Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-12-18
POOR FOLKSIN TOWN.
few Scenes These Days at the Re-
lief and Aid Society Room.

and good, substantial life winter
opens to the stout aud healthy With
the first cold blast and the first snow
he begins to calculate upon the en-
joyments of season in which out
door exercise and home comfort alike
appeal I1ure to mind and body than
during any other time of the year.
His coal has been contracted for at re-
duced rates early in the summer nusi-
ness, in view of the approaching holi-
days, receives gratifying impulse,
and his bank account guarantees that
there will be no vacuum In the larder.
The days work is short and the even
ing's pleasures are many. To such
happy mortal winter has no terrors;
thinking OF approaching Christmas,
he is even more literally inclined
than he otherwise would be, and he
mentally balances the effect of snug
little carouses with tae amount given
to charitable purposes. Bat under
the bustling, noisy and bewildering
phases of thrifty life there are only
too many homes for which the ap-
| proach of wilter means hunger and
frost. There has been, take it all in all
hard year for the poor. The last
| winter, with its weeks of cold, when
the mercury indicated degrees below
zero day after day, has wiped out the
last resources; spring and summer
have brought but scant labor at small
wages, and the short prosperous spell
OF fall has not been Of sufficient mo
ment to lay in stock of resistance
for the cold campaign which has just
set in. 1t is surprising how much suf
ferlng only days of cold bring to the
surface-sufering OF which hardly
one n a hundred is concious. Every
day the police courts are crowded
with unfortunates who are only too
willing to endure the shame and de
graduation of a season in the Bride well
rather than the hardships of winter
IN the pineries and on the streets.
Those who have work cling to it I'M
der disadvantages rather than to stand
the chances of uncertainty, and those
who have no work and are too manly
for life il work house cell begin the
weary rounds day after day. These
are the days when crowds besiege the
offices of 1.-The County Agent and the
Chicogo Relief and Aid Society from
morning until dusk.
Something new in our line2" re-
marks Rev. @. g. Trusdell, of the
Chicago Relief and Aid Society, as he
looked up YEARLY from wilderness
of papers on his desk, IN response to
the question of The Herald emissary.
why, there is something new every
minute. Wait and see."
On one OF the benches for the appli-
cants sits young woman in deep
mourning. She is neatly but not ex-
pensively dressed, and as she ap
proaches the desk AID throws back
her heavy veil sue shows an attract ve
face, careworn and pale though it 10.
Now, what can we do for you2'
asks Mr.. Trusdell rather bIuntly, but
not unkindly.
'Mr rent" whispers the WON
an, and then she breaks down sob
bling.
LET me look over your applica-
ton, says the superintendent, sooth
ingly, land we will see." He draws
file of papers from one of the pigeon
holes of his desk, finds tne appIica-
ton, and as he reads it his expressive
features assume something like a
grim determination.
"Why, you don't owe any rent, ?"
he says.
But it is due On the 10th, and if I
don't pay it then | will be- out on the
street with my three little ones, and
this Is the Sth today" says the WON
an timidly.
well, we can't attend TO prospec-
tive cases." says Mr.. Trusdell decisive
ly. If your landlord should put you
out, call again, and then we will help
you"
The applicant leaves the room, Cry
ing bitterly.
Its a sad case" remarks Mr.. Trus-
dell, "Dut we cannot help it in it's
present stage. The woman's husband
died last spring, leaving her with
three small children. l see by the re-
port OF our agent that she kept a
number of people as boarders, but
that they left some time ago for the
pineries. Since then she has been
earning about $150 week by wash
ing to support herself and little ones. u
An elderly woman, very poorly but
clearly clad, steps up. Every line in
her emacinated face speaks mutely
but effectively of suffering. A brisk
little woman, round, fair and active.
accompanied her TO relate the tale OF
woe, because the applicant is Swede
who does not speak English. 1t turns
out that the husband of the applicant
has been hard working man. Last
fall he broke both his legs and has
been most of the time since in the
county hospital. He has been unable
to earn a cent for over year, and his
faithful wife has brought him and
her five children through the summer
} as best she could. Her earnings have
been from IS cents to 81 week. Now
the winter is at the door and there is
} no fuel and no food.
eve will look into your CASE
says the superintendent; ''call to-mor-
row, and if your statement is true we
will help you along"
''Oh, she has good references, -
chimes in the brisk little woman
there is Rev. Mr.. Leach, of the Meth
odlSt Church--"
whats that2' Mr.. Trusdel inter
rupts sharply. Methodist or no
Methodist, we don't help people ac-
cording to their religion, A Catholic
or Jew is just as capable of suffering
from hunger and cold as a Methc-
dist"
The women pass out, and Mr.. Trus-
! dell says, musingly: 'It's a marvel
how these people live, anyhow. Now
I don't doubt that this is case of real
suffering, and l also don't doubt that
it is case OF genuine charity among
the poor. That family lives in very
poor quarters on the West Side, and
our agent will find that the neighbors.
poor though they are themselves,
have helped them through the sum-
mer, carrying in food and clothes.
Now the winter is here, and the poor
donors have to look for themselves.
1t is one of the grandest experiences
in the relief business this charity on
the part of the poor toward the poor,
and it is one that keeps ones faith in
humanity. True, most of the rich
people of this city are liberal givers-
they draw their checks and are done.
Their interests are so widely diverg-
ent from scenes of actual suffering
that st best they know little of charity
There's one rich man, though, that
pays a woman out OF his own pocket
to look up applications that have been
| a. 49, H.