BEGGARS' CONFERENCE

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 4326, 10 August 1937, Page 2

BEGGARS' CONFERENCE

A conference of beggars, . hicli was attended by hundreds of delegates from all over Poland, has just taken pbi.ee at Otwock, near Warsaw. The congress was called to consider the problem of begging in the health resorts, and particularly in the health resorts near Warsaw

, These places are always Hooded by beggars, who pester the visitors and 1 make their life a burden, j All methods of fighting the beggars having failed, the hotel owners decided to offer the proceeds of a tax which they proposed to levy on every visitor The beggars, however, refused at the congress to accept the offer, in sisting that the “ old and noble tradition ” of begging should be continued. An outstanding feature of the congress was the election of a “ leader,” named Jojne Arbus. Arbus boasts of coming from “ a family of beggars, as his father, grandfather, and greatgrandfather wore all beggars, and all Ids eight children make a nice living by following''the same trade. One ol Arbus’s sons, who tried to “ emancipate ’’ himself and become a merchant was driven from his father’s home for this unfortunate lapse into ordinary standards.