset of which
the aforementioned children, for the
most part, are deprived.-Rev. Chas.
Stelzle.
It Is estimated that there are 10,-
100000 persons in actual> poverty in
the United States. Not that there
are SO many in distress. but that
much of the time. they are underfed,
improperly housed and poorly clothed.
According to the census report, there
are nearly 10000 persons in the aims
houses Of this country. It is probable
that the total number of public and
private abnormal dependents in the
United States is not less than: 3,000,-
900, or one thirtieth of the total pop
ulation Of the country. for whom
is expended about $250.ooo,0o0 or
one-tenth Of the total wage income Of
all manufacturing establishments Of