The Connecticut labor press., 1919-05-17
9lRantngH
nf
5prtngHtnR


Over the hills to the poor house"
only Ill New Haven we call it Spring
side Home, thus sort of softening the
crime of poverty. Located in the vicin-
lty OF West Rock with its scenic beau
ty, the large three-story main building
of the institution and its two spacious
wings has the appearance of a prosper
Gus summer hotel rather than the abode
of the dOwn-and-out, derelicts and de-
| teCt1VeS.
All nationalities known to New Ha-
ven lite are represented at Springside
except the Chinese, and, of course, the
| Jews for their superior system of char
lty bears no stigma such as pauper.
/ The writer cast his lot during a recent
week with 800 unfortunates who are
| guests of the institution and, living their
nfe for the time being, gained an in
| sight III the methods of this really i'm
| pOrtant New Haven lnstitution-and the
lives of its people-little known to the
general public. 1t will be found inter-
estlng reading and may, / trust, arouse
i'll the heart of the reader a more kindly
| feeling toward the poor house. than
| he formerly maintained.
| While the majority of the 300 odd
inmates of Springside, lis of whom are
women, are elderly, decrepit and past all
usefulness, strange to say there are
many who, to all appearances at least,
seem very much out of place here. In.
| the several kitchens, or employed in
ward work or on the farm, are men of
various ages apparently vigorous, both
mentally and physically. And converse
| with them will, TOR the most part, prove
this to be true. Why, then, are they
here and not out in the world partici-
pating the battle of life, independent
citizens and not classed as paupers? l
put the question to one of the institu-
TONS officials, and this was his reply:
Drink, Or lack of ambition. The
most of these men are tradesmen, some
Of them very skilled in their trades.
| They have not been committed here nut
come of their own free will. After
period of work on the outside spree
follows, then they seek the Home for
recuperation. They are welcome be-
cause they make good here by working
in positions where tradeSmen are effed-
ed. Cooks, painters, farm hands, cob
| ble1s, carpenters and others are well
come because all the wages they receive
| is their board, and that isn't costly at
| Spr1ngs1de.
official, who are efficient but never go
out They lack ambition not only to
work outside but spirit enough to even
get drunk, although they are able-bodied
and intelligent men,"
| Springside abounds in characters
such as only Dickens could paint. For
instance in the reading room every even
ing an old gray beard reads aloud to
all who gather about New Haven daily
newspaper. Newspapers being scarce
(there are none on fle), quite an audi
ence listens to the old man as he goes
through the sheet from first page to
last and, IN sonorous voice, pedd1es out
the news of the day.
| But the peculiar part of this perform
i ance is that the reader is remarkably
1 well yersed, not only in the worlds
affairs of today but of the historic past.
This knowledge upon occasion, he
| throws in with his vending of the news.
| Also he makes merry if occasion arises.
| To illustrate the idea l quote a few
| specimens:
We'll here's something about an in
/ crease in taxes. AsGwe are paupers it
| doesn't concern US" And the old gen.
4 tleman passes on to the next news item.
| Coming to an explanation of how the
| treaty was made after the Russo Japan
| csc war, he read it and then in this
comment: This all took place at
| Portsmouth, N. H., in great summer
4 hotel owned by Frank Jones, noted
brewer. Brewer Jones also owned the
| State for when it was under a pro-
hibitory law his influence kept all the
i saloons open"
A rival to the reading artist is an
| other old graybeard who fairly bursts
| with learning. This man 80 years ago
| was one of New Ravens most brilliant
lawyers. Drink broke him in health and
| wealth and he finally landed in Spring
/ side. He holds forth every evening or
| SO, giving an irnpromptu lecture on art,
the drama, religion or what not. APP
| parent1y he is versed in all subjects.
Another notable" is man who, at
| his birth, was grossly "cheated by ma
ture. He is frightfully deformed and
his only method of 1ocomotion is to hop
about like toad, his body being al
most completely doubled together. Yet
he has an intelligent face and he is al
ways cheerful, even merry at times. He
is in business, too, receiving each week
| tobacco from downtown wholesaler
which he retai1s to those who used the
weed and have the price to pay for it.
Yes, indeed, there are paupers who
| have rnonev. even if in very limited
amounts. 1t comes from friend or
| relative, perhaps, in the outside world.
l Fortunate they are, for the conditions
under which the most of these dere-
licts are existing-not 1ving-empha
| sizes the fact that friend in need is a
| friend indeed. The most pathetic sight
at Springside is the old man or woman
without single friend to visit them,
those particularly whose lives have not
been misspent but whose condition in
their days of the. sere and yellow leaf
came through undeserved misfortune.
To get back to the reading room for
moment Here is chance for some
one to do good turn and the wonder
is that, in all this rich city, no one has
thought to do it. The reading matter
consists of various ancient magazines,
seed catalogues and religious pamphlets,
and some hundred old, di1apidated books
contributed from the castoffs of the
public library I looked over some 20
of these, and fully half of them had
more or less pages missing: No papers
at all are received, either daily or
weekly.
| Another interesting feature of the in
stitution is the smoke house" build
ing of considerable size. Gard and
checker playing furnishes amusement
for many men and conversation about
old times and happier days, recreation
| e. o1e -