Beggars

I know the more general objection; that one can 'never know' whether the man is honest. Alas! That is bitterly true and can never be answered. I can never know whether any man is honest. I can never know whether I am honest; in my more solemn moments I incline to the belief that I am not. But this I will say with no special hesitation. I am more certain of the honesty of a certain type of beggar than I am of the honesty of a certain type of rich man, who fills the committees of most philanthropic institutions. I know more about one beggar whom I have seen than about ten guinea-pig peers whom I have never seen and never want to see. The beggar may deceive me, but he has to do it with a human eye, which may fail him, not with a prospectus, which will mechanically do his will. It is often hard to keep a stiff face; but institutions keep stiff of themselves. Still, I return to the original compromise; by all means let it be at the tenth beggar that you lose your temper. But do not let it be at the tenth beggar that you find your political economy.

October 10, 1908, Daily News