She Helped With the Rent

1895

She was as elegantly a dressed woman as you will find in a day's walk. She stopped at the curb stone and gathered her rustling skirts daintily in one hand before she essayed the muddy crossing. Midway the sweep stopped her with a request for a penny.

"What would you do with it?" she inquired.

"Me grandmother's got to pay her rent tomorrow er git put out, an she ain't got no money."

"Poor boy," said the elegant one as she opened her purse. "Of course I'll help you pay the old lady's rent. She mustn't be put out. There, give her that."

And dropping two pennies into the boy's grimy hand she sailed on, surrounded by the halo of sweet charity. — Philadelphia Times.

Rob Roy, the Philanthropist

1895

During more than 40 years John MacGregor (Rob Roy) was a great exemplar of the best sort of philanthropy. There was some narrowness, perhaps bigotry, in his religious creed, but none whatever in his practice. He was a man of considerable attainments in literature, science, art and music. Above all, he was a born adventurer, as his voyages in his "Rob Roy" canoe testify, and all the profits that he obtained from his books and lectures were handed over to the charities — charities of the best sort — in which he was interested.

By lecturing alone he earned and thus applied £10,000, and having set himself to collect that sum he persevered in the work during several years, and after his health had begun to fail, until the total had been reached. Dying in 1892, at the age of 67, he left a record of steady heroism and of real service to his fellow men which is almost unique. — Academy.

Own Home Is Lost By "Home Mender"

1920 (Click graphic for bigger)

MRS. DANIEL F. SULLIVAN AND HER WAIFS.

Don't for a moment think that the babies in the arms of Mrs. Daniel F. Sullivan in the above picture are all the "family" of "waifs" she has adopted. No, no! These are just all she could hold of the scores of infants she has made happy in her luxurious home. But now Mrs. Sullivan faces the loss of that home thru the alleged desertion of her husband. She is suing for divorce and alimony on those grounds.

WOMEN WHO HELPED WAIFS DESERTED BY MATE.

Is Now Alone After Having Helped Needy of City for Three Years.

One, who for three years has made the homes of others bright and cheerful, today finds herself without a home.

Hungry urchins and needy families came to her when in distress and found solace and food.

And now Mrs. Daniel L. Sullivan of Chicago has lost her own home in the process.

She established the fact when she filed action for divorce against her wealthy husband, who was first interested in her charitable project and then bored to distraction and desertion.

It was in seeking for a suitable memorial for her son, McKenzie Lowndes, that Mrs. Sullivan decided to bring the suffering children of poor parents into the beautiful Sullivan home in Chicago. She began with five and there were times when she had fifty.

She Made Them Happy.

They were fed, dressed well, given toys and medical attention and when they were quite happy Mrs. Sullivan usually took steps to return them to their own home, made materially comfortable for their home-coming.

Mrs. Sullivan began plans to make it a permanent institution, encouraged by thousands of letters commending her work or thanking her for priceless aid to individuals. Her husband was worth nearly a half million dollars, the home was ideally located and fitted for the charity and the routine of "trouble seeking" had been established. Families in misery knew where to apply.

Then, just as the organization was to be enlarged and the work amplified, Mrs. Sullivan received a telephone message from her husband to have dinner with him. She kept the appointment and waited for hours, but when she finally returned to her home she found a note pinned to her dresser in which Mr. Sullivan explained that he had left the house forever.

Three times thereafter Mr. Sullivan returned for brief visits, but for a year he has not even communicated with his wife.

Mr. Sullivan went away for the last time late in 1918.

Foundlings Brought Her Trouble.

Mrs. Sullivan states in her bill of particulars that she was married at Milwaukee, Aug. 21, 1911, and that for years she lived very happily with her husband. The beginning of their troubles came one year after Mrs. Sullivan had taken in the first foundling in the endeavor which subsequently made her known and loved thruout the poor sections of the city.

The plan for making the memorial a charity on a great scale has failed with the absence of Mr. Sullivan, but "the mender of broken homes" is still active in a limited sphere along the same lines proposed at the time of her own problem's development.

In her action Mrs. Sullivan will ask substantial alimony, contending that her husband is worth at least $300,000 and has an income of not less than $30,000 a year.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 4.

Three Hundred Million Red Cross Seals

1916

Three hundred million Red Cross Christmas Seals are being printed in Cincinnati for the annual holiday campaign to be conducted under the joint auspices of the American Red Cross and The National Association for the Study and Prevention of Tuberculosis.

The campaign for the sale of Red Cross Seals this year will be larger than ever before. Although in 1915 the sale reached the record total of 80,000,000 seals, bringing in $800,000, it is expected that this year at least 100,000,000 seals or $1,000,000 worth will be sold. The sale will be organized from Alaska to the Canal Zone and from Hawaii to Porto Rico. Every state and territory in the United States will have seals on sale. New organizations will be working in a number of the western states, including Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Distribution of the seals is now under way.

The Red Cross Christmas Seal for 1916 was designed by Mr. T. M. Cleland of New York City. It shows a Santa Claus in red on a green background in the center panel with a pack on his back bearing a red cross. The lettering "A Merry Christmas" and "A Happy New Year" is carried vertically up and down the sides of the seal, while the date and the words "American Red Cross" are across the bottom of the seal. The poster effect given by this seal is very striking and makes an unusually handsome design.

Home for Drunkards' Wives Is Closed

Kansas, 1910

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The home founded by Carrie Nation, the Kansas "joint smasher," in this city as a refuge for drunkards' wives, will probably be closed and the property returned to Mrs. Nation. The reason is, there are not enough wives of drunkards in the largest city of Kansas to warrant the continued operation of a refuge for them. Mrs. Nation has requested of the Associated Charities, the organization which is managing the home, that the property be deeded back to her.

The home has accommodations for 40 women but there are no drunkards' wives in it now. The Associated Charities is using it as a home for unfortunate and homeless women. About fifteen women now occupy the home.

Peter W. Goebel, president of the board of directors of the Associated Charities, admits that the home is a failure as far as being a place for the housing of drunkards' wives.

"That is the 'distressing' condition that exists," Mr. Goebel said. "There is no use in denying it. We cannot find drunkards' wives to live there.

"Mrs. Nation has asked that we return the home to her. The members of the board of directors differ as to whether or not this should be done. She has agreed to pay us for what repairs and improvements have been made at the home and at present the association needs the money that would be thus received for other branches of work. At our next meeting we will finally determine what stand to take concerning holding or releasing the property."

Mrs. Nation wishes the home returned to her so that it may be sold and the proceeds of its sale used in the construction of a home for boys which she is building in Oklahoma.

In 1902 she bought the property, which was the homestead of C. N. Simpson, one of the pioneers of Kansas.

Mrs. Nation secured most of the $4,000, which she originally paid for the property, from the sale of the small souvenir "Carrie A. Nation hatchets" which she and her friends sold for 25 cents.

After Mrs. Nation had given the home, all the churches of the city and many fraternal orders subscribed money to pay for its furnishing. The grounds about the home, an acre in extent, are well shaded and the building itself is a spacious structure of brick.

—Oelwein Daily Register, Oelwein, Iowa, Sept. 27, 1910, p. 2.

Marches Well at 95

1900

The oldest veteran who marched in the G. A. R. parade at Chicago recently was William Taylor of the Fourteenth Wisconsin infantry. He marched over the entire route without facing any ill effects from the exercise. He is 95 years old and a veteran of three wars, having, taking part in the war with the Blackfoot Indians, the Mexican war and the civil war. He is a member of the La Crosse post and is as lively as some of the young boys of 60.


Bees and Peaches

One of the most peculiar suits at law ever brought before any court is soon to be tried in Van Buren county, Michigan, between two neighbors and old friends. One of the men, H. D. Burrell of South Haven, keeps about sixty colonies of bees. The other is a peach grower. A few months ago the latter complained of the former's bees destroying the early Crawford peaches, claming that the bees came into his orchard in large numbers, bit holes in the fruit and rendered it unmarketable for which he demanded $200. Prof. J M. Rankin of the agricultural college and the entomologist of the Agricultural department at Washington will be called as expert witnesses by the defense in a suit for damages.


Galveston Relief

Little has been said, and probably as little thought, of the beneficent work done by the railroads in aiding and promoting the measures set on foot for the relief of stricken Galveston. Thousands of refugees from that city received free transportation to any part of the country, and immense quantities of supplies were rushed forward without charge. This ready response to the cry of human needs characterized all the great railway systems of the country, the express, telegraph and telephone companies. The cash value of the services thus rendered is as impossible to estimate as the amount of human suffering and misery they helped to alleviate.

Keeps His Youth By Risking Life

1920

Man Does Peril Stunts to Stave Off Age

Says Fear is "Vampire" That Breaks One's Spirit

LOS ANGELES -- Physical fear and undue caution, to which the softened city dweller becomes increasingly subject, are the twin vampires that help prematurely to steal away a man's youth and break his spirit.

Out of this conviction, L. W. Walker, capitalist, philanthropist and famous daredevil of 64 years, has evolved a singular formula for staving off "age" while growing old.

Whenever he sees the "vamps" in the offing he promptly takes 'em out on a mountain top, into the tip of a giant tree or drapes himself over a precipice with them, and pronto -- they're gone.

Wins Name as Daredevil

For years Walker has performed hazardous feats that have won him a name in the clan of daredevils. And, to add zest to his adventures, he garnishes them with wager readily taken by men already in the grip of fear.

His winnings -- and he seldom loses when he attempts a humanly possible exploit -- are devoted to the poor and the handicapped.

Here are some of Walker's most recent stunts, all wage-winners (and remember he's 64!):

Stood out at right angles half way up a 100-foot tree, one foot in the crotch of a limb.

Hung by the knees, head down, from topmost branch of a towering pine.

Stood erect, hands free, on the top of another tree leaning over a deep chasm.

Climbed an almost vertical mountain wall to a point which many hardy young mountaineers had pronounced inaccessible.

Scaled a cliff where the foothold was so precarious that he had to be rescued with ropes from above.

Dived Among Sharks

Walker has proof of many other equally hair-raising performances, and continues to add to the list whenever he feels in need of a "bracer."

Once he dived into a school of sharks that lashed away in terror as the "old" man splashed his defiance.

He is now taking up aviation by way of further diversion and conquest of fear, claiming that he is growing steadily younger as his life-span lengthens toward the proverbial three-score-and-ten.

As modest as he is fearless, Walker gives freely, but without ostentation, from his ample funds to those he feels deserving.

Slips of the Tongue

1914

Most amusing are the slips of the tongue which so often lead to embarrassing situations.

At an evening party a lady said to her partner, "Can you tell me who is that exceedingly plain young man opposite?"

"That is my brother," was the reply.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," she said in great confusion. "I did not notice the resemblance."

At a certain concert a lady asked a gentleman how he liked the duet she had just sung. "You sang charmingly," was the reply; "but why did you select such a horrid piece of music?"

"Sir, that was written by my late husband," was the indignant reply.

"Ah, yes, I did not mean — but why did you select such an ass to sing with you?"

"Oh, you brute!" screamed the lady. "That is my present husband."


Charity

Charity begins at home, and often ends there. It is usually divided into two kinds, namely, public and private. Public charity consists of a salaried office force and a subscription list. Private charity is what we give when we don't know what to do with the surplus.

There is also a species of charity known as genuine. Inasmuch, however, as it is never advertised in the newspapers, scarcely anything is known about it. — Life.


Saves Fisherman Trouble

Harness to hold a fishing pole, so as to leave a fisherman's hands free to manage his bait or catch, is an English invention.

The Wonderful Tree – Story for Christmas

The Wonderful Tree
By Christopher G. Hazard
(1922, Western Newspaper Union)

It stood in the corner of a rather needy room. It was festooned with strings of popcorn and cables of cranberries. Wisps of tissue paper and tinsel ornaments were out upon the branches, and small candles stood ready to illuminate the occasion. There were many invisible things upon the tree, too. The imaginations of the children had been as busy as their dreams. Family resources may be limited, but there are no bounds in the realms of Santa Claus and hope. In the magical Christmas time the clouds of poverty are all as gilded and beautiful as any sunset can furnish. Anything may happen then. Cinderella is as hopeful as her more favored sisters; not an urchin but has an expectant eye. So the Tanner Christmas tree was as beautiful as a picture and as full of presents as a picture could be.

But, however pictured by fancy and made of good wishes, the presents were all invisible. No one could see what was in the heads of the dreamers and the hearts of the anxious but needy providers. For weeks the mill had been closed, and now the family pocketbook was about empty. Father Tanner looked at the tree, could not see a gift on it, and shook his head. Mother Tanner was inclined to make the best of it.

Yes, the tree was one of the family. It had been the tree of last year's Christmas and the tree of the year before that. It was a tree that kept its evergreen habit and that did not seem to grow old. It was like a living tree, made to bring forth its fruit every year. It had been so good to them that they had named it Bounty. And now it stood there in the dark, all dressed up, but with nothing but blossoms, without any fruit. It could see the hurrying children running to their morning disappointment. It could hear their cries of surprise and chagrin. Silly Sam, more needy of amusement than the others, would look in vain for his expected go-cart; Sue would miss the two dress patterns for her big doll, her new hat and high chair for her little doll; Bill Tanner would not get his skates; Dick would still need a sled. It was anything but a merry tree.

But it was a wonderful tree. It had a power of making itself felt all over a neighborhood. It could summon Santa Claus by a kind of wireless message that went through walls and everything. It reached as far as the folks who were having a Christmas eve party two blocks away and made them think of Mr. Folsom's mill boss and Mrs. Folsom's laundry woman. They had been wishing for some new fun for their party that day and now it came into their heads to go over and be Santa for the Tanners. So the tree drew a very silent but very busy company to the Tanners' back door.

As the children had left directions for Santa on the table it was easy to find out what the tree was expected to do, so, presently, it did it. There was more, too, than orders for the wanted things; the merrymakers had brought with them enough to satisfy any reasonable tree; there were picture books, picture puzzles, games, a scissors grinder that could make the sparks fly, a train of cars that could go, a doll that could say "mama," and candy enough to go round. For Father and Mother Tanner there was a pocketbook with gold in it, and a note of good cheer that was better than the gold.

So the wonderful tree spent the rest of the night in trembling joy. It could not sleep for thinking of the friendly love that had provided such a happy morning to come. And when the first of the morning light brought all the Tanners downstairs the tree fairly shook with pleasure, amid the wonder and the glee of that Christmas day.

As for the servants of Santa Claus, they had never had such a merry Christmas before. Their hearts were so warm that they did not mind the frost. They sang over the pleasure of giving pleasure and relief. They said they knew that Santa Claus had to live up North so that he could cool off after his warm interest in the happiness of others. They addressed him in verses that must have made him jollier than ever, calling him:

THE MAGIC MAN
There is a man who lives up north
All clad in robes and furs,
And every year he sallies forth
As love his going spurs.

He mitigates the winter's cold
That otherwise would freeze,
And keeps himself from growing old
By tending Christmas trees.

The children for his coming wait,
So do the old folks, too;
Unhappiness goes out the gate
When Santa comes to you.

And their own presents never seemed so large and good before.

Wife's Last Dollar Buys Executed Man's Coffin

1922

Nashville, Tenn. — Asbury Fields, convicted of the murder of J. E. Pierce last summer, was electrocuted in the state prison here.

Shortly after the death-dealing shock had been given Fields, his wife, small, demure and pretty, entered an undertaker's shop and spent her last dollar for a plain black coffin. She had earned the money by hard work in a hosiery mill, where she had been employed since Fields' arrest.

"I don't know that Asbury wasn't guilty," she said, "but I couldn't bear to see him buried by charity."

—Oneonta Daily Star, Oneonta, New York, April 1, 1922, page 8.