Charity covers a multitude of sins, almost as many backs, and quite a
bit of graft.
Thoughtless giving is almost a crime. It serve to encourage idleness,
and idleness is at the bottom of more crime than any other one thing,
unless it is poverty.
Here is a story, given in the words of the man himself, which shows
how the charity graft is worked in a number of ways. It covers several
fields, and is so dramatic that it is given as the best example of
all-round charity grafting:
"In experience in charitable work last summer I discovered
some of these truths. It was the first time in all my life
that I ever engaged in any charitable enterprise, and the
needy that I sought to relieve was myself.
"Any one will beg, borrow, or steal in the name of charity.
They may be as personally honest as a trust magnate--and
they would be horrified at the idea of begging or stealing
for themselves, but charity makes them respectable. At
least this is the theory I worked on.
"I was broke and far from home. I decided that I would
starve or steal rather than beg. Then a fellow I met
accidentally put me on to a way of making a living.