That Last Waif; or, Social QuarantineFletcher, Horace
History
That Last Waif; or, Social Quarantine
Fletcher, Horace
Child welfare
One per cent., or 1/100, of income may easily be saved from some
careless waste, and if applied monthly would not be missed. Looking
for waste for the small contribution to quarantine would lead to
habits of care in personal and household economy that would pay the
quarantinist many-fold benefit. One per cent, or 1/100, of time is
seven to eight hours per month. That time, devoted to the
consideration of the less fortunate, would reveal phases of one's own
good fortune that would revive a just appreciation of blessings now
lost sight of in contemplation of the glitter of extravagance, which
flashes out in the midst of _still greater_ unhappiness and discontent
in the social strata above.
The insignificant contribution of a quarantinist would, in the
aggregate, even if participated in by only _half_ the people, easily
effect a _Perfect Social Quarantine worthy of the highest Christian
Ideals_.
Every suggestion involved in participation in the quarantine movement
is for the benefit of the participant and involves no sacrifice that
does not repay _in cash_ (_economy_) as well as in other means of
happiness.
Next to the neglected children who "have no show on earth to be good,"
the most unfortunate class of any community is the clerk or other
worker, having a salary of from $2,000 to $5,000 a year and having
conventional social aspirations. Turning of the attention of this
class of unfortunates to the suggestions involved in quarantine, and
active participation in the work, even in so insignificant a degree as
1/100 of time and income, will remove a fruitful source of crime, due
to extravagance, which reflects even more discredit upon our social
system than any other of its inconsistencies.
WARNING
_Help people only to help themselves, if possible._
_Indiscriminate charity often does more harm than good._
_Dispense your charity personally, if possible._
_The best charity is assisting education, especially Character-Building
and Useful-Habit-Forming._
ORGANIZATION
Supplementary to the suggestions for "Local Quarantine Organizations"
beginning on page 169 of _That Last Waif; or, Social Quarantine_,
several good ideas have been received.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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