Wilmington daily commercial., 1873-12-31
FIRST EDITION.
Wilmington Union Aid Society.

Ifb FAST WORK AND FUTURE PkOSPEUrH-HOW IT II
ALLEvIATINa The suFFKRIEds OF THE POOR AM
DEeTIruTE.-ITs SYSTEM OF AFFoRDINd RELIEF
AND now AND IN wuAr QUANTITY ADMtsIsTERED
The Wilmington Union Aid Society. which wal
iorganixed about six weeks ago, is performing
noble work in the relief which it Is extending Il
the poor and destitute of our city Its aims arc
parely philsnthropio. and it is sustained in itt
good work solely by the contributions which are
donated by thoAe who are governed by like
impulses with the orginators, and the
central heads of the organization. 1t has, how.
ever, obtained sueh hold upon the public CON
fienoe and sympathy that the work already per
formed may be enlarged and improved If the
public exigencies demand it, and those who are
directing it have hearts large enough for any
emergency.
THE PLAN oY OPERATIONS.
The Society is governed by Blsrd OF Con.
troll composed Of committees representing tho
several wards of tho city. These ward committees
consist Of one gentleman and two ladies. The
former solicit funds and the latter visit the homes
of the applicants for relief, inqnring into their
necessities aud, il found worthy, leaving orders
for relief. These orders, il for food, are pre-
sented on the Thursday Of each week, from A,
NJ, to 1 +. NJ. at No. 3. West Fifth street
where they are honored by distribution ao-
cording to the nsoessties Of the case. II for
clothing, ord RS are taken to No. Sl2 Nj arket st.
THE FOOD DISTRIBUTED.
The articles of food distributed consist sololy
OF that which is necessary aud nutritious. No
Injuries are furnished. not even 30 much as SUI
gar or crackers. except in cases OF sickness
and by singular coincidence nearly all appli.
cAnts have ons or more of the family who are
suffering with one ailmeut or another. For
fAhiy OF Hay i've persons the altlces apPor-
toned are; nlnr. pounds meal pounds ;
beans quart homtny, pint coffee pound ;
potatoes, one-half peck, and meat one pound
for each pereon The quantities are small, but
by rigid economy, whoh tho S)oiety desires to
Institute, they usually sulli i3ient to last dur
ing the week.
From the house No. Si2 Market street, the
clothing il distributed, aud 1t IS all made up DO.
fore It is given away. Needy women who have
been recommended by the ward committees arc
employed in the prep Aration of these garmenta
at small remuneration, and in this way large
supply has besn prepared. But the applicants
for this work have become so numerous that 1t
has been found necessary to suspend for
awhile.
NEEDS OF TIE SOCIETY.
The system of obtaining money by monthly
contributions has proved quito efficient aud
handsome sum has been secured III this manner.
Special donations have also been made, and the
aggregate amount lie worthy the object which in.
apred its contribution Still the Board OF Con-
troll 10 not over stocked with means to carry on
the work. II has managed, thus far, very we'll;
but iu the coming months its demand viii be
even greAter than in the past. And for two rea-
sons lst. Because it wall have no auxiliary
from which to draw assistance End. because the
indications are that it will be called upon to rem
der even greater relief than heretofore.
COUNTY AND MUNICIPAL ASSISTANCE,
When the Society was first organized, the
Trustees OF the Almshouse turned over to it tho
hoR
custom to distribute in the city, amounting to
about &400. The Committee of Council on tho
distributiOnaof fuel also passed TO the control
Of the Beard fuel to the full amount OF the appo-
priation, save what had already been dlstrlbu-
tad. Tho last named donation has been entirely
exhausted, aud the residue Of that given by tho
Almahousel Trustees will be disposed Ofon Thurs
day next. In addition to this.ths Board has also
expended about $500 in lis own funds 70 that
tho total expenses of the past Six weeks will
not fall short Of 81 900.
CHARACTER OF THE APPLICANTS
or the applicants who have thus far presented
themselves for relief the principal part have
been widows, and some of them have presented
extreme cases Of deatituton. Very few me-
ch Anics have yet invoked the aid of the Society,
but tho number Is now on the Increase. and each
succseding day Of distribution brings out bet
ter GLASS OF poor people Many have refrained,
through pride, from thro wing themselves upon
the charities of the Ssciety, but the necessity
that knows no excuse 10 now driving them to
accept assistance from any source. 1t is also
thought that many OF the mechanics out OF em,
ployment ara obtaining credit somewhere, and
thus manage to maintain themselves. The mum
ber Of applicants who present themselves weekly
is about 30.
As the Society becomes more settled in its
work it learns wisdom in aVeruug the imposi-
tions of pretenders On numsrOus occasions
attempts have bssn made to Victimile it, but 30
thOrough and effective is its organization that
these attempts have failed in almost every in
stance. 1t has also done good work in driving
from the street unworthy mendicants and we
are told that the multitude of few weeks ago
is greatly lessened.
THE soCP DEPARTMENT.
This department, under the management OF
Mrs. Samuel Cauby, ii proving VAlu-
able aid to the society IL is designed not so
much to assist those who reside in the city as
thuse who are strangers here in quest OF WORK,
and the former are not always accommodated
) lmetimes, ho Seyer, Mira Candy Ia imposed
upon, but not often. for few men can wlltully
tell her a lie in answer to the questions she
puts to them when applying for soup, 60 kindly
arc they Rtked,
on the second floor Of Chamberllin's building,
4th aud Orange streets, arc very comfortably,
though plAinly fitted up, and warmed by steam
Mrs Canby has her Oil g just at the entran'e,
where the p1.ic4uts Obtalu temporary tlckela
OF present lllolI GShlfl bll6H am
for soup, These arc carried fe" teet iurlher
on to the coup room. where the assistant gives
out the requisite quantity, and il for imm0dlAte
use the applicants repair to long bo-id table
TO consume II.
THE TICKETS.
The tickets for soup are of three kind1-RsB-
ular Sale and Temporary Tickets. Regular
tickets are those which are given to destitute
families within the city upon the recommenda-
ton of the ward committees, On the tace OF
these tickets is stated the name OF the party,
the quantity to be given. and the days OF the
month in regular order and HI these TICKETS
are presented a hole ID punche through
them corresponding with the date OF pre-
sentaton 30 thAt there can be no imposition
praciced with their use Sale tickets are those
which arc disposed OF to persons who desire 70
give something to the alms-asking people we
meet in everyday life, and about S2l worth
have already been sold These tickets are sold
at 5 cents EACH and may be had at many of the
stores or OF Mrs. Candy. The temporary tick
cts are such as are for immediate use, aud are
given away at the option of Mrs. Canby.
THE SOUP.
Is cleanly made, and is quite rich. 1t varies IN
kind with the days OF the week. MIR. Il, ii.
Jenes kindly gives to tho society sulhceht
quantity of extract from mince meat TO make
soup for two days; on the other days II is made
from the contributions of the butchers Into
the soup is put large quantities OF vegetables
beans, &c, mostly the gift of charitable per-
sons, but there are some articles which nave 10
be purchased. The soup is made IN
been introduced, and the soup is boiled IN this