The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1913-01-06
SHOWSCHAR|TY
GRATING REAL
ART HEREABOUT
Captain Bouterse Says Fakirs
Flourish in Pensacola Be-
cause of Laxity.
STRANGERS CLUB LEARNS MANY
THINGS ON THE VALUE OF Ex-
ERcISING cARE ABOUT THE
GIVING OF HELP TO THOSE
WITH HARD LUCK STORIES. p

| According to Captain NJ. ]. Bouterse,
who recently resigned as captain OF
the Salvation Army in Pensacola to &C.
cept the position of field agent and in
Yestigator for the Womans Relief As
sociation, most anybody with the nerve
can go TO charitable organization and
flim-fiam it out of anything from
Christmas baskets to a mahogany par
lor suite. Inversely, he showed, most
any charity worker can mix equal por-
tions of Divine motive and argument
and get the last dime out of a hard
working man with a rheumatic wife,
three small children and a big Doctors
bill for the help of scientific grafters
upon charity.
! Captain Bouterse didn't mind telling
those little things last night because he
has gone into a work that has the
primary object of reducing to mini
munl-w1th g. science surer than that
Of the charity neutrality-suspicious. of
either nature in this city.
He was the principal speaker before
the Strangers club at Its regular 5
o'clock meeting at the Y. NJ. c. A
yesterday. The question was the
present conditions of poverty in the
nation and in this city and the dis
cussioa was led by General Secretary
| ]. H. Sheriff., Of the Y. NJ. c. A.
Relative to conditions here, he said
that there are about 130 families in
Pensacola more or less dependent upon
charity and that he would hesitate to
say unqualifedly that Is per cent Of
those are worthy of what they receive.
It was the largest attendance at any
meeting of the club since its inception
that heard Captain Bouterse and 1t
was easy to see that each Of them
thought he'd look twice at the next
ir.icke1 he gave to help the poor.
They were still thinking It over when
Probation Officer Paulsen told of the
good work of one of the local organi-
cations Christmas. It seems they sent
out several baskets to needy families
RECEIVE GOOD SALARIES.
One basket, it was said. went to q
family whose head has been steadily
employed at SIS a month the last two
years. Two of the others, he said, had
been sent to city employees that were
drawing $50 a month.
Now it doesn't seem difficult to finn
fam charitable organization out Of
Christmas basket, but the mahogany
suite seems almost impossible at first
thought. It would be practically i'm
possible in Pensacola, because of It's
limited population, but in Bottom or
New York it wouldn't be such a diff
cult proposition, as Captain Bouterse
explained the workings of the charity
bureaus and institutions.
George. for instance, with an extrav-
agant bride and only about $50 a month
salary would get "out of work." ban
40 H.,
good strong liniment good for flea
bites, liver trouble or rheumatism.
George would use 1t for rheumatism.
After practicing limping for a couple
Of nights he would make call at the
charity Office and give them a hard
luck story. He would return home with
a basket of groceries. The next day he
would call upon some other organiza-
ton with the same tale. He would get
an order for two dollars a week there.
The next nigat-it was pretty easy
he would call on another, maybe two,
and get help from them.
Now at that rate George and his ex-
travagant bride could get that suite
in Just about two weeks and have their
board in the bargain.
OF course, the speaker explained, the
charity Organizations have their inves-
tigators, but they are busy and must
cover, perhaps, a good many cases in
a day, and, besides
VIE WITH EACH OTHER.
THE charity organizations are vie
ing with each other to see which can
take care of the most people; each
wants to make a good showing and
beat. il possible, the others"
Captain Bouterse said that and
showed that conditions prevailed
| in Boston during the seven years he
worked there and that, while closer
and more systematic work Is being
done now, the impositions are so fire.
quent that statistics upon the number
| of poverty-stricken in nation or city
might well be discounted at least so
tper cent If an idea Of the actual con-
| ditions. is desired.
| Many cases in Pensacola" he said,
/ "are those of men that work on the
docks a goodIy part Of the year and
get from 81 to IS a day during en-
ployment. Many are improvident, how
ever. and week after they have re-
Iceived their envelopes are after help
from the charity workers.
| "Of course" he continued, I'VE have
other cases in which real and truly
lheart-rendering poverty is apparent.
| A WORTHY CASE.
| Only last week investigated a case
not two blocks off your main street.
| [ found a woman with tuberculosis ly-
ling upon a dirty bed and surrounded
| by all sorts of filth, even to dead and
/