Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-03-24
MEAN DIGS
Made by an Arkansas Paper at the
Failure of Charity in Memphis
TO Flood Sufferers.
Interview with Several Business Men
Showing the Great Injustice
of the Charge.

The seeming Indifference of the merchants
| and business men of Memphis TO the suffer
! ing and restitution in the Mississippi valley
! has been The theme OF much adverse COM
nent. While Pine Bluff and Little Rock,
| and even the far off city OF Burlington, Ia,
! have generously rendered their mite to allie
| viate the great suffering and distress, appeals
| for aid to Memphis have fallen upon deaf
and sympathetic ears. Repeated efforts OF
| a few charitable and generous citizens to form
some concerted plan for relief failed to draw
! together "corporaPs guard" while meet
ing called 10 effect measures for Mardi
| Gras festival was crowned with enthusiastic
success. The following is an excerpt from a
letter received by gentleman in this city
| from a resident friend of Memphis:
Am sorry to hear OF 80 much suffering
among our people. Jones is here, but I'm
| afraid he won't be able to do anythipg-hot
that he is not trying, for he is putting the
| facts before these people in plain terms; but
the truth IS Memphis has no charity in her
composition. If we have an epidemic
expect your people to send rs money and
provisions; if you have any cotton to ship,
we expect you to ship it to us; but when you
are in distress, if the government can't aid
you, all we can do is to give you lots of
sympathy, and we do this cheerfulfy. A
meeting was called last Saturday to render
aid TO the overlooked sufferers, but only two
men attended; meeting was in the mean
time called al the Peabody to take steps to
have Mardi Gras celebration next year. so
as to bring the country people IN to spend
money. This meeting was a success. If
Memphis did not get every dollar these suf-
ferers made, it would not look so bad. But
if that government boat don't reach you all,
you may expect nothing from these bluffs. If
| wasn't a church member | should be
tempted to repeat few lines in Choctaw on
the beauties of charity exemplfied by the
average Memphian.
"T6e truth is, Memphis has no charity in her
composition" Herself the recipient of a char
ity the like OF which has never been wit
messed since Christ came upon earth to die
for sinners, she is deaf to all appeals from
suffering. 4 H,eEdicdat herself IN her days Of
affection upon the generosity aqd ch1rity Of the
porld, in her prosperity she sptTnS the appeals of
the distressed Cold, callous, the embodiment
of selfshness, the merchants and business
men of Memphis are entitled to but little of
the sympathy or support of these people IN
the future. The efforts OF few humane
citizens to aid our people failed; the efforts
to organize and indulge in a MardI Gras fes-
tiyal will doubtless be successful. Memphis
and her generous people SHOULD be left free
to enjoy the brilliant pageant and dazzling
scenes Of splendor by themselves"
The above was taken from the Arkansas
City Journal. As it is exceedingly unjust to
the merchants and business men of Memphis
an APPEAL reporter showed it yesterday to
several prominent citz ma, who pronounced
it totally uncalled for. The first gentleman
sought was Mr.. w. n. Brown, who said in
reply to the questions of the reportorial
pump:
1--WE have not made any fuss about what
we have given to flood sufferers. We have
supplied the planters along the river "a well
we could. The ratons sent to Them
they afterward distributed. Quite a number
OF the planters have come to US and begged
us not to send provisions promiscuously, on
the ground that it would demoralize the
lower classes"
Mr.. Henry J. Lynn said the article was
very unjust. He had never seen a COM
munity more active in affording assistance
than Memphis. Her merchants were the
pluckiest and the grittiest to be found any
where. When the people of Nashville were
suffering, the merchants of Memphis with
out being solicited had begun systematic col
lections, and had forwarded the amount in
the very nick of time. The people had been
no less generous at the time OF the Michigan
forest fires, though Memphis was only
small place and not very well-off. A great
many of the merchants had been appealed
to by their customers for aid and it was not
refused. The meeting mentioned in the let !
ter TO the Journal raised over $500 through !
It's committees, and a considerable amount of |
provisions. Considering the fact that cotton |
has been down, and that business has been |
dull, Memphis has surely done her duty. |
She couldn't do everything, and recognizing |
that she could DO but little to help the |
many sufferer, she united in acall upon Con-
gress for aid.
Mr.. Hanauer, who has been one of the |
most active merchants here in aiding the
distressed, said that his firm had helped
number of individuals. Before Judge Man |
gum came here they had helped about 100 |
people.
Mr.. Treadwell thought the article very
unjust, and mentioned instances in which his
firm had contributed money.
Mr.. II. NJ. James, the distributor of ra-
tons for Tennessee, said that he had given |
food to everybody that asked for it, making
no difference where the person was from. |
Altogether he had distributed 10000 rations |
a ration being sufficient to support a man
for two days.
Mr. James said furthermore, that he had |
cent rations to 100 people on an island down |
the river belonging to Mississippi or Ark |
ansas.
Mr.. Nolan Fontaine, of Hill, Fontaine & |
Co, was then visited. He said that the firm |
had contributed some articles of food to the |
sufferers, and had given their customers |
credit the same as usual. They had not said |
anything to any OF their river customers who |
had not paid their accounts. In short, they |
had given credit as if nothing whatever
had happened.
The reporter learned that quite a number |
of firms had contributed privately to the
sufferers. The people of Memphis have not |
resorted to blowing the trumpet as adver-
tisement OF their own charity, but they have
done every thing that reason could expect of
them. The Mozart Society gave a concert
for the sufferers, netting some $500. Mem
phis might have reposed on her bluffs and
said that she was Tennessee town, and she
might have said that Tennessee is suffering
greatly from the flood and that she could
help none but Tennesseans. To fling back
the charge of uncharity comes with i'll grace
from the Journal, because the largest number
OF patients in our hospital, until very recent
ly, have been from Arkansas. The man who
would do such a thing would impugn the
excellence OF his hosts meal. Memphis asks
no credit for anything done, but she does not
enjoy being maligned. The statement that
only two men attended the Cotton Exchange
meeting is untrue. The meeting was not a
large one, as it was merely for the purpose
Of appointing soliciting committees. As for
the Mardi Gras meeting, it was not success.
indeed, no one has ever heard anything
more about it. The truth is the business
men don't care much for meetings and
~ eli l. al.