The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-03-05
WANDERERS FROM HOME.
HELPING HdNDS WHERE THEY ARE
VERY MUCH NEEDED.

VERY MUCH NEEDED.
Good Work In the Bowery-Letters Of In
dntry from Anxious Frtcnds-A Young Man
saved by Going Nc-i-A Practical Idrn.
"These books" said Mr.. John Dooly,
Secretary Of the Bowery branch Of the Young
Mems Christian Association, laying his hand
upon three big volumes, contain Over eight
hundred copies Of letters received Nv our relief
department from friends Of men who have re-
ceived nd from IA, people who have written to
us to Inquire about loved ones whom they could
not End, and men whom we have assisted. A
porusal Of them would give a better iiea than
ANYTHING else could Of the Importance OF the
work we are doing. A large proportion Of them
are Of the second class which have mentioned.
Many men come to New York and get lost. You
know what that means. They come here for
work, generally, and find instead only poverty,
idleness, suffering, aud often despair. Often
they take to drinking, and refuse to communi-
cate at all with their friends, who then appeal
to us to exert what influence we can to rescue
them. sometimes they get into bad company
and are led into crime. and then we follow them
WIN counsel, consolation, moral influence, aud
friendly assistance. 1t Ii hard, almost impossi-
bic to say where there IL a limit TO our endeavor
tn do practical good to those OF our fellow men
VINO need and deserve our help. And our work
Is not merely Local; 1t comes from and extends
To- all parts of the world. Here. for Instance is
aleter written To us from lfondheim, Norway,
bN mother, asking Tor Information about ner
missing son We did all we could to nnd him
Tor her. went to the consul, the shipping com.
missioners, the morgue, the hospitals. and every
other place We could think Of where some trace
OF him might he discovered. but all In vain. He
was not to be found. and fear that the poor
mothers anxious forebodings OF his death at
sea were but too true. The same uhfurtun to
result attended our search for tho miss log son
OF noblemans widow who wrote to US from
"In this case we wore more fortunate. A father
wrote TO US from Washington about his only
son. who had disappeared. and Happily tile
young man at tine time In our dormttory
lie had been lured to New York by some dercp-
tive adNef tiscment Offering employment, ana
when here found himself destitute and with
nothing to do. Him we sent back home.
PROBABLY SAVED.
," Hero IL letter from one YOUNG man whom
think W. saved. lie came to the city Tor work,
which ne failed to fnd, got nroke, and was wan
dering about the street cold hungry, pennilcss
and homeless One nigat he fell into bad com
pnny The next day he came to our SUNDAY
prayer meeting. A home PIC ure drawn by a
speaker touched his heart, and after tho meet
lug he bad talk with me aud told me all that
had beiallen MIN from the time he lett his quiet
home in England until then. advised him to
60 iar awsv rom the cry N order TO break up
the immor. ASSOCIATE ~ he had formed. lie
took nv advice and went West. After he had
:. ~ AZ n.'.s va he Troie = ma, .4AG told
him 10 20 still further, which he did. We aiding
him tn travel. Al length, r from New York.
our recommendation enabled him to procure
work, and he Is now doing well "a a travelling
salesman for a large Western house. THIS was
about year ago, and he still keeps IN his COM
municaton with Us, grateful for what we dld
Tor him, and showing by nis correct and moral
life that our interest IN him Vas not fnispi sced.
THIS Ions letter - from a well educated DER
man gentleman, who came to us In a state OF
utter de sttuton and great distress Of mind.
lie had been man OF some means In his own
country. but lost all he lad oy business reverses
ana came over here seeking to better his for
tunes, and leaving his family behind Ia father
land. We aided Tim, and advised him TO seek
work outside New York. which he do. and now
he IL foreman OF a factory within one hundred
miles Of this city, has his family with him once
more, and, though he works thirteen hours a
day for twenty dollars a week, Is happy.
. " Here is an Interesting case. A young man,
living III Montreal, supposed lie was Christian,
but got TO enter aiming some DOUBTS ABOUT the
eenuineness OF his conversion, and then made
matters worse 10y cumming away from home aud
misery, as nearly all do who come here. We adj
yised him to communicate at once with his
father in Montreal. and he did so. The father.
Christian man, wrote TO US, asking us to watch
over his boy. and directing how to receive and
apply money which he would send for his sons
return boWe. Before that letter reached us the
young man was 10 Philadelphia, but there,
through q kindred organization, we reached
associate, an older man, who was not q Chris
q N, and had great deal Of OWL influence over
him. We got him separated from that man, aud
nnalv persuaded him To return home to his
family.
THE GREAT CURSE
"Drinkinc Is a vice which drives a great many
to Us, for when men drink they not only lose
self control but become the easy prey Of rts .nls
Here ~ a case in point. A man hau been
working bard Tor six months end nsd saved up
something Dver one hundred dollars, came here
on his way East, where he intended TO spend the
winter with his mother. The irst day he was In
this city he got into one Of those low concert
and beer dives, where he drugged aud
robbed Of his last cent. On there Is no dount
about MS having been drugged he showed that,
ana let me tell YOU there Is much more dragging
than you or tue police know Of or believe ANY
way, he staggered In here ana went 10 sleep on
one OF the benches. " hen he walked l t4Ihed
with him and learned his condition. We fed
ma H.. uf.VnNaa
mud some employment for him. lie Is honest,
hard-wOrking, and think VIII not readily puI
himself IN the way of being drucged again.
often men come TO us VINO have sold or
pawntd their coats and even their vests for food
or liquor, and we have TO give them some cl1th-
Ing and by the way, We are sadly In need Of
clothing just at present.
Mot infrequenuy our good of1lces are required
by men who are very far from having ans sucn
necessity For Instance, "A German came 10 the
CITY last summer ON some business and drank
beer until lie became stupid aud sleepy. lie
went into store and asked to TO allowed to 1T
there and sleep, but they sent him here lie
sat down aud let MIN sleep uninterruptedly A
couple Of hours. Then no walked up and
wanted TO drink again. but got him to 80 to a
drug store instead and take SOLDERING dtaught,
the prescription for which furnished. lie paid
for Ii out OF a considerable sum Of money which
he had in his possession. knew that II he left
me lie would get drunk again and PROBABLY fall
INTO the hands Of thieves and be robbed, So |
found out where he lived and when the train
started star, for bis home anl / Kept him wib me
his none on board the train that night.
"Sometimes we have to obtain the COOPERATION
OF other charitable organizations IN caring for
whole families. About two years ago "A man
came IN aud showed me a letter from his wife in
the South. She SAID that she ana their two
children were starving. aud she was determined
II that was 10 DO their fate that They should at
least starVe together. what cinI dor he
said, for have no work or means, and am
literally starving myselfY Well, they came.
We managed to fnu a place temporarily for the
woman and her two children IN smother institu-
ton, and after little time succeeded in obtain
ing good situation for hun, keeping him here
until we did SO. Now he Is doing well aud they
have happy home, AS happen to know we'll,
for took tea with them not fortnight ago.
THE ROOT or ALL EVIL.
"YounG men are our principal trouble. There
was one, the son OF a banker ON the Paclnc
coast. lie cIme on here and got into bad COM
pany. lie was not bad fellow AZ all, but no
was sniftless. HIS curse was being the OF
u rich father, and he didn't want to 20 home
until he could 20 In AZ good style as he had
come away. That, with his habits, and without
aid, he never could have done. 1t took us two
years and half OF labor with him before we
could make a man of him and persuade MIN to
60 back to his father, hut we finally did II, and
his father sent the means to take him home.
The case OF another young man recurs to my
memory whore still another delicate duty de-
volved upon us. He belonged to a very respecta-
BILE family In England, and was highly CON
nected, but he came here, got into bad company,
committed a crime ana was sent TO the state
Prison, where h. served out his time. HIS |
Christian mother. hearing nothing OF her boy