The advocate., 1890-06-25
WASHINGTON
Social and Economic Tendencies NJ the Ma
tlOnal Capital,
NO w.

Munnfcuh anu bleAE IoFellHB NVihp"Ht"Hp
10 masquerade as servants and wait upon
their own attendants. The prince OF
Wales and his boon companions, satiated
with their ordinary round Of pleasure
seeking, sometimes rig up their body
servants in the toggery Of royalty, put
on the servants livery and for Il day or
an evening 90 through the solemn farce
Of serving every want or whim OF their
mahe-belieye masters. Something quite
akin 10 this frolcsome proceeding is be-
coming an established custom In Wash
lngton life. In all our large cities land
the capital city Of our prosperous repub-
lie In no eXception) there are, daily and
hourly, people who are sick and slowly
dying Of starvation. Not that they may
not have bread Of some kind, and pos
sibly potatoes, occasionally meat, some
times cold yiCtuals, and perhaps tea or
beer TO sustain ilagging energies, but all
the same, slow starvation, wasting Of It's
sues is going on for lack OF abundant
wholesome and nutritious food. In the
midst Of a market Overilowlng with sub.
stantials and luxuries OF every known
variety there are men doing exhaustive
monotonOus labor, women Of delicate
build working from daylight TO dark,
children with craving appetites and
growing frames, who suffer for the lack
Of sufficient nourlshing food
About twice a year Thanksgiving and
Christmas) II occurs TO the people, whose
tables are loaded three times day with
the choicest products Of the market, that
II would be a gracious charitable and
christian thing TO provide bountiul re-
past for the children Of "the poor"
Several years ago this charitable idea
crystalzed in the formation Of a society
composed of the little daughters Of faml-
lies Of high social station President Ar
thurs twelve year old daughter, Nellie,
was made president and select few Of
other high born lassies undertook the
task Of raising funds TO supply the "poor"
children with one good square meal
one meal by which the ragmufins might
sample tho quality Of the 1905 meals
that their little benelaCtors enjoy in
the course Of year. So soon as this 30
ciety was organized the Washington pa
pers began the most fulsome praise Of
the "lovely charity" displayed by the
little girls. Everybody responded with
generous donations for the dinner and
when the eventful day arrived and the
ragmuiin guests assembled, the high
born lassles with graceful condescen-
sion assumed the role Of walters, put on
dainty white aprons and served their
guests with their own soft, white, be-
Ieweled hands. IL would have been as
much out Of place for one Of the "higher
set" TO have sat down and eaten at that
table as II would have been on any other
day in the year for one of the street
arabs TO sit at the table with the children
who were playing waiter Meanwhile
the whole city aPplauded and said "see
how the sweet spirit Of charity is spring
ing up among the children Of the rich.
Alas, what shallow estimate! II is true
that these charity dispensers believe
themselves humane and wisely generous,
bat the tendency Of all this is to widen
the gap between the poor and the rich,
nnd 20 Rr cnsAa diahinctinna An tho