The Portland daily press., 1891-04-22
Woman's Organized Work In Our City.
The following rs~art was read before the
Ladies' City Miss',e scy Union:


We have been saa,d to give at this time
some of the more prominent features Of this
work. For convenience sake we have
classified Ii into three divisions: Charit.
able, moral and religious. Charitable, In Its
more narrow sense, that of preliminary aid we
have placed first, because but little progress
can be made along moral and religious lines,
while one is suffering from cold or hunger.
Our oldest charitable organization Is the
Female Charitable Society; founded 70 years
ago by women whose names have long been
household words. 1t Is still quietly carrying
out the thought Of its founders, and by its
quiet, gentle minlstrations is bringing into
many homes of refinement many Of the com
forts Of which through pecuniaIy misfortune
they have been deprived. Many women of
gentle birth and breeding have through its
means been spared much Of the bitterness
of the reverses of fortune. The Female
Provident Society, Martha Washingtons and
Samaritan Association are doing much the
same work. and are glad that to them are
given some Of the joys Of ministering unto
th0se0f whom our great Example has said,
1.-The poor .ye have always with you" The
fertile brain of the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, and has been an al
moner of blessings to the destitute sick
among us, who otherwise might have suffer-
ed for lack Of the delicacies which to them
were necessity. Another. branch of this
homes of those who from their helplessness
appeal to all true womanly instinct for pro-
lection. Many scores OF aged women have
found blessed haven OF rest under the
roof tree of the Old Ladies' Home. The
house Is situated on one Of our pleasantest
streets. Its board OF managers combine rare
executive ability with broad and generous
sympathy. The extreme care and precision
with which its domestic economy is carried
on speak eloquently for Its matron and hef
assistants. Its inmates as rule are content
and happy.
In sharp contrast with the hopeless help
lessness of these dear old women Is the help
lessness of the young children, with life be-
fore them and all its possibilities. The
Female Orphan Asylum is doing noble work
less and motherless find the nearest approach
to the dear home nest. Their domestic.
moral and religious Trainings never lost sight
Of. We read In the bylaws that the matr0ns
must be women of piety. One Of the rules
Is that every morning chapter OF the Bible
children. and bt fore every meal grace shall
be said. Many of these little ones are
adopted into Christian homes which they
gladden. as only child life can.
. The Day Nursery next claims our atten-
tion. lt was organized about one year ago
by the w. Q. L. U. for the purpose of receiy-
tHhtH HhtH5 aRas caring Tor young children during the
which privilege the mothers pay small sum.
The rent OF pleasant house Is freely fur
nished them, and here the matron, assisted
by corps Of young women from some of our
best homes, presides; and here. among dolls.
trumpets, rocking horses. pictures. books
and many other bewidering delights, the
children hold high carnival and are happy.
In this mouse are several pleasantly furnish
ca rooms where young women coming to the
city in search of employment, with but little
money, can find lodging at small cost.
by quick transition we come to the moral
reform work in which our women have made
such rapid advance the last few years. The
Woman's Christian Temperance Union Is, as
most OF us know, an 0utgrowth of the WO-
mans Temperance Crusade movement Of
the West, sh0rH Of its Objectionable features.
We do not know the exact date of its organ
izatioD, but in the given time 1t has done
valiant and aggressive work. Its first public
enterprise was the establishment Of coffee
house, which was success in many ways.
II was subsequently merged into the Friendly
Inn, whose record was consistent with its
name. TEis inn proved "city of refuge" TO
many poor sin sick traveller who through
its Christian influences was brought to a
right sense of living. Not many years ago
these Christian women saw the imperative
need of some specially organized work by
which an unfortunate class of young women
could be reached and placed on higher
ground. The class of which Hood so touch
ingly wrote:
On, IL was pltlful,
Near whole cityfull,
Friends had she none.
To feel this need was to, at once, take meas
ures to supply IL. The necessary factors in
this reform work were the refining influences
Of Christian home. We have not time to
speak of the necessary steps by which this
home was secured, nor Of those who hf We
gone out from its shelter bearing the touch
Of divine healing. Although the Temporal
ry Home was originally intended for the
class mentioned, also young children, its
work does not end there, but 1t extends its
protecting care to others who, from pecuni-
ary misfortunes or other causes bee )me de-
pendent for awhile on its shelterin hospi :
tality.
Aud now, by successive steps, we have
come to the crowning glory of woman's
work and tbe last division Of our subject. We
will place first in this division the Woman's
Auxiliary to the Young Mems Christian As
sociation which, although one Of our young
est societies, has accomplished much, and
plans yet larger things. We are all familiar
with their desire to present to the young
men, a building Of which they and our city
may be proud, and where all the advantages
that are accorded the Association in larger
cities may be enjoyed. We know how they
have worked for 1T, and of the snug sum LAID
away as nucleus for their building fund
In natural order comes the Woman's Chris
tlan Association: The association employ:
portions Of the city to care for the spiritua
needs-of many who possibly would never
otherwise hear the words of life. Can two
types OF people present more strange ano
startling contrast than do the Indian anC
the French peoples? The one, heavy, i'm
luries or benefits are received, the othe
light, versatile. pleasure-loving, making tn
epicurean ethics his own: Let us eat
drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die
and that Is the end" Rea @
| story" be adjusted to such strangely varying
| conditions? Our Woman's Indian Associa
| tion and McAll Auxiliary are answering tn
| question. Secular and religious schools ar
| being established on lndian,grounds Will
gratifying success, and 1t Is hoped that wise
legislation will follow as partial result
| wOman's work In their behalf. Those Of u
| who heard the Rev. Mr. BRAGG some year
ago, were much interested In the story of tn
| origin and growth of the McAll Mission II
Paris, and as we heard Mrs. Fenn's delight
summer, we were brought very near its grea
throbbing heart.
We will now turn from our own land, wit
its high civilization, and from bright, plea:
ure-lovlng France, and with the Woman
| Auxiliary to the Woman's Board of Mission
visit the lands Of India, China, Japan, Afr
ca and the isles Of the sea, and learn wha
has been done. We go to their schools an
watch the hundreds Of children who ar
A'laying the foundations;'- = we visit the hosp
tails anu dispensaries, and see the hundred
coming to be healed; we hear the tende
pleading voices Of the medical missionarit
as they quote the words Of the great Phys
clan Come unto me all ye enc
of the earth and be ye saved" We s
by the death bed Of the once idolatroI
women, and feel the hush Of the Crist pre-
ence, and say this Is the work of the Anxi
airy. Blessed heritageI
We have given Dut the merest outline
the more prominent features of woman's O
ganiZed work in our midst. Can we d0u
that this work is distinctively woman:
May. she. not. in the closing years of th
called the "womari's century," achieve v
nooler results? Should not her d0minal
desire be to care less for her own rights
and care more to right Others wrongs?
NJ. L. Q.