Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-06-23
A SINGULAR SOCIETY.
THE "sHUT MS" WHOSE MEMBERS
NEVER SEE EACH OTHER.

NEVER SEE EACH OTHER.
A Unique Organization of Invalids Whose
800 Member Are Distributed Through
out the worid-They Exchai ge Letters
and Photographs-Their Magazine.
| New York city is the headquarters Of q
society whose members and associates,
| l,S00 in number. are scattered over the
| five great divisions of the world II is an
association scarcely known beyond the
| circle of its own members and their indi-
viduai friends and acquaintance. 1t Is
| never mentioned in the newspapers 1t
is governed BY no laws OF rules. Yet
there is nothing secret in its origin. aim
or organization, for II is organized. 1t Is
not charitable society. though 1t does
not despise donations. and it's members
are willing to helr each other to their full
extent. It's name will not be found in the
directory list of organized associations In
this city. or. In fact. in any list whatso-
ever. Its members never meet together,
never see each other. never exchange
handshakes or other greeting in propria
persona 1t has no club house, no rooms
for social gatherings. There is no annual
dinner. there are no periodic festivities or
celebrations. as with most societies The
organization alluded to Is an altogether
unique affair
This remarkable sisterhood and brother
hood-for it includes persons of both
sexes as well as of all ages-is called the
Shut In society. Its members consist of
men, women and children who are shut
In" BY disease from the outside world, of
l.. l. 1as~
rooms. or perhaps even their beds, and
who In some cases have remained for more
than generation in one never changing
spot, catching sight of life and nature
only through the window.
ORIGIN OF THE NAME
The name of the society was suggested
by the words. "And the Lord shut him
in" from Genesis xvii. 10, where refer
ence is made to the Creators inclosure Of
Noah inside the ark. In polyglot Bible
the marginal texts imply that these words
may be taken in an emblematic as well as
a practical sense, and that when the
former meaning Is bestowed they signify
kindly and protective Providsace 1t Is
in this sense in which the term ''sbut in"
has been appropriated by the society.
The name was bestowed by Mrs J. NJ. d.
Conklin. of Convent, N. j., and the
society itself originated in 1877 among
the contributors to The Advocate or
Guardian, the organ of the American
Female Guardian society and Home for
the Friendless, in this city. Some of
these contributors. secluded BY sickness.
exchanged letters of sympathy. and this
formed the basis Of an ever widening
communion which existed for eight years
in an unorganized condition The society
was finally Incorporated in August. 1885.
Its objects are mainly to relieve the
WEAKNESS of the sick room by sending
and receiving letters and tokens of re-
membrance, and to testify to the consols-
tion and help derived from religion. To
be a sufferer, shut In from the outside
world. constitutes one proper candidate
for membership There are about 500
associate members who are not them
selves invalids, but who. being In deep
sympathy with chronic sufferers. devote q
considerable portion of time TO their re-
lief There is an advisory board of If
teen persons chosen from the society and
selected from different parts of the coun-
try, their duty being to confer personally
or by letter concerning the interests Of
the association
THE SOCIETY MAGAZINE.
Mrs Mary l. Dickinson Is the editor Of
The Open Window. the organ Of the asso-
citation, neat twenty page monthly maya
zine. As a rule, the reading matter be-
trays ouly an average order of intellect,
while al the same time it remains true
that some of the members of this remark.
able federation have minds that are as
cultivated as their sensibilities are acute.
The vast majority are women The rea-
son for this Is that there are more chronic
invalids among women than among men,
and that the gentler natures of women.
thus afflicted. lead them to this sympa-
thetic cintercommunion, whereby they ,rm
cherished ties with fellow sufferers whom
they have never seen and never will see
Many Of the shut ins" are poor and
support themselves. One of them. pos
sessed Of some literary ability. has secured
entrance into not less than twenty seven
magazines and newspapers. more than can
be said of many talented professional
writers in the enjoyment of health and
strength. Another. who Is compelled to
be constantly on her back, has executed
some exquisite lace work, but so slowly
and with such difficulty that it is scarcely
an exaggeration to claim that every stitch
took an hour One member Is an agent
for magazines and journals; good many
get up devotional and birthday boxes:
scrap books. crazy quilts. paper flowers.
paper boxes. dolls clothes, etc, occupy
the time of some. Interchange Of photo
graphs and letters is popular among in
valids who read about each other In The
Open Window. 1t is stated that the ex
istence of the Shut In society has tonic
effect upon its members. They constitute
q unique phalanx. bound together by the
tie of suffering. the bondage Of a room.
yet sparsely spread all over the world
From Sweden to the Sandwich Islands;
from the Netherlands to Syria; In India,
Burnah. China and Japan the ''shut ins"
are to be found. as wei as In the towns
and cities of Great Britain and the United
States
Invalid children who wish to Join the
association may do so. In fact. especial
attention has recently been given to
Juvenile shut ins" between the ages of 3
and u, a lady in Plainfield and one In
Boston having them in particular charge
A missionary society has likewise been
started, called the 1nvalids' Bieniliary.-
New York Herald
The Torpid LIVER Myth