New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-10-07
TIE GARFIELD AND MICHIGAN FUNDS

When money is 10 be raised for any purpose 1t
can only he done bv systematic action directed
to a single point. The fund for Mrs. Garilc'a
has reached the present amount because IL WIS
pushed upon the attention OF noneyed men by u
practical business man, aud 1t would proDaply
be much larger if he had taken means to syS-
tcmaticallv present it TO the mass of the people
IN sucb shane that small subscriptions could he
collected from those who are anxious To testify
their love for the great dead, but who are able
70 give but little out of their poverty. This
undertaking. however may safely be left in
Mr.. Fields hands There is little doubt that
the fund will under his management, reach
sum sufficient To keep the widow and children
Of the murdered President in comfort during
their lives With regard to monument to the
memory of Garfield there are already plans
afoot for five or six to be erected III different
places by subscriptions of % or 90 cents, " coll
lccted from the whole Nation" The upsh0t oil
these undigcstcd enthusiastic schemes VIII be
that none of them will succeed, and the monu-
mcnt TO Garfield will be like those To Washing
ton and to others of our great men, only an
other magnificent beginning and wrctchcd lail-
urea diSgraccful sign of how quickly the
American people forget their heroes One
monument will be enough, provided 1t toe oi Il
kind 10 show the sincerity of popular feeling;
and the propercst place for that Is IN Lake
View Cemetery, over the grave. The plan sug-
gcstcd to the American people by the trustees
of the cemetery, of individual subscriptions oil
one dollar each, is good and reasonable ANA
ought to succeed.
Ii il time too, that some systematic, energetic
movement was made throughout the country
for the Michigan sufferers. The late I'M
scasonablc heat will in all probability bc sue
cccded by severe fIosts and "A hard winter
Fifteen thousand of our fcllow-citzcns are
without homes, clothes, food, orcvcn tool, with
which to work. to meet the coming winter
fever in its worst form is now at work upon the
half-starvcd, homeless people. The excitement
throughout the country oh behalf of the mar
tyred President has thrown this great calamity
into the background. What we do should be-
done at once, and Ncw-Yorll, n she ha, always
hitherto done, should take the lead in this
charitable work. 1t will Ice remembered that
the wants OF the Chicago sufferers were prln-
cipally relieved by the order and method
adopted in soliciting supple, for them. In thi,
city, upon an appointed day, wagons with
officially appointed agents drove from house 10
house and store to store receiving contributions
of provisions, goods, bedding and ready made
clothes, both new and old. The little package
from each of thousands Of dwellings made an
enormous aggregate of comfort for the victims
Yet very likely not one Of these packages would
have been sent if it had not been called for 1t
is not want of charity that keeps ordinary men
and women from giving in such cases, but
want of thought.
The recent suggestion is very wise one that
the stulls used in mourning drapery in this aud
other cities should be collected at given time
and sold at auction, and the money forwarded
TO Michigan instead of the material itself
Cheap black stulls which have tapped for n
fortnight in the sun and dust are not likely to
make garments worth making mp. Besides,
why should the poor creatures who have lost
all the comfort out of their lives be forced also
to go about for a year or two in universal robes
of unmitigatcd wOe7 Sell the funcrcal stun
and send good hard dollars instead, with such of
your own ready -madc civilized garments as you
can spare and as many brotherly words of sym
patty as you would like to hear were you your
self homeless, naked and ill.