Project Gutenberg 2013-03-18 Public domain in the USA. 176 Bercovici, Konrad 1882 1961 Berkovichi, Konrad Reed, John 1887 1920 Reid, John Reed, John Silas 17015181 Crimes of Charity Produced by Greg Bergquist, Martin Pettit and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) "Crimes of Charity" by Konrad Bercovici is a scathing critique of organized charity systems, written in the early 20th century. The book exposes the harsh realities faced by the impoverished, while highlighting the contradictions and failures within the charitable institutions designed to help them. The opening chapters introduce the reader to various characters within the system, including investigators and applicants, showcasing the cold bureaucracy that often prioritizes its own interests over the welfare of the needy. The beginning of the narrative presents a parable about a merciful man whose charitable intentions are subverted by his greedy brother, setting a tone of disillusionment and betrayal. Following this parable, the protagonist, an investigator named Baer, begins his journey at a charity institution, encountering a grim world where applicants are treated with suspicion and disdain. Baer's interactions with both the severely impoverished applicants and the self-serving charity officials reveal a systemic cruelty masked as benevolence, suggesting that the very foundation of charity often leads to the perpetuation of suffering rather than alleviating it. This opening portion effectively sets the stage for a deeper exploration of the moral implications surrounding organized charity, as Baer grapples with the reality of his role in an unjust system. (This is an automatically generated summary.) file:///public/vhost/g/gutenberg/html/files/42363/42363-h/images/cover.jpg Reading ease score: 83.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Charity organization Charities -- New York (State) -- New York HV Text Category: Novels 379065 2025-07-17T07:14:07.067117 text/html 363103 2024-10-23T14:44:01 text/html 442202 2025-07-17T07:14:12.082042 application/epub+zip 444244 2025-07-17T07:14:07.921106 application/epub+zip 205321 2025-07-17T07:14:07.458139 application/epub+zip 566873 2025-07-17T07:14:15.518053 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 521245 2025-07-17T07:14:11.631051 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 282700 2022-09-19T10:54:54.890514 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 344714 2023-09-18T11:14:35.332326 text/plain 324860 2024-10-23T14:44:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17110 2025-07-17T07:14:15.649085 application/rdf+xml 11510 2025-07-17T07:14:07.542123 image/jpeg 1829 2025-07-17T07:14:07.501092 image/jpeg 406794 2025-07-17T07:14:07.107106 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia en.wikipedia