Show POVERTY books on sociological questions are always interesting although the proneness of authors to approach the subject from a biased or prejudiced standpoint at times render the conclusions less valuable than one might wish for considering tho importance 0 the topic dealt with probably the most sincere contribution to the subject that has appeared in print tor bearg i the book poverty written by robert hunter an active worker in settlement and charitable fields and admittedly an authority oa the vexed problem ot social conditions as applying to our larger cities mr hunter draws what at first glance seems a rather startling pie tenth and perhaps he la justified in popularly known as the submerged tenth and persons he la justified in laying on the colors with a heavy hand it only to arrest alia attention of earnest thinking people who are rather apt to enthuse and sympathize today and forget to do either tomorrow sir hunter in his analysis or summary tells w that there are probably in fairly prosper ous years no less than in poverty that 1 to eay underfed and poorly housed of these about persona are public haupers paupers pau pers over workingmen are unemployed from four to six months in the year about male immigrants arrive yearly and seek work in tho very districts where unemployment la greatest nearly half the tn the country and property lesa over little children arc forced to become wage camera when they should still be in school about women find it necessary to work and about are employed in factories and mills probably no less than workers are injured or killed each year white doing work and about of the persona now living will it the present ratio la kept up die ot tho preventable disease tuberculosis aa a statement of facts this is startling but it la hardly fair to advance such figures without qualifying them explaining hem or dealing with them in a way to lead to an intelligent tell igent graap of their real meaning the first trouble which every writer in athla subject encounters is the establishment lish ment of a correct standard it li easy to say that a certain number of millions are in poverty one mans buesa Is as good aa an others admitting only that experience in ono field might load to a closer estl mato of all but tho what ii poverty Is rather hard to define borne would say that a property lesa condition means poverty but e know that this definition is misleading to strip tho rif tw iliin iri in foien ft ever ano claim that ten million 0 the eighty in this country are underfed and poorly housed la in the nature ot exaggeration ge ration to say the least nothing ia the leads to such a conclusion nor do the returns 0 the public departments ot the various states chow that real poverty or suf ferine Is so universal with reference to the unemployed assuming mr hunters figures to be correct it is to be said that there are at all timed too many idle men in this country taking the most charitable view our civilization may bo at fault in not providing abundance for all conditions ot men merely because they aro human beings and our brothers but it we could get at the exact facts what a commentary on human nature individually considered the reasons for this idleness would disclose As a nation wo are responsible for our own sins and shortcomings but alie average human failure has to blame |