The Dangerous Classes of New York, and Twenty Years' Work Among Them

by Charles Loring Brace

"The Howland Fund, noticed in previous reports as having been established by B. J. Howland, Esq., one of our Trustees, continues to be the means of doing good. We have loaned from it during the nine months one hundred and twenty-three dollars and sixty cents, on which the borrowers have realized three hundred and seven dollars and thirty-nine cents. They have thus made the handsome profit of two hundred and fifty per cent. on the amount borrowed. It has in many cases been returned in a few hours. We have loaned it in sums of five cents and upward; we have had but few defaulters. Of the seventeen dollars and fifty-five cents due last year, six dollars and fifty cents has been returned, leaving at this time standing out eleven dollars and five cents."

When large supplies of shoes and clothing are given, it is usually at Christmas, as an expression of the good-will of the season, or from some particular friend of the boys as an indication of his regard, and thus carries less of the ill effects of alms with the gift.

The very air of these Lodging-houses is that of independence, and no paupers ever graduate from them. We even discourage the street-trades as a permanent business, and have, therefore, never formed a "Boot-black Brigade," as has been done in London, on the ground that such occupations are uncertain and vagrant in habit, and lead to no settled business.

Our end and aim with every street-rover, is to get him to a farm, and put him on the land. For this reason we lavish our gifts on the lads who choose the country for their work. We feed and shelter them gratuitously, if necessary. We clothe them from top to toe; and the gifts bring no harm with them. These poor lads have sometimes repaid these gifts tenfold in later life, in money to the Society. And the community have been repaid a hundredfold, by the change of a city vagabond to an honest and industrious farmer.

Our Industrial Schools might almost be called "Reformatories of Pauperism." Nine-tenths of the children are beggars when they enter, but they go forth self-respecting and self-supporting young girls.

Food, indeed, is given every day to those most in need; but, being connected thus with a School, it produces none of the ill effects of alms. The subject of clothes-giving to these children is, however, a very difficult one. The best plan is found to be to give the garments as rewards for good conduct, punctuality, and industry, the amount being graded by careful "marks"; yet the humane teacher will frequently discover an unfortunate child without shoes in the winter snow, or scantily clad, who has not yet attained the proper number of marks, and she will very privately perhaps relieve the want: knowing, as the teacher does, every poor family whose children attend the School, she is not often deceived, and her gifts are worthily bestowed.

The daily influence of the School-training in industry and intelligence discourages the habit of begging. The child soon becomes ashamed of it, and when she finally leaves school, she has a pride in supporting herself.

Gifts of garments, shoes, and the like, to induce children to attend, are not found wise; though now and then a family will be discovered so absolutely naked and destitute, that some proper clothing is a necessary condition to their even entering the School.

Some of the teachers very wisely induce the parents to deposit their little savings with them, and perhaps pay them interest to encourage saving. Others, by the aid of friends, have bought coal at wholesale prices, and retailed it without profit, to the parents of the children.

The principle throughout all the operations of the Children's Aid Society, is only to give assistance where it bears directly on character, to discourage pauperism, to cherish independence, to place the poorest of the city, the homeless children, as we have so often said, not in Alms-houses or Asylums, but on farms, where they support themselves and add to the wealth of the nation; to "take, rather than give;" or to give education and work rather than alms; to place all their thousands of little subjects under such influences and such training that they will never need either private or public charity.