"This volume had its origins in experiences which came to me [the author] in the daily duties of a city pastorate. The inadequate wages received by some of the members of my own congregation, and the impoverished and unhealthy surroundings of many of the poor people who came for me to christen their children, pray with their sick, or bury their dead, so aroused my sympathy for the victims, and my indignation against the cruel or indifferent causes of their misery, that I determined upon a thorough and systematic investigation of the conditions of life among the worthy Boston poor. By the word "worthy" I do not mean to indicate a class of Saints but the poor people of the city who are willing and anxious to exchange honest hard work for their support. I have not, in the series of studies here presented, entered into a discussion of the vicious and criminal classes. I have tried to perform, as it seemed to me, a far more important task - to make a plea for justice on behalf of the crushed, and often forgotten, victims of greed, who work and starve in their sellers and garrets rather than beg or steal."
Chapters include: The White Slaves of the Boston "Sweaters;" Letter of Criticism; Reply to a Criticism on "The White Slaves of the Boston Sweaters," The Plague of the Sweat-shop, The Relation of Wages to Morals; The Wages and Temptations of Working-people; Boston's Uncle Tom's Cabin; Social Microbes in Boston Tenement Houses, and How to Destroy Them; Old World Tides in Boston; Our Brothers and Sisters, the Boston Paupers; Comment on "Our Brothers and Sisters, the Boston Paupers;" and The Gold God of Modern Society. A wealth of photographs and a few illustrations enhance the text.
