The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1886-08-18
What One Thousand Dollars Can DO.

Five years ago last Christmas season
agentleman living in New England,
upon balancing his accounts for the
year, found that he had been unusually
prosperous in his business enterprises;
and, although he was not yet rich, he
determined to devote 81 900 of his
profits to charity as a sort of thank
offering. His desire was so to employ
this money that the benefit to be derived
from it would not perish with its first
use, but would continue through many
years; and he decided to send poor
children from New York to country
homes in the West. Accordingly,
through the excellent agency of the
Children's Aid Society, which had been
engaged in this work for many years,
seventy-siX boys and girls were gath
cred from the streets and from homes
of dire poverty and sent to Iowa, Kan
sas and other points, where comfortable
homes awaited them, and where in
dustry and honesty were sure to meet
such rewards as could not have been
possible under the terrible conditions
of the life from which they had been
rescued. Five years have passed since
the children reached their western
homes. The older ones have grown to
be men and women; the younger have
developed sufficiently for fair judy
ment of their future to be formed. 1t
is interesting to view the results as they
appear to-day. Eighteen of the chill
dren were members of four families
who went to places where employment
and comparative abundance were as
sured them. The imagination can
hardly picture the hopelessness of the
girl wrote to their widowed mothers and
reported their safe arrival. a boy went
to live with an uncle, but has sent no
word. Fifty-fve found their homes
among strangers; from all except one
reports have been received, though
from many not of recent date. OF all
this number, gathered as they were
from the poorest of the street popula-
ton of this great city, only two are
known to have been thieves. Two have
run away and two or three are spoken
of as decidedly bad. Nine have wan
dered off from the neighborhood where
they were first placed and have been
lost sight of, but in doing so they exer-
cised only the right that belongs to
every American boy, and there is no
evidence that they have not done well in
the new homes they have found Moth
ing but miracle could have made them
do well here. Six have returned to
New York; one was sick and was sent
back for treatment, three brothers
were sent for by married sister who
had become able to maintain them and
start them in business here, and two
. came back probably because New York
street life had still fascination to their
childish minds. Two have died-a
promising girl and an industrious
young man. Fully thirty were reported
at last accounts as doing well-some of
them very well. The eighteen who
were with their parents it is safe to as =
sumo have done fairly we'll This is a
good record. Let any person familiar
with the darker side of New York life
estimate if he can the proportion of
those boys and girls who would have
escaped from criminal or vicious lives
if they had remained here. One thou
sand dollars could hardly have been
expended to greater advantage.-New
York Tribune.