Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-01-20
A SINGULAR SOCIETY.
The "sAUr Ne. WHOSE MEMBERS
NEVER Ii AACH OTHER.

A Uutuue Organ xeston OF tpvai'"t W""s"
soa Member, Arr Distributed Through
o,t tn. world They tcxcha &c Letters
.ua pho,oeraphs--Thei Magazine.
Nsw York city is the headquarters OF
sociatv whose members and associates.
/ 800 in number are scattered over the
Ave preat divisions of the world. IL Is an
ossociatiop scarcely known beyond the
circle of its own members and their indi
viduaI friends and acquaintances IL 10
never mentioned in the newspapers II
ia governed by no laws or rules iet
there Is nothing secret In It's origin. aim
or organization. for II Is organized u Is
not a charitable society though II does
not despise donations. and its members
ore willing to helt each other to their full
ex.ent It's name will not be found in the
directory list OF organized associations In
this city. or ip fact In any list whatso
ever Its members never meet together
never see each other, never exchange
bandshakes or other greeting in propria
nersona. 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 u 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 bv disease from the outside world. OF
invalids who seldom or never leave their
rooms, or perhaps even their beds, ana
who in some cases have remained for more
than a generation in one never changing
81 fa and rtnty1 r1a
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. l6, where refer
ence is made to the Creators Enclosure 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
a kindly and protective Providence. 1t Is
in this sense in which the term shut In"
has been appropriated by the society
The name was bestowed by Mrs J M 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
the Friendless in this city Some of
these contributors. secluded by sickness
exchanged letters OF sympathy and THE
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 consoia
ton 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 d
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 only an average order of intellect.
while at the same time it remains true
that some OF the mem bers 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
nvalids among women than among men.
and that the gentier natures of women,
thus afflicted. lead them to this sympa
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. whereby they torn
cherished ties with fellow sufferers whom
they have never seen and never will see
Many OF the shut ms" 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
writer's 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 1t is scarcely
an exaggeration to claim that every stitch
took an hour One member Is an agent
for magazines and journals a good many
get up devotional and birthday boxes
scrap DOORS, 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
lstence of the Shut In society has a tome
effect upon its members They constitute
a 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.
burmah. China and Japan the shut ms"
are TO De found, as we'll 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 ms between the ages of 8
and II, lady in Plainfeld and one in
Boston having them in particular charge
missionary society has likewise been
started called the lnvalids Bieniliary
New York Herald