stances
beyond their control.

In the following table we have an attempt to analyze the real cause of
distress, according to the judgment of the tabulator as gathered from
the full record. In chronic cases the same cause is apt to appear in
the successive applications. It was thought that this might lead to
undue accumulation of particular causes. A separate tabulation,
therefore, was made for the 500 first applications, and then for the
total--832 applications. The table is as follows:

THE REAL CAUSE OF DISTRESS.

First Applications. Total Applications.
Number. Percent. Number. Per cent.

Lack of employment. 115 25.0 184 22.1
Sickness or accident. 102 20.4 164 19.7
Physical defects or old age. 27 5.4 42 5.0
Death of wage earner. 18 3.6 30 3.6
Desertion 15 3.0 24 2.9
Intemperance 87 17.4 166 19.9
Shiftlessness 50 10.0 101 12.2
No need 86 17.2 121 14.6

Total 500 100.0 832 100.0

In this table it will be seen that emphasis is laid on misconduct
rather than on misfortune. The difference between the two sets of
returns is obvious. Where lack of employment and sickness have been
alleged as accounting for 62-6/10 per cent. of the total, they are
believed by the tabulator to really account for only 41-8/10 per cent.
On the other hand, intemperance comes in as the real cause in 19-9/10
per cent.; shiftlessness in 12-2/10 per cent. of the applications, and
in 14-6/10 per cent. of the applications it was judged that there was
no real need. It is very probable that these judgments are severe, but
the result shows how frequently, at least, the personal character is a
contributory cause of poverty.

An attempt was made when reading the records to determine the general
character of the man and woman--that is, the adult members of the
family. Such classification is at the best very rough, and does not
give us much information. It may be said that the character was put
down as good unless something distinctly to the contrary appeared. The
results are given in the following table:

PERSONAL CHARACTER OF MAN AND WOMAN.

Male. Female. Total. Perce