Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-07-09

bounty of the fortunate during the hot weather.
 It has been estimated by the commis- sioner of charities that New York gives every year over S5,OOO, ,OOO to relieve the distresses of those within its gates who are unable to care for themselves, and nearly as much is spent in summer to relieve those who suffer from the heat as is spent to keep the cold away in the win- ter Fortunately charity grows more enlightened every year, and 1t has been borne In upon the generous minded that food and clothes and the necessities for maintaining life are not enough for them to give. and if their benevolence is to be of the highest order 1t must also provide for those whom 1t has clothed and fed and kept alive, some means of making these summer charities undertake to supply the pleasant opportunities instead of the absolute necessities of existence.
 One of the most admirable of these charities Is that which enables tho work ing women to get an outing during the hot season. Most of them cannot afford to pay the prices which innkeepers must charge If they are to make any profit at all, so that the richer New York women have taken in hand the providing of homes where working women can get all the advantages at sum considerably below their cost price.
 Mrs. Harper, wife of one of the mem bers of the publishing firm, maintains home of this sort down at Long Branch, where girls can get good board at S5 per week; securing at this price comfort able little bedroom, three square meals day, good bathing beach, and all the delights of green fields and sea air. No girl Is allowed to stay more than two weeks so that as large number as pos sible may be benefited and most of them can manage to save up S1O some time during the season to give themselves this two weeks outing. Of couree this money of theirs does not pretend to sup port the establishment, Mrs. Harper
 paying out of her own purse the house rent, the housekeeper's salary, and pretty much everything else, except the mere cost of tho food, and also makes special arrangements with the railway com panies by which the girls are transported from New York at almost nominal fare. Miss Griswold and her sister, Mrs. Van Rensselaer,, the well known writer on art topics, have been deeply interested in somewhat similar home somewhere up on the Sound. They are neither of them rich women but give as liberally as their means will allow, and contribute unspar- ingly of their time and efforts in procur- ing money for this charity and looking after the home. Mayor Hewitt's daugh- ters are interested in similar homo on Long Island, and Nellie Gould is consid- | erably more interested in her summer 1 charities for sick babies than in any amusements society can offer.
 One of tho most practical and sensible | of all these summer homes is at Farm | ingdale, l.. I. It was established in 1883 | by the Brothers of the Order of the Holy Cross. They began that year by getting | for nominal lease tumble-down old l farm house and barn which had been un- | occupied for years; then they took lot | of poor boys out of the streets of this | city and camped out with them in the
 vacant old houses for weeks. The next | summer the Brothers got permission to
 use the forty acres or so of land which
 was lying idle and weed-grown about the
 old house, and that season the boys
 cleared it up, patched the old fences and repaired the tumble-down house and
 barn as much as they could. They looked
 on all this as part of tho picnic and
 learned while doing 1t some of the rudi- | ments of farm work and carpcntering