DILEMMAS / A woman with a baby asks for money in the bus queue: does she deserve charity?

SUE was waiting for a bus with her 10-year-old half-sister. A plump gypsy, claiming to be from Central Europe, appeared with a seemingly well-fed baby on her hip. She went up and down the queue displaying a card that bore the words: 'I cannot afford food for my baby. Please help me.' Should Sue have given the woman money or, if she refused on principle, what explanation should she have given her half-sister, who was touched by the woman's appeal?

Please send your comments and suggestions to me at the Features Department, the Independent, 40 City Road, London EC1Y 2DB; fax 071-956 1739, by Tuesday morning. And if you have any dilemmas of your own that you would like to share with readers, let me know. I will report back next Thursday.