OCR Text |
Show READERS' OPINIONS (The opinions expressed in this column are those of the writers, and are not necessarily concurred in by the editor and management of this paper.) Eight hundred years ago, Moses Maimonidies, the great Jewish philosopher, wrote an essay on "The Degrees De-grees of Charity," from which I copy a passage which strikes me as being as up-to-date as tomorrow's newspaper. news-paper. Everv American, in these days when we are trying sin- cerely to establish social security for the common people, will appreciate the truth of Maimonides' observation: "The most meritorious of all, is to anticipate charity char-ity by preventing poverty; namely, to assist the reduced re-duced fellow man either by a considerate gift or a sum of money, or by teaching him a trade, or by putting put-ting him in the way of business so that he may earn an honest livlihood and not be forced to the dreadful alternative of holding out his hand for charity." Notice, however, that our philosopher approached the problem of social security as an individual act of brotherhood. That, it seems to me, was the flaw in his position. The approach to the problem of eliminating poverty will tax all our social machinery and engineering Appeals to individual philanthropy, however well meant, will never go to the roots of the system which produces the extremes of poverty and riches. |