Year: 1874




land just at this time, and it may be that MIR.
Hawthorne had an eye on the deceased repub-
lican party in the choice of his topic-"Let
the Dead Bury Their Dead" But those who
hear can tell this morning.


How Shall We Relieve the Poor I'm
the Coming Winter:


A few days ago we called attention to the
importance of an early consideration OF the
best means to be adopted for the relief OF the
poor in the coming winter. Experience
warns us of the prudence of perfecting our
plans in good season. When the severe
weather came upon us last winter it found
thousands starving and freezing in the midst OF
wealth, and no method OF affording that imme-
diate relief needed for the salvation OF human
life. The established charitable institutions
were in operation, it is true, and doing their
own measure OF good in their own routine
way. But they could not put food instantly
into the mouths Of those who were on the
point of death from starvation on the streets
and in the garrets and cellars Of tenement
houses for they had their rules to OBJ
serve and their Investigations to make,
and before these forms could be COM
piled with the charity they might have
been willing to extend was unavailable.
Soup houses were established as the best
means that offered TO meet the emergency,
and, with the cooperation Of the police force,
they did much good. The reports Of the cap
tains of the precincts show that these institu-
tions were great success; that the aid they
afforded to the poor was valuable, and that
but for them we might have been IN
danger Of bread riots such as have often
afflicted the great cities of the Old
World. We believe it to be an error to
suppose that they encouraged vagrancy and
street begging. On the contrary the soup
houses were an injury to the professional
street beggar and seriously interfered with
his calling. The shivering wretch who stopped
q citizen on the sidewalk with his well-re-
hearsed tale of starvation was directed to the
nearest soup house for the meal of which he
professed to stand SO much IN need, and
missed the material aid he in reality desired.


We are glad to see disposition on the part
of some of our contemporaries to unite with
us in bringing before the people in good sea-
son this year the subject of the relief OF the
poor, and we are also pleased that our re-
marks have called forth an interesting report
from the Bureau of Charities, established at
the HERALD's suggestion year ago. That
report affords conclusive proof that the
relief extended by the organized charities
of the city, valuable as it may be- is not suf6-
cient to meet the exigencies Of severe winter.
The suggestions of the committee at the head
Of the Bureau are no doubt valuable, but
they look rather to the perfecting Of system
of perpetual relief and to o harmonizing of
the work of the several rival charitable insti-
tutions-for singularly enough, there are bitter
rivalries among them-than to the establish
ment of some we'll organized and efficient
method Of instantaneously relieving those
who are perishing OF cold and hunger 1t
may be wise to register those who call for
charity, to issue cards and to compare names
and residences; but the poor wretch who
taints by the roadside from the lack of food,
and the little ones who freeze to death in the
empty garrett cannot very well wait
|
cases or searching for their names
on registry. The discovery made by the
committee, OF one person who was receiving
aid from nine organized city charities at the
same time, is sufficient to show that the safe
guards and systematizing suggested in the
report are much needed But the further
fact that all this aid only gave the recip-
lent eight dollars a month, or less than
one dollar month from each society, shows
just as conclusively that such relief is insuffi-
cient to meet the wants of pauperism during
q severe winter.


/ For these reasons we cannot agree with our
contemporary, the Times, that the adoption of
porary relief is likely to be attended
with evil consequences or to attract
vagrancy to New York. We do not
indorse that philanthropy which would
stop pauperism by letting the poor die on the
sidewalks. 1t savors too much of the English
policy of making the almshouse worse than
felon's prison in order to keep down the poor
rates. The poor we have always among us in
large city, and humanity cannot allow
people to starve and freeze in the public
streets, even if they should chance to be
strangers. We insist that soup houses, which
have been successfully tried in Europe, have
the effect to drive professional beggars from
the city. The professional beggar is we'll
fed, sturdy vagabond, who wants money, and
secretly turns up his nose at pauper's meal.
When he sues for aims he does not desire to
be referred to soup house and charitably
directed where he can procure food. Under
intelligent management q system Of prompt
relief may be devised and perfected which will
effectually aid the deserving poor and destroy
\ tho ton of the 1aYnfassional .roero