Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-17
HELPING THE SICK POOR.
AN HOUR WITH ONE OF NEW
YoRKS DESERVING CHARITIES.

Works. DESERVING CHARITIES.
The Plan onsWhioh the Diet Kitchens Are
Conducted---A Brisk Ladling Out Of
Fresh Milk, Mutton Broth. Beef Tea,
Etc.-Gratitude.
A mite of girl, with a scrap of shawl
over her head and dress of faded, tattered
print draping her attenuated little form,
waited outside quaint, old fashioned black
doorway on Third avenue with a small,
shining brass door knob and bell Presently
she was Joined by pale, anxious woman, with
puny baby moaning at each feeble, flutter-
ing breath on her shoulder Another woman,
with sick child in her arms had her sleeves
rolled above the elbow, and her shining,
braided hair unbonneted One or two more
children stood there, and refined looking
man, with a well worn, patched suit, which,
in spite Of its shabbiness, had an appearance
of gentihty, and an expression of mingled
tenderness and despair on his thin, careworn
face as he looked down into the face Of
little sick child in his arms, whose rings of
brown hair shaded dark eyes wide and wild
with fever. An old decrepit woman, with a
crutch in one hand and pail in the other,
hobbled up to the little group, and ladyliks
looking woman with sad face waited |
quietly with the tears dropping on the dish |
she carried in her hands.
Presently the little brass door knob, that |
was as shiny as daily securing could make it, |
turned briskly, the door swung back, and the |
neatest, cheeriest, dearest of gray haired |
gn ctr Ga. ftn ~
sunshine, appeared in the whitest of caps and
aprons, and exclaimed: BLESS your hearts,
its only O'Clock now, whatever are you in
such hurry for; but come right in, every
thing is all ready"
Dota through the long, cool passage into
the udiest of kitchens she hurried them,
where every board was secured as white
as sand could scour it, and every dish re-
fected her own bright face as she hustled
about pouring out quarts of milk and pints
of beef tea, dishing up bowls of delicious
| cooked oatmeal and rice, and pressing into
| the hands of the woman and children clusters
of fresh daisies and crimson roses, faint with
| fragrance and blushing at their own beauty.
"And how is the baby todayn she said to
the man with the sick child, land isn't her
mother any better YETI Well, keep up your
courage, this beef broth will bring her up if
anything will, )" and the man went away com
| forted with the hopeful courage in her voice
And to the woman who stood apart with the
| tears in her eyes she had some sympathetic
inquiry for the consumptive husband at home
as she filled the pitcher with beef broth and
tucked an extra large bunch of roses through
the handle. While to the children smile
accompanied the daisies, and a pleasant mes
sage to the sick mother at home or some
kindly interested question about the sick sis
ter or father or baby for whom the food was
given.
For four hours this brisk busy ladling out
of fresh milk and wholesome nourishing food
went on almost uninterruptedly, and when it
was finished the white apron was whisked
off, the tidy dress turned up over the stuff
petticoat, and the boards and benches and
tables were subjected to another scrubbing
and scalding before she was ready to go up
stairs and tell to whose bounty those most
wretched of all the citys poor were indebted
for so welcome and practical a munifcence.
"Now,n said she as she tucked up her
sleeves above the hard round arms, ''I'll tell
you all about it, but, if you don't mind, I'll
keep on washing up my dithes. 1 hate to
have them settin' round. This is one of the
five diet kitchens where nourishing food is
given to the sick poor, free Of all cost, on re-
ceiving a certificate from one of the doctors
at the dispensGries with which our kitchens
are connected. One kitchen is on Thirty
sixth street and Ninth avenue, one on Third
avenue near Twenty first street; one on Third
street, in the German quarter; one IL connec-
ton with the New York dispensary, among
I ~. t.. 4. i
this spring, in April.
''The first kitchen was opened fifteen years
ago, through the efforts of Mrs Gibbons, whe
is now our president, and one of the best and
klndest women that ever lived, doing ever SC
much active charitable work, though she is
Sc years old. As soon as funds were raised
another kitchen was opened. Then rooms
were offered free of rent in the German quar-
ter if they would establish kitchen there
and that was opened Rooms have been Of
fered in other parts Of the city free of rent
. but from lack of funds the society has de
| clined them.
How are the kitchens supportedr'
"By voluntary contributions from people
churches and societies"
s'What kinds of food do you give the peo
: pier
Whatever the doctor orders. We bul
the best and purest milk there is; milk tina
o cannot be bought in the shops or of the milk
men that 60 into the tenement districts Gu
beef tea Is made of the best beef In the mar
ket, and get up at O'Clock in summer t
make the tea fresh every day. In the Italial
quarter great deal of rice is given out, an
there are oatmeal, farina, barley and NUT
9 ton broth, all given subject to the doctor
orders The Flower mission sends flower
for us to distribute all summer, and wealth
people send in jellies and dainties. At Chris
mas toys are given to the children, and clotl
y ing is also sent to US for distributor anon
the needy At present we are expected
receive orders only from the physicians COZ
: nected with the dispensaries, but in extrem
IT cases we do supply orders from other do,
tors, through the district nurses"
"When is your most busy season.
''Well, in the summer; for so many chi
dren are sick, and then work is scarce, SO ths
we have different kind of people coming I
y us; nice respectable working people, clerk
teachers and mechanics, who are out of On
ployment and cannot buy the nourishir
G food they need and are SO grateful to
~ for it.n
bis 'Do you find people grateful, usuallyr
eyes, really needy people are almost q
ways grateful The idle, indolent, worthle
people that come are very independent, at
take things as if they belonged to them, b
the unfortunate sick people who have know
. better days and are in real distress, are ve1
49, thankful. A great many Irish come to th
70 kitchen, and they are profuse in their graf
tude, saying over and over: God bless 20
, LADY, the saints keep you,' and all that, b
tell them they needn't bless me, but t
IL Christian men and women of New York wi
're supply the funds to help them in their need
20. In the past year Il ,3OS people havereceiv
rec food from the kitchens, and 81, LIS. 79 ha
~ been paid out in the various expenses atten
nj, ant upon keeping them supplied with fo
, a and service The articles Of diet most large
NO dispensed are milk and beef tea, Of whi
and 137, $40 pints of the former and q, ,l55 pir
as of the latter have been distributed amol
the most helpless of all sufferers, the 81
J. poor.-New York Sun.
3D. Some people only understand enough Of
truth 10 reject it.-George Macdonald