Daily American organ. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1856, 1855-12-05
Report of the Aid Friends, nov, 81, 1855.


sufficient interest in our labora to read sketch,
we deem II proper 70 givsa brief outline q the
work from its commencement. Two years have now
elapsed since this part Of our field was explored.
Many families were found who neither attended
public worship nor sent their children to Sunday
school Efforts were made to convince them Of
the duties and benefits OF attending both, leaving
them to their own choice among the churches and
schools. Such people, like others, have their pre-
ferences and prejudices and an attempt TO control
either, would doubtless have raised a suspicion OF
n desire to proselyte, and rendered our labors
fruitless. These efforts were msasurably saccess-
full; but many were left who could not be per-
suaded to attend public worship, or send their
children to church, or Sunday school. Some plead
ed that they could not dress themselves and chill
dren well enough to go among those who are 30
finely dressed as they In the churches and Sun
day schools others plead an nconvenient distance,
and most Of them, although not having heard Of
caste, gave unmistakable evidence Of feeling its
influence.
We have often felt constrained to urge the more
favored parents to send their children to Sunday
school and church, plainly dressed, and instruct
them to treat poor children with a. kind and en-
couraging familiarity. Most poor people are viii
ling to send to schools established for the poor,
and for such as live at an inconyenient distance
from other schools; and from sense OF duty we
have established schools as we were able to obtain
suitable rooms and teachers, till their number has
increased. to eleven. Two Of these have been
merged In one, because in of the localities we
have not room, and the children Of another have
acquired sufficient selfrespect, founded on their
improvement, to 60 cheerfully into other schools
We have had three week day schools, but we dis
continued them as soon as we could get the pupils
into the district schools, We have had an evening
school most Of the time, chiefly for boys who work
through the day. Some OF our schools are attend
ed by adult pupils also and into some the neigh
bors are attracted by the interest they feel in them
In all, we have religious worship, Besides open
ing with singing and prayer, we have preaching in
most of them, and exhortations and remarks in the
others all calculated to encourage the hearers in
the improvement of their minds and hearts, Com
trasts between them and others, who, instead Of
learning to reverence their Creator and his holy
Sabbath, treating each other with respectful kind
ness, and qualifying themselves for usefulness and
happiness, are protaning His holy name and Sab
bath, often quarreling and sometimes fighting with
each other becoming a burden to society, and fit
ting themselves for destruction; have tendency
to elevate and give them proper selfrespect and
lead them to due observance of their obligations
to God and their fellow beings. 50s4-s,,
OF one hundred and twenty three who have
united with church in Massachusetts, eighty are
from the Sunday schools, and twenty three from
the Mission schools; the proportion has been as
great in accessons to other churches Massachu-
sets takes the lead of all the States in Sunday
schools; but Of $1,000 children in ita capital only
10000 are In schools Of Evangelical churches and
it is no better in New York and other large cities
But two and a half millions Of the children Of the
United States are In Sunday schools and four mil
lions are out. Many, whose names are on the books,
are easily led away, and attend but very irregular
ly. In all cities there are many counteracting in
uences, and in this, the boys are often attracted
away in gangs on the Sabbath, by martial music
Many of them have been too long accustomed to
having their own way, to be controlled by their
parents and too long accustomed to choosing a
perverse way, to be easily led into a good one.
The pernicious habit of being out late makes
them lazy and Indifferent on tho Sabbath In the
frequent visits which have been necessary for per-
suasion and encouragement, we have become ac-
quainted with much Of the destitution, moral and
spiritual, as well as temporal, among the poor and
the vicious Of our city. Desiring to aid such of
them as wiltry to improve, we have found good
homes and employment for considerable number
who were destitute. The inmates Of the poor
house and work house have been visited from once
to three times each week for the last eight months
with an encouraging measure Of success; and
Sunday school, connected with religious worship,
has recently been commenced with favorable
prospect
An Industrial School and Farm are much needed
for instructing and preparing those three classes
for usefulness. BY their efforts to improve, they
win gain the confidence Of their instructors, SO
that they can be safely recommended to such as
may wish for their labor. With but very limited
means much good has been done. Many have re-
ceived instructions, which we trust will be perma-
nently beneficial, aud some have acquired habits
of industry, and preference for an honest re-
spectacle way Of obtaining living. Then, may we
not reasonably expect that with the advantages of
such an institution, vast amount Of suffering and
crime would be preyentedg This has been delay
cd by the hard times" In New York, this sys-
tenn has been introduced and gives promise OF vast
benefit Measures have been taken to introduce Il
10 Albany, New York, and in Cincinnati, Ohio. We
hope IL win be adopted in all cities, providing COM
Portable homes and remunerative employment for
thousands of the suffering and destitute. The New
York Times estimates the number of disorderly
women in that city at "a 900. The price of making
shirts is ten cents Let not wait for the scourge
of such increased temptation to come upon our
city. fI stfNF
We rejoice In being able to say that the opposi-
ton to which it was our painful duty to allude in
two of our reports, has ceased at least as far as
we know and the schools have become pleasant
and prosperous We applied for the Naval Hospi-
tai, with the concurrence of the Department, near
all Of the clergy, and the City Fathers" and one
thousand other respectable citizens but when It
was claimed for the improvement OF the streets,
we cheerully yielded. II charges have been made
which have not been refnted We trust our friends
will suspend judgment til they hear both Sides"
We hope our cause will not suffer through u.s. The
Lord has owned and blessed our labors thus far and
strewed our path with much encouragement; but
our cash receipts since our last report have not
been sufficient to pay our rent. A
We close, by inviting all TO aid u.s. reminding
them that che that hath pity on the poor, lendeth
to the Lord, and assuring them that lit is good