THE LIME-KILN CLUB.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4815, 14 June 1884, Page 1

THE LIME-KILN CLUB.

" Las' fall," said Brother Gardner as lie gazed upon Elder Toots in a paralyzing way, " I made somo remarks upon de "subjick of charity. It seems dat my posishun was misunderstood, an' dis evenia' I hope to make it plain." "De Good Book speaks of charity a thousand times, an' a big sheer of de people believe dat de word as used in de Biblo means dat we mus' open our purses to do poo1! In de fust place, I airnestly believe dat de charity of de people means lookin' lightly upon de faults ot our feller-men. It means dat we must oberlook, excuso an' forgive. Charity coveretb. a . multitude ob sins ! Docs dat moan a loaf of bread passed outer do kitchen door to a beggar, or does it mean dat he who oberlooks de faults of others shall have some of his own condoned ? I hold to de latter. " But let us admit dat de charity of de Bible means aidin' de poo. If I aim ten shillings a day an' work in cold an' heat an' rain—if my wife economizes £n' lam kocrful—if wo go slow an 1 dress widin our means, an' manage to lay up a few dollars, what man or woman on airth has de right to tell me dat I mus" pass any part of my savin's out to people who am poo' frew their own fault ? Whar' I have pinched ' deyhave squandered. Whar' I have denied myself dey have cut loose wid a free hand. " Dar am not an able bodied man in America who can't aim sufficient to board, clothe, and school a family of six an' send his wife to church on Sundays.. Dar 'am not a widder in dis kentry who can't aim at least a dollar a day at some occupashun. Dar' am not an or fan who has de shadow of a right to ask any man fur a nickel. ' Our public charities am so many frauds upon taxpayers. Do 25,000d01s raised by tax in Detroit falls into de hands of people who have no bizness wid one shilling' of it. It goes to drunkards an' idlers an' pretenders, who make it a duty to live on charity from one year to anoder. I defy the most ardent philanthropist in dis kentry to show me one case whar'.a city poo' .fund dealt

oat to paupers has lifted anybody from axm agm. De city which raises tho moas money haß de moas' paupers. Figgers prove it, an* yet philanthropists won't admit dat it proves anything. ' Let me start out to-morrow an' han' sdols each to 100 solicitors of charity an' how many would have a dollar left at night At least half would spend a portion for beer, whisky, or tobacce, and not twenty of de lot would buy wood, flour, or clothing, *He who gives to a tramp encourages loafer-ism, thievin' and a dozen crimes. ' He who gives to a man or women able to walk de streets am a supporter of vice an' idleness.

• Dats whar' I stan' on de one side of de qneshun of charity, an' each passin' day tarns up sotnethin' to convince me dat lam correct. But now whom do I feel fur} an' to whom can I give ? If I assist an able-bodied man to aim his own bread dat am charity. If I kin prevail upon a father who am waistin' his money in drink or at cards to put it into bis family, dat am charity. If my poo' naybur loses his horse I have a sdol bill fur him. If he loses a child I have ten. If he breaks a leg or a arm I'll sheer my meat an' taters an' wood wid him until he kin work agin. If a father fails sick an' has nuffin ahead my kind o' charity chips in fur a shake-purse to pull him through. If a stranger comes among us an' am ill let us make him well. If fire or blood devastate a section let us vend relief. If a widder am left helpless let us fiill her coal-bin and flour-bar'l. ' In twenty years America has raised up a class numberin' tens of thousands who 1 ■hirk work, who make saloons pay, who have doubled the number of police and fails an' prisons—who steal, rob, and ravish—who infest street corners an' prowl frew alleys—who add nothin' except to illiteracy an' vice, and she has raisen 'em up; by her system of mistaken charity. Philanthropists may squirm an' women make wry facos, but de preachins of -de one un de sympathising of the odder have made de word charity. synonymous wid rice and wickedness.' Lee us nowtassault de usual programmy.'