1930's in Canada // Editorials

ONE MAN'S THOUGHTS
July 23rd, 1937

In this city of Toronto, Ontario, there is one large problem. Panhandlers. And we, as the fortunate members of society, are both sick and plagued by panhandlers.

These men, so desperate for any amount of money, accost us daily on the streets. These poor creatures are unable to find a steady job despite the fact that a lot of them moved here for that reason. They left the central provinces in a hopeless quest for employment. But still, they find nothing here and, without any money, they are unable to get back home. So they resort to panhandling.

And what do we do to these tragic figures?

We look down upon them. Heaven forbid that they touch our suit! Often we just brush them off, too disgusted, self-absorbed and jaded to give them just a few coins.

Why is this? After all, panhandling takes its own kind of courage; the courage to degrade yourself and shed your pride.

We are the privileged. We should be helping these helpless people, not shunning them and pretending that they do not exist. They are no worse than us; they just haven’t had our luck. Something must be done about the employment issue and something must be done soon.