Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-05-02
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
ANOTHER CHICAGO LETTER.
REPORTING PROGRESS AT THE
BIBLE INSTITUTE.

REPORTING PROGRESS AT THE
BIBLE INSTITUTE.
'The Work which the Worker. Find to
Ds---scenes aad Incidents BY the Way.
The Bible institute is prospecting we'll
Both departments are nearly full making
about 30 students in all Just now we are
having daily lectures on doctrines and
books Of the Bible, from Prof. Moorhead Of
the theological seminary in Xenia, Ohio, a
very scholarly man and an excellent teach
er. On Wednesday mornings there are
lectures by physicians on Hygiene"
Hints on nursing, II" Emergencies, ""Care
of contagious diseases" etc. These lee
lures are likely to be Of great practical
value to those whose mission work takes
them into the homes Of the very poor who
seldom have any knowledge of nursing. not
TO speak Of an acquaintance with the hygi-
enic rules that will enable them to avoid
sickness. The young women of the nsti-
tute have at command the services of one or
more trained nurses, who will spend forty
minutes twice a day in families where their
| assistance and advice are neetied aud the
people are too poor to pay for it, OF course
medicine can be procured at the free dis
pensaries, which leaves only physicians
fees to be provided for, and | think we
have list Of doctors who visit gratis un-
der certain circumstances.
Our work includes, besides house to-
house visitation, cottage meetings, chill
dren's meetings, sewing classes, gospel ser
vices in missions, and hospital visitation.
This last is a very important feature, as |
have proved in visiting homes where one
of the family has at some time been in a
hospital for treatment That person never
forgets the one who frightened his hours Of
pain and loneliness by reading beside his
cot or bringing flowers or some delcacy for
the palate. ! may mention in this connec-
ton the fact that Mrs. A. NJ. Wright, for
merly Miss Kate Leonard of Brattleboro,
is president Of a society on the West side,
which seems TO he doing a beneficent work
in the way Of distributing flowers and pro
viding carriage drives for invalids and
aged people
Writing Of hospitals reminds me that
heard the other day that the brave Nebras.
ka Tor was it Dakota . teacher who brought
her sixteen little pupils safely through the
| great March blizzard Of 1888 is in hospi
tai here. She is in danger Of becoming to-
tally blind rs a result Of the exposure on
that occasion. Isn't that sad
! You will readily believe that in our mis-
sion meetings We meet "al sorts and con
ditions Of men'-and of women, too, for
that matter, though there are not nearly SO
many Of them, am glad 10 say. ,One Of
very respectable appearance has just this
minute passed my window in the patrol
wagon, en- route 10 the police station.
Perhaps the most interesting cases are those
of young men and boys who have left good
homes, fallen in with bad companions, be-
come drunkards and gamblers, aud at last
got 50 low down that they are ashamed to
write home. They will say, in answer to
your question, YES, | have a father and
mother down in Maine, but they don't know
whether am dead or alive for haven't
written 10 them for two three-four
years. as the case may be. You try to
show them the cruelty of such a course
and they tell you 1T is better fer them to
think | am dead than to know that am
the low down, wretched being am The
best thing | could do would be to throw
myself in the lake and thus make an end Of
it all. 81 But, We say, that would not
end it you are immortal" and then we try
TO show him better way--a way that will
restore 10 him his manhood and his friends.
Often they will decide to start anew, trust
ing in a strength not their own. and though
they have to be looked after and encour.
aged for a time, in the end they become
useful and honored citizens Sometimes it
seems if all they needed was friend 10
believe in and trust them, having lost all
confidence themselves in the possibility of
getting up out of the horrible pit into which
they have fallen.
The newsboys and bootblacks, too, are
interesting material to work upon, though
their vocabulary of slang is so large that
am often entirely in the dark as to the
meaning of their remarks. They are as
bright aud quick witted as possible but the
tendency of their street life is to make
them, Us they express it, "toughs' or
buns: = and yet there is such a fascina-
ton about it that it is hard to get them to
aspire to anything better | used to think
their hearts, if they possessed such an or.
gan at all, must be Of the neither milestone
order, but since have caught them looking
out Of the corners of their eyes to see if
would speak AS passed them on the street,
| have decided that kindness is not alto
gether unappreciated by them If you sug
gest to them that their friends would be
panied if they were to grow up into the
"toughs' which they appear ambitious ia
become, they generally say "Haint got nc
friends, and il is too true. One Of the
"shines' told me his best friend " as the bar
tender in a certain saloon-'he gives me
good jobs, aud pays first-rate.' am sure
everybody who reads this will wish ne may
be able to befriend them.
prisoners of poverty" are to be found
in Chicago as well as in New York and
London. Here is specimen case A won
an whose husband was i'll with pneumonia
for many weeks, found that funds were
getting low and she must find something To
do. As she could not leave the sick man.
she must choose what could he done at
home. After considerable search she was
given women's and children's underw ear
TO make, receiving therefor the muniicent
price of 35 cents per dozen for the former
and % cents for the latter
The two great topics Of general interest
in the city at present are the worlds fan
and the carpenters strike. There is likely
TO he some wrangling ere the site of the
fair is finally decided upon, as each of the
three great sections-North, South and
West-claims to have the best place for it,
Already mechanics are coming here from
all parts of the country and from Canada,
expecting the fair will prove a bonanza for
them. The carpenters strike, which in
cludes 5000 or more wOrkmen, has been for
the most part quiet one but it is, so far
as can see beneiting no one but the sa.
loon keepers. They are reaping harvest,
if one may judge from the parties of TWEEN
ty or thirty men which it is no uncommon
thing to see issuing from a saloon together.
Occasionally visit to these places fur
nishes the necessary inspiration TO enable
them to attack non union men with sticks
and brickbats, and drive them from their