The Children of the PoorRiis, Jacob A. (Jacob August)
History
The Children of the Poor
Riis, Jacob A. (Jacob August)
Child welfare -- New York (State) -- New York; Poor; Poor -- New York (State) -- New York
"It was a murderer who asked the question 'Am I my brother's keeper?' and
hoped for a negative answer. But the affirmative answer of God has been
ringing through all the milleniums since then. This eternal 'YES' meets
the church of to-day, and there are signs that the church is waking to
seek some method by which that 'YES' shall be adequately carried out. The
first thing is to know how my brother lives, and what are his
temptations, difficulties, trials, hopes, fears. On this no book that has
ever appeared in this land pours such light as Mr. Riis's book on 'The
Other Half.' Let all who want to know what to do for these brothers of
theirs in this town, read this book which is enormously more interesting
than any novel that ever was written or that ever will be. Dens, dives,
hovels, sickness, death, sorrow, drink, and murder, all these exist in our
midst in appalling magnitude, and with all of these we must have to do if
we are not to be modern Cains. No '_eau de cologne_' business is this, if
we are to uplift these brothers of ours, as will be apparent from a
reading of this remarkable book. Let all who are in any way interested in
the welfare of humanity buy and read it at once, and let all who are not
interested repent at once and get the book, and then bring forth fruits
meet for repentance."
A. F. SCHAUFFLER.
PRESS NOTICES.
"Criticism, in the narrower sense, has no hold on 'How the Other Half
Lives.' The book is most beautiful without, as fascinating within. Every
word bears its message; every illustration--there are many--means
something. Mr. Riis has deserved nobly of the public for his thorough and
resourceful work. We cannot believe that his reward will fail. We should
be sorry to think that his earnest words would be less to any reader than
a commanding invitation to the thick of the battle against social
injustice."--_The Boston Times._
"From personal observation, conducted with the perseverance and tact
needed by the newspaper reporter, Mr. Riis has gathered, and here
presents, many interesting, pathetic, and monitory facts concerning the
extreme poverty, filth, or unhomelike existence of too many of the
tenement-dwellers of New York--omitting mention of those costlier
tenements which are called flats. He ventures upon some suggestions of
remedy, but the chief value of his chapters lies in their
exposition."--_Sunday School Times._
"The studies of Mr. Riis among the tenements of New York take the reader
into strange places and bring him into contact with startling conditions;
but among all the problems now pressing for solution there are none so
grave or so difficult as those upon the fundamental facts of which these
pages throw light. The author has made a thorough exploration of the great
city, and has produced a series of pictures which illustrate strikingly
the many phases of life concerned."--_The N. Y. Tribune._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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