Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 May 1915 — Our Big Pauper Army. [ARTICLE]

Our Big Pauper Army.

Pauperism! in this great American land of abundant opportunity there should be, and there are, fewer paupers in proportion to population than in any other country on earth. Yet even here these helpless derelicts are to be found in too large numbers. The government census report for 1910 states that on January 1, of that year, there were in almshouses alone ii) the United States 84,1 98 persons dependent on public support. This may not seem a startling number, but it must be remembered that there are many other institutions for the shelter of the pov-erty-stricken, including jails, reformatories, hospitals, orphan and insane asylums, homes for the aged, etc. The aggregate of the impoverished in all of these institutions is ex tremely large. Pauperism is, therefore, a distinct blight on the community, and to a large extent it is inexcusable. Accidents, sickness, reverses due to others’ misconduct or weakness sometimes reduce people to destitution. in most cases, however, laziness, unthrift' and extravagance are responsible for this. Every young American should take warning from the pauper’s plight and set out firmly to deny himself, to save money, to invest it safely and to' provide a competency for his declining years.—Leslie’s.