less there can be windows on the inside wall? Mr. John Bagley Day (architect and chairman of Tenement House Committee of the Church Associ ation for the Advancement of the Interests of Labor), 105 East Twenty-second street. Ninety per cent [to be built upon. --ED.] Mr. Orrin G. Cocks (Union Theologi cal Seminary), 41 East SixtyNinth street. Have not investigated. CRIME, PAUPERISM, AND MENTAL DEFICIENCY. The great questions involved in the proper disposition and treatment of the criminal; the arrest, if pos sible, of pauperism; and the care of the mentally deficient are of special interest to the broadminded physician, for it is he who must take the initiative in the proper scientific solution of these problems. As we ascend in the social scale, with the present state of society, especially in the large cities, the number constituting a family becomes smaller and smaller. It requires no mathematician to discover that the shiftless, the thriftless, the indigent poorthe class which produces, relatively, the greatest number of criminals and paupers, if not of the mentally deficient, are increasing out of all proportion to the thrifty, the well-to-do -the class which produces, relatively, few of the paupers and criminals. How can we account for this disproportionate increase? The sociologist would probably give as the prime cause the growing dislike on the part of parents of the middle. and upper classes to be burdened with numerous children. Recent years have added an additional cause, one specially interesting to the physician. We refer to the lavish free-treatment by hospitals, dispensaries, and lying-in institu tions to all who apply. Never was such organized and persistent effort put forth to save the weakling, the physically incompetent, those who with less care would perish in the battle for life. This effort at saving life is well, it is our duty; but it has its evil consequences. Parents relieved from much that is onerous in child-rearing are encouraged to beget others of their kind. Thus is beginning a multiplication of the indigent population which threatens serious consequences for the future. What is to be done with the confirmed criminal, the pauper, the idiot-the fruits, in too many instances, of this life-saving and lifemultiplying process? Our duty to humanity will not allow us to refuse medical aid, but there remains a means under proper circumstances to prevent the multiplication of certain of these wrecks, these derelicts of humanity. If the confirmed. criminal, the pauper, the degenerate -those who have ceased to have a would discourage it to offer something better, for the future will compel us to act. Regulation of the marriage law would be ineffectual, because these lower classes have ceased to have respect for the law and the consequences of their own acts. If society by her philanthropic efforts is forced to annul the law of the survival of the fittest, then selfinterest, nay self-preservation, will compel her to adopt measures that will prevent the multiplication of those who at best can only add degeneracy to the race. -Philadelphia Medical Journal. On September 3, there were 85 cases of yellow fever under observation in Havana. These cases were largely confined to the the Spanish colony. Classified Advertisements. Advertisements under this head, two lines or more without display, 5 cents a line. HE CHARITY ORGANIZATION SOCIETY asks for further contributions to pay the rent of an old German couple, who have lived in the same house for twenty-five years. The man had one leg amputated nearly ten years ago. and the woman, now seventy-two years old, has been the bread winner until her strength gave out, and she can now only earn the food needed. There are no children or relatives. The following contributions for this purpose are gratefully acknowledged: "Anonymous" and Mrs. James Timpson, $10 each; "A. L. L." and "H. S.". $5 each; "S. S. K.", $2; "M. D. F.", $1. regard for law and the consequences THE SOCIETY HE CHARITY ORGANIZATION renews its appeal for $150 to pay the board in the country of a young married man who is consumptive, but may be benefited by a change of air. He has promise of work from a former employer as soon as he is able to return. He has been unable to work for a year and his savings are exhausted. There are no relatives to help. The following contributions for this purpose are gratefully acknowledged: "W" and Marcus Stine, $10 each; "E. C. A.", "Cash", "N. V. N. M.", "O. D. G.", Albert Stieglitz and Mrs. Hermione Brooks, $5 each; "B. P."', $3; "Cash" and Miss E. M. Ewen, $2 each; "Brooklyn", A. W. Tolles and John F. Mills, Jr., $1 each. states and countries will in time fol- THE Asexualization will be held by some to be a harsh measure, but it becomes incumbent upon those who Any money for these cases sent to the Charity Organization Society, 105 East Twenty-second street, will be duly and publicly acknowledged. HE SUCCESSFUL SUPERINTENDENT FOR five years of a well-known institution, wishes a change from her present position to one yielding a larger salary. She is a widow, 40 years old, practical, educated, well-bred; conservative, yet progressive; a trained nurse, thorough housekeeper, careful manager, fine executive; and has had wide opportunity for observing the administration of hospitals and institutions in this country and abroad. Locality, not a consideration. Address R. E. G., care CHARITIES. CHARITIES THE OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE CHARITY ORGANIZATION SOCIETY OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK. ENTERED AS SECOND-CLASS MATTER AT THE NEW YORK, N. Y., POST-OFFICE. Issued every Saturday. Five cents a copy. Subscription price, one dollar a year, in advance. Three dollars a hundred. ADVERTISING RATES. Classified advertisements, 5 cents a line, eight words to the line, agate measure. Display, 5 cents a line, 14 lines to the inch. Full page, 200 agate lines, $10. Half page, 100 agate lines, $5. Quarter page, 50 agate lines, $2.50. Special position, twenty-five per cent additional. EDWARD T. DEVINE, Editor. PUBLICATION OFFICE: NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 15, 1900. The apalling disaster at Galveston and other coast towns of Texas overshadows all other recent public calamities. A million dollars for relief and adequate local organization for its disbursement would seem to be immediately requisite. ** * The plan for a separate children's court, suggested by Rev. T. L. Kinkead, the recent supervisor of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, meets with cordial endorsement from all those interested in the welfare of children. We are informed that a similar attempt made some years ago by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children failed because of lack of public interest and encouragement. There is now an opportunity to secure such a court in connection with the general revision of the city charter. The advantages of a separate separate court cases room for children's entirely removed from the surroundings and atmosphere of the ordinary police courts are too obvious to require discussion. The court, moreover, might properly be held in a building in which is also conducted the Bureau for Dependent Children of the Department of Charities. All of the records and information obtained by the Depart ment of Charities in its investiga tion of these cases could thus be made available for the guidance of the court in dealing with children's cases. The antiquated farce by which destitute children are charged in court with being found in a state of want and suffering, contrary to the statute, should be done away with by appropriate amendment of the Penal Code. Commitment, which is for destitution only, should be in all cases through the Department of Charities. The machinery of the police courts should be utilized only to prosecute offenders. If those charged with crime or misdemeanor are under the age of sixteen years their trial should take place in a special children's court where there are no adult offenders present. The boy who, perhaps without criminal intent, violates a city ordinance, or who is charged with having done so, should not be prosecuted in a court which deals also with cases of drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and serious crime. To provide a separate room in the police court where such children are detained except while their trial is in progress is not suf ficient, although it is, of course, a step in the right direction. The police magistrates at the present time are called upon to deal not only with juvenile delinquents, but also with cases of destitution in which there is not even a pretense that the child has committed an offense of any description. There is simply a complaint made, probably by the child's own mother, that the family is unable to care properly for the child. There should be a ready means by which such cases as these, involving only destitution, may be removed entirely from the court, and parents or those who make the application directed to the proper office of the department of charities. That this would be facilitated by the creation of a separate children's court held near the corresponding office of the department of charities is only one of the minor advantages of the plan proposed. We trust that the charter commission will incorporate the provision, and we are confident that if this is done its recommendation will meet with the hearty indorsement of judges, religious and charitable agencies, and all good citizens. ** Doles of bread are not yet a thing of the past. Besides the well-known distribution from the Vienna Bakery there are other donations based on the idea that all who apply should be given assistance. Some of these distributions are from religious orders and some from commercial bakeries. During the past year one such distribution has been made to Italian applicants from 172 Worth street by D. Cevasco, who is said to conduct one of the largest bakeries in the city. In a report submitted by the chief of The World's staff of physicians for sick babies for the week ending September 1, it is stated that during that week 939 sick babies were treated. 664 houses were visited, representing a total of 7,798 families. We wish that The World might discover some method of financial support for this work other than the canvass for pennies by little children who, under the inducement of the prizes offered, become expert beggars, and whose collections may or may not be turned in to The World's treasury according to the degree of smartness which the child has developed, and according as the reward offered is greater or less than the money actually in the child's possession. VICE IN DIVE AND TENEMENT HOUSE. Under the guidance of missionaries, whose task is not the prosecution of either lawbreakers, or public officials, but the rescue of such unhappy women as desire to escape from their present degradation, the writer recently visited, between nine o'clock and midnight, a number of infamous resorts on and near the Bowery. It was a heart sickening journey. After the first call the conscience is troubled as to whether the flagrant violations of law should not be reported at once at the nearest police station. After the second and third, one reaches the conviction that those who devote themselves to the accumulation of evidence against the unfaithful servants of the city are more nearly right. As one goes further and deeper the appeal of the individual for personal help makes itself felt, and there springs up some sympathy for the workers who refuse to inform or prosecute, and who merely stand ready to help any stray penitent and despairing victim of the system which lust, and faithlessness of public officials, and the cupidity of man have created. Neither the patrons nor the inmates of these low resorts are having any genuine enjoyment. Listless, dull, and stupefied faces are the rule, and when there is hilarity it is of a forced and mirthless kind. Alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs leave their marks so plain that the least trained observer can detect them. The printed cards distributed by the missionary, and even the songs and exhortation, for which there is sometimes opportunity, are a welcome break in the discouraging attempt to keep up a pretense of having a good time. There is some cheap ribaldry and coarse repartee, but it is from the smart male hangers on rather than from the prostitutes, who recognize that a sincere, if fruitless, attempt to befriend them. is in progress. There they are. Some of them in this life from deliberate choice because it promises an increase of several hundred per cent in their former meagre income, gay dresses late rising in the morning, a release from the hard grind of factory, store, or office; others from love of drink; others because they have been betrayed and perhaps brought to their present "employment" under false representations. Some held against their will by a personal influence which they can not resist, and some even turning over every dollar of their hard and ill-earned wages to their betrayer and master. But they appear prosperous. They appear to some of their neighbors to follow an easy and remunerative calling. And what effect has the flaunting of prosperous and successful vice upon those who are discouraged in the search for even the least paid of honest occupations? The community may tolerate with comparative impunity the stately places of vice which tempt the idle rich. They will draw only those who are already corrupted or who deliberately seek selfish gratification. |