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.. Tha Wasatch Literary circle met
j Tuesday with Mrs. J. E. Berkeley, at
, 188 II street.
I. Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Thomas enter-
tained six of their friends at dinner
Monday evening at the Cullen hotel.
i
o
SPORTING GOSSIP.
The firs half of the season in th
City Bowling league has been fin
ished; the second half will start af
ter the holidays. The Hancs won
first place, beating the Crowns out
by one game. The Silver Stars took
third place, the other teams, the
tr Crescents, Z. C. M. I. and Business
men finishing in the order named.
In the individual scores, Kilpatrick
finished first. Jack Quinn won the
prize for the least number of errors,
while Anderson rolled the high game,
290; and the high three games, 703.
Joe Norton, a bantamweight of Po
catello, has issued a challenge to any
115 or 118 pound man in the west,
who thinks he can fight. Joe wants
the meeting to take place in Poca
tello, and as soon as possible. Evi
dently Joe is in the need of some
clearing house certificates.
A six-day bicycle race is to be run
in Kansas City some time in the near
fu'ure, probably the latter part of
January, and the Salt Lake riders
will be there in force.
The riders in the six-day bicycle
race in New York City have started
a fund to buy a marble monument
for Urban MacDonald, the former
Salt Lake rider who was killed dur
ing the contest. Norman Hopper
will solicit contributions to the fund
in Salt Lake.
Rudolph Unholz, the Boer boxer,
has been matched with George Mem
sic, lightweight champion. The scrap
will take place in Los Angeles and
the purse will be divided on the 60-40
basis. This is quite a come-up for
the Boer, who has been scrapping
for the price of a meal ticket.
THE TRAMP AND WHAT TO
DO WITH falM.
The tramp and what to do witk
him, has for years been a problem
to the American people. In older
and closer settled lands the mendicant
class has settled down to a regular
institution. In America a class of this
character seems to be out of joint
both with the country and its insti
tutions. There is so much to be ac
complished in the way of developing
"- the undeveloped resources the coun
try contains that there is certainly,
no excuse for the existence of the
1 tramp. , '
It .has long been laid ( down. ,a'
prijicjple, tliat a ,mn .hastjie "clt..
XlEht Jo work or not to work a's seems
'"to'liim best. But this 'right only'goei
vJv .
in the abstract. In. the concrete he
only has the right when by its ex
ercise he does not interfere with the
rights of a community or any member
of a community. The moment his
support unearned, is foisted upon the
public, he becomes in a certain sense
a criminal, and as such is amenable
to society, or in other words to law.
For many, many years it has been
the custom of municipalities, to en
deavor to rid themselves of the vag
rant class by what may be termed
"sentences of expulsion," in a word
to pass them on the other communi
ties, by giving them a certain time to
quit the municipality, with the alter
native of imprisonment if the mandate
is disobeyed. There is no manner
of twisting or turning this custom
which can make it in any sense right,
for whenever, a municipality makes
use of this means, it is committing
a crime to equal magnitude to that
of the culprit himself.
The only means by which this nui
sance can be abated, is for the com
munity to supply work for the vag
rant class, while placing them under
such supervision as will trend to cor
rect the tendency to vagrancy.
It is a question as to just when a
member of a community really reach
es his majority. The age twenty-one
years has always been placed as the
period at which an individual is deem
ed to be sufficiently developed to ex
ercise the full duties of citizenship.
There are many cases however where
the age limit cannot be drawn, as for
instance those persons who arc ment
ally unsound. The community un
dertakes the care of these, going to
the length of keeping up institutions
where they can be placed, and if pos
sible educated. The question is;
should this government not be ex
tended so as to embrace those, who
through environment or misfortune,
have come to that mental state be
cause of which they appear to be un
able to supply the means of susiain
ence for themselves?
It may safely be laid down as a
principle that the community, socie
ty or government must overbalance
any individual thereof. .It has long
been considered the duty as well as
the right of the community to ex
ercise its supervision over the edu
cation of those who arc minors in its
midst. To such a length has this
been carried, that in many states at
tendance at the public schools has
been made compulsory. This rig'ht
is exercised by communities upon the
broad principle, that the very life of
the community depends upon the
education of its young, and further,
that its standing, and advancement
must be judged by the intelligence
of its individual members. The ques
tion to be answered is, when should
this supervision cease? In other
words, is the education of the indi
vidual, or the mental training of the
individual complete, when he is
'.till unable to' supply his own ne
cessities? Is' not '.tlie 'community as
Hilly justified in still keeping the vag
rant classes under its supervision, and
for the same reason, that it under-
takes the education of these of ten
der years?
The vagrancy question then is not
so much one of criminalogy as of
sociology. There is certainly a men
tal unbalance in all cases where in a
land of opportunity, and of boundless
resources any individual should be
unable to support himself, and from
choice become a mendicant or a
tramp. This of course applies only
to those who are able in a physical
sense to perform some sort of labor.
Those who arc unfitted for this, have
ilrcady been a charge upon all civil
ized communities. The very fact that
a man at one time was self support
ing, has little to do with this ques
tion. The only question to be de
termined is, has he the physical abili
ty at the present time, and is he ex
ercising it? There is no question but
that many men through misfortune
and other causes have got into a
mental attitude, whereby all hope
has left them. They cease to exert
themselves from the very fact that
they deem it useless to strive. Thr
life of the mendicant and the tram;1
appeals to them. They have so con
tracted the habit of recklessness and
non-exertion, that it has become in
a manner impossible for therm t"
shake it off. There is scarcely one
among them but if given hope, or ;f
shiken out of the lcthcrgy which has
fastened itself upon them, but woulJ
make a useful citizen. It is the boun
den duty of the state to see that the
proper remedy is applied a duty a
clear as it is to exercise its functions
in behalf of thcosc who arc physic
ally unable to be self supporting.
If a means of employment at n
wage equal to that commanded by
gainful pursuits of a like character
was supplied, the country would not
only be the gainer to the extent of
the value of the labor, but by weeding
out those who arc criminally inclined,
by determining who could be placed
upon a sclfsupporting basis, lessen
crime in its midst.
It may be urged that there would
be great difficulty in drawing the
line just where this supervision by
the state should be applied. This
discussion was not intended to apply
to those who were temporally un
fortunate, and who were willing and
anxious to help themselves. The
discussion is only intended to apply
to those who under the meaning of
the vagrancy laws obtaining in most
of the states, have entered what may
be broadly termed the criminal clas
ses. In a broader sense than has yet
been used in this discussion, it may be
said that it is the duty of the state
to supply the means whereby a citizen
could gain a livelihood. No man
should be unable to find work at
living wage who is willing to labor.
The lack of opportunity cannot be
set down as a crime. If in one sec
tion of the country there is a derth
of, employment, the means of reach
"irig" another should be supplied.
"While not advocating paternalism in
government in any sense "of 'the word, ,
an overstocked labor market should j H
not push any well meaning citizen :H
into the criminal classes. In a conn- H
try such as ours there is no occasion H
for this state of affairs to exist. H
As for those heads of families, who I
have taken upon themselves the duties H
of parenthood, and who refuse to H
render that support for their families H
that they are able to supply, or who H
dissipate their earnings, the law al- H
ready is supplied for them. What H
is lacking in their cases, is that the H
state seems to deem that the only H
punishment required is to give them 1H
a term of imprisonment, which with- lH
draws what little support the family JH
docs draw from them, and no punish- H
ment is given after all to the one up- jl
on whom sentence is passed by the I
mere fact of the inprisonment. 'M
o H
HER ATTRACTIONS. H
By E. Mathcson. M
She has no dazzling charms, no clas-
sic grace, M
Nothing, you think, to win men's H
hearts about her; M
Vet, looking at her sweet and gentle M
M
I wonder what our lives would be IH
without her I Wmm
She has no wish in the great world M
to shine; M
For work outside a woman's sphere 'M
no yearning; M
But on the alter of home's sacred M
M
She keeps the fire of pure affcr- MM
tion burning. M
We tell our griefs into her patient H
I
She whispers "Hopel" when ways W
arc dark and dreary; M
The little children like to have her MM
near, M
And run into her open arms whci M
weary. M
Her step falls lightly by the suffer- i
cr's bed;
Where poverty and care abound 1
she lingers; fjl
And many a weary heart and aching r
head 11
Finds gifts of healing in her tender '
fingers. tluM
1 -H
She holds a helping hand to those MM
who fall, MM
Which gently guides them back to ' WW
paths of duty; ; MM
Her kindly eyes, with kindly look H
for all, :
Si-e in tincomclicst souls some hid- . H
den beauty. MM
Her charity would every need em- $
brace; I MM
The shy Mid timid fear not to act 3 MM
dress her; Mm
With loving tact she rightly fills he E H
place, I H
With all who know her pray 'thai I MM
Heaven bless her! ' H
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