The Man Farthest Down: A Record of Observation and Study in EuropeWashington, Booker T.
History
The Man Farthest Down: A Record of Observation and Study in Europe
Washington, Booker T.
Poor -- Europe; Working class -- Europe
What is true in this respect of the masses of the Negroes in America
is equally true, as I discovered, of similar classes in Europe. Any
one who will take the trouble to look into the cause of European
emigration will certainly be struck with the fact that the conditions
of agriculture in Europe have had a marked effect on the growth and
character of American cities.
This fact suggests the close connection between country conditions
and the city problem, but there is still another side to the matter.
The thing that was mainly impressed upon me by my observation of the
lower strata of London life and the efforts that have been made to
improve it was this: That it is a great deal simpler and, in the
long run, a great deal cheaper to build up and develop a people who
have grown up in the wholesome air of the open country than it is to
regenerate a people who have lived all or most of their lives in the
fetid atmosphere of a city slum. In other words, it is easier to deal
with people who are physically and morally sound than with people who,
by reason of their unhealthy and immoral surroundings, have become
demoralized and degenerate. The first is a problem of education; the
second, one of reconstruction and regeneration.
I think the thing that helped me most to realize the extent and the
difficulty of this work of regeneration in London was the knowledge
that I gained while there of the multitude of institutions and
agencies, of various kinds, which are engaged in this work.
I had been impressed, during my visits to Whitechapel and other
portions of the East End of London, with the number of shelters, homes,
refuges, and missions of all kinds which I saw advertised as I passed
along Whitechapel Road. When I inquired of Rev. John Harris, organizing
secretary of the Anti-Slavery Society, who had at one time himself
been engaged in mission work in that part of the city, whether it were
possible to obtain a complete list of all the different types of
charities and institutions of social betterment in London, he placed in
my hands a volume of nearly seven hundred pages devoted entirely to the
classification and description of the various charities, most of which
were located in London.
This book, which was called the "Annual Charities Register and Digest,"
I have read and studied with the greatest interest. I confess that I
was amazed as well at the number and variety of the different charities
as at the amount of time, energy, and money necessary to keep up and
maintain them.
In another volume, "London Statistics," published by the London County
Council, I found the facts about London charities concisely summarized.
From these books I learned that there are something like 2,035
charitable institutions of various kinds in London alone. Perhaps I can
best give some idea of the character of these institutions, a number of
which date back to the eighteenth century and perhaps to still earlier
periods, by giving some details from these two volumes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account