The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-12-25
THE APPEAL NEEDED.
Help Came for Those Burnt Out
by Sundays Fire.
COAL AND cRoCKERY NEEDED.
Scene at Mrs. Greenslade's Last Night
Merry Christmas for the Little
O'Brien Girl.

Inc appear IN the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES eSter-
day morning FOR those who were burned out in
the South Seattle fire of Sunday had its desired
effect, for considerable Clothing and furniture
came IN for the sufferers. Among the gifts were
TWO good cooking stoves, with trying pan, pot
and boiler for each; two tables, six chairs, two
beds. two sets OF springs, one mattress, pillows,
bundle OF blankets. quite a lot of very good
clothing. including some for the baby and little
& ri, and s. in cash. The groceries ordered by
the Ladies Relief Society also arrived-a sack OF
hour, sack OF potatoes, box OF apples, half
ham, some bacon, rolled oats, crackers, rice.
beans and a pound OF tea Directly after the fire
John Leary had sent $40 10 Mrs. o Bren, and
there is al order from the Relief society for five
comlorters
The case is very simple one. On Sunday
afternoon lodging and tenement house on the
corner OF South Tenth and B streets was burned
10 the ground. The flames spread so rapidly that
the inmates had TO flee for their lives, without
taxing bit of their furniture aud no clothing
except that which they were wearing Oae
woman dropped her baby from an upper win
dow and then jumped herself.
Any one who has visited the locality knows
that the people living around are poor. The
place is just above the railroad track, opposite
the Washington Iron Works. For several blocks
tenth street is ungraded and almost impossible,
while is a steep, muddy path up the hill. As
might De expected, the houses are all small and
unpretentious, some of them implanted, and the
jewellers In them have extremely slender in
comes. Indeed many of the men down there
are out OF work and living from hand to mouth.
The solicitor for aims would hardly regard the
neighborhood as promising field, and yet the
OLD proverb that none are SO generous as the
poor, never had finer illustration than in
South Seattle. The fremen had not yet left the
smoking ruins. when Mrs. q. II. Greenslade,
who lives at l,0l4 B street, opened the doors of
and IL 81 h.
fortunates, among them Mrs Maxwell and her
little babe of six months aud Mrs. OBrien with
her girl OF six years. Mr.. Maxwell is lying sick
at the ST. Charles hotel.
Mrs. Greenslades house is two-story and
basement frame, with four rooms on the main
floor. She is a Woodworking dressmaker, and
money is none too abundant with her.
She kept her homeless neghboys until
Wednesday, and meantime formed
plan for giving them further aid by
letting them have rent free two tiny cottages of
hers that stood near All they needed was fu rni-
ture with which to make a start, for they were
absolutely destitute
Mrs. Greensade thought 1t would be an easy
task to obtain the first few things necessary,
and so on Monday morning at s o'clock she
started out in the storm. The day was one of
the worst or the season. 70. the rain fell in tor
rents at times and at times the snow came
down heavily; the wind blew and the mud was
deep, yet the woman walked up and down
the streets of Seattle for hours and
got almost nothing. The president of the Ladies'
Relief Society gave her an order for five comfort
ers and the groceries mentioned above, and some
letters recommending that aid be given. One
man TO whom Mrs. Greensade applied referred
her TO the county authorities, another to the city
board OF public works, another to the mayor,
and the board of works referred her back again
to the Relief Society.
The end of 1T all was that at about O'Clock,
wet, tired ana discouraged, she came into the
observation-disclosures office aud asked if some
appeal could not be made for the unfortuneies.
She had spent the day sent from pillar to post,
and post to pillar, and could not return even
with change of clothing for the baby.
The appeal for help was made with the result
as stated above When a PosT-INTELLIGENCER
reporter visited the house at LOLA b street last
night, he found that the Christmas eve was not
so dreary after all. AS fast rs the furniture and
clothing had come during the day it was di-
vided evenly between Mrs. Maxwell and Mrs.
OBrien. One of the stoves had been set up in
the cottage and the bed put in, SO that Mrs.
Maxwell and her baby took immediate posses
sion.
In Mrs. Greenslade's neat little sitting room
were Mrs. Greenslade herself and Mrs. O'Brien,
who is too lame to do any work for day or two.
The girl had como to bed. The room was hum
bly, furnished-a stove, table, clock, one or two
pictures, two or three chairs, bed lounge and
on the floor an oilcloth-but Mrs Greenslade
was as happy as a princess over the gift that
had been sent to her proteges. She
said that number of people had
called, "and they were lovely and generous.
They brought some good clothes and then the
stoves and beds came, and we divided them just
exactly even. ! don't know who sent all the
things. There was the lovliest lady from the
kindergarten, who said she WIS coming again;
and the man. he was an elegant gentleman,
real one, who left five dollar gold piece and
wouldn't tell his name, and the stoves were SO
nice, just new from a hardware store-and you
should see the pretty clothes for Mrs. Maxwelrs
baby, and for Mrs. O'Briens little girl. We
tried TO give each OF the women the same
amount. so "a to be fair as fair could be.
There were the groceries, too, from the ladies OF
the Relief Society.
and you know Mrs O'Brien's girl had
beautiful doll that was burnt in the fire, and she
felt worse about that than anything else. You
know how girl is fond OF Il doll, and this Is the
very incest thing she had ever had III her whole
lie, and she jest loved ii.
swell, what DO you suppose7 One OF the lit
tie neighbor boys went up town today, and with
n biz OF money he got somewhere bought her
doll Just nice, and the man who LETT the g
gave her beautiful doll. and she'll have such
Christmas Gch a Chris.mas-that she'll be
the gaddest girl in all OF Seattle.
"Now those dolls were not really much, but
somehow. you know-somehow-there was
something-there WIS some;hing-about it
that-that-" and Mrs. Greenslade's eyes grew
moist, her lips trembled little. and there was a
pause.
In answer to the question what more Yves
needed, she answered: "They have no coal nor
wood yet and no crockery nor dishes. OF course
there are lots OF things to use in housekeeping;
but guess that If the coal and the dishes come
we neighbors can manage to collect the rest of
the stun"
In connection with the statement OF the case
Yesterday the PosT-iNTELLIGEsCER said that
complaints had bean made that the Ladies' Re-
lief society was not liberal rs IL might be,
considering the funds IL its disposal With that
publication the paper is ehargeable, aud Mrs.
Greenslade is not directly nor indirectly re-
sponsible Such an explanation seems necessary,
because yesterday one or two members of the
society censured Mrs. Greenslade quite
severely for bringing the matter to public at
tention Tho sugges ion was made that she
was in too much OF hurry to get things; II she
had waited "A day or two the society would lave
attended 10 the affair. IL would appear that the
failure of Wednesdays private appeals might
more than Justify some attempt 70 interest the
public generally. Mrs. Greens AIDE could hardly
be expected 10 make u crowded asylum of her
80. ga .n.-f~a