Library Collections: Document: Full Text


American Charities

Creator: Amos G. Warner (author)
Date: 1908
Publisher: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, New York
Source: Straight Ahead Pictures Collection

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The general conclusion of these figures was that of the 29,923 cases, 18.46 per cent owed their poverty to the personal use of liquor, 2.07 per cent to the intemperate habits of one or both parents, .45 per cent to the intemper-ate habits of natural or legal guardians, and 7.39 per cent to the intemperate habits of others, not parents or guardians. The general average percentage of poverty due directly or indirectly to drink was 25.06. Table XIII., rearranged from Koren, shows the direct and indirect effect of the use of liquor by race.

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In respect to race, Table XIII. shows conclusively that drink, both as a direct and indirect cause of poverty, is more prevalent among the white than among the colored, almost in the proportion of two to one. The figures for the seven cities containing the largest number of colored applicants are even more favorable to the negro race; and the average (7.1) corresponds quite closely to that of Professor Warner (6.23) already noted.

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TABLE XIII. (53) -- Aplicants for Relief as Affected Directly and Indirectly by Use of Liquor, by Color (C.O.S. Records).


(53) Koren, "Economic Aspects, etc.," pp. 66-66.

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INTEMPERANCE. WHITE. NO. COLORED. NO. WHITE. % COLORED. % AGGREGATE. NO. %
I. As a Direct Cause:
Condition due to personal use of liquor 5,265 259 19.4 9.1 5,524 18.5
Condition not due to personal use of liquor 20,124 2,450 74.3 86.6 22,574 75.4
Not reported 1,704 121 6.3 4.3 1,825 6.1
Total Number of Cases 27,093 2,830 - - 29,923 -
II. As an Indirect Cause:
Condition due to intemperate habits of others 2,658 144 9.8 5.1 2,802 9.4
Condition not due to intemperate habits of others 14,876 1,905 54.9 67.3 16,781 56.1
Not reported 9,559 781 35.3 27.6 10,340 34.5
Total Number of Cases 27,093 2,830 - - 29,923 -
SEVEN CITIES (54) as a Direct Cause:
Washington, D.C. 483 1,052 22.2 11.2
Baltimore 841 238 13.4 2.5
Wilmington 330 166 23.6 10.2
New Haven 3,352 164 15.0 2.4
Indianapolis 703 144 23.2 11.0
Louisville 539 105 25.4 8.6
Cincinnati 2,156 336 15.2 4.5
Average Per Cent - - 19.7 7.1


(54) Cities showing largest number of colored applicants.

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It is generally accepted that intemperance is preeminently a masculine vice; and among these applicants for relief, only 12.5 per cent of women as against 22.7 per cent of men have become dependent through drink. It is, however, when we note the percentages of drink as an indirect cause that the misery of women on account of it becomes apparent. Of the female applicants, 17 per cent as compared with 3.8 per cent of the male applicants owed their condition to the intemperate habits of others. (55)


(55) Koren, "Economic Aspects, etc.," pp. 66-66.

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Table XIV. exhibits the intemperate habits of applicants for relief by nativity. The comparison of nationalities is somewhat unsatisfactory, owing to the small numbers represented. For instance, Poland, Italy, Russia, and Austria, which show the smallest percentages of poverty due to liquor, show also small total numbers. If, however, we take the other countries which are represented largely, we see that Ireland leads with 29 per cent and is followed by Canada and Scotland with 21 per cent and England with 18 per cent. The native-born, of whom a majority are of foreign parentage, divide the table in the middle with a percentage of 17, followed by Sweden 16 per cent and Germany 14 per cent. It is noticeable that the order of countries is only slightly altered in column 4 which represents the poverty indirectly due to intemperance.

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In order to ascertain the relation of intemperance to pauperism Mr. Koren obtained statistics of 8420 inmates of fifty institutions (mostly almshouses) in ten states. As regards race, sex, and nationality, the results correspond very closely to those of the investigation of applicants for relief. The total number of negro paupers was only 285, and less than half as many colored as white paupers owed their condition to personal use of liquor and to the intemperate habits of others. The same nationalities appear in practically the same order as in Table XIV., but the percentages for pauperism due to personal use and intemperance of others are uniformly much higher. The general average percentage of pauperism due directly or indirectly to drink is 37 per cent, with 5.23 per cent of the total number of cases unaccounted for.

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TABLE XIV. -- APPLICANTS FOR RELIEF AND INTEMPERANCE BY NATIVITY (C.O.S. RECORDS), REARRANGED FROM KOREN, pp. 76-80.

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Nativity (In order of percentage in column 8). Number. Per Cent. Condition Due to Personal Use of Liquor Condition Due to Intemperance of Applicants and Others. Condition not Due to Intemperance. Cause not Reported.
Foreign Born 11,510 41.2 13.7% 19.4% 74.4% 6.2%
Ireland 4,625 15.5 29.9 37.8 56.6 5.5
Scotland 315 1.0 21.6 26.9 66.7 6.4
Canada (French, Irish, Scotch) 628 2.1 21.0 30.7 64.2 5.1
England 1,392 5.0 18.8 25.1 68.7 6.3
Native Born 17,048 57.0 17.1 23.9 70.7 5.4
Foreign Born (Continued)
Sweden and Norway 585 1.9 16.6 21.0 75.0 3.9
Germany 2,971 9.9 14.5 20.2 75.4 4.4
Austria 206 .7 7.7 11.2 81.6 7.3
Russia (chiefly Hebrews) 208 .7 4.3 6.7 88.5 4.8
Italy 234 .8 1.3 3.4 87.2 9.4
Poland 346 1.1 1.2 15.3 78.3 6.4
All other countries 821 2.7 13.8 17.2 76.2 6.6
Unknown 544 1.8 10.5 16.2 46.1 37.7
Total Number 29,923 - 5,524 7,499 20,621 1,804
Total Per Cent - 100.0 18.5 25.0 68.9 6.0

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