The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-03-26
old PEOPLES home.
The Management All That Could
Be Desired.
Mrs. Elmira Stark, the Old Lady Dismissed
From the Institution, Is Destroying
It's Peaceful Harmony.

In response to an invitation sent by Mrs.
Charles Nelson, the president Of the Old
Peoples Home on the corner of Pine aud
Pierce streets, a CALL reporter visited that
institution yesterday morning. As he en-
tered the luxuriously furnished retreat.
originally provided at the expense of Mrs.
Croker, the inmates were sitting down to
an excellent midday meal consisting of
boiled and fried fish. ham and fresh eggs.
vegetables, macaroni, cakes and sweets, and
plenty OF tea and coffee of fue quality. All
seemed to be heartily enjoying the repast.
and the large. light and elegantly furnished
appointed dining-hall presented a crafty
ing sight, filled as IL was with upward OF
loo aged and venerable old people.
Seated by herself at one table apart from
the others was a queruIous-looking old
lad and upon the reporters inquiring the
reason Of her isolation from the rest of the
inmates ii was explained that this was Mrs.
Elmira Stark, who has recently been Great
Ing so much disturbance in the home that
the directors have been compelled to re-
solve upon getting rid of her and gave her
notice to quit about two months ago. She.
no viewer. with tenacious obstinacy, shown
by many unreasonable persons. declined to
leave, and consequently q suit has been
brought to eject her from the home.
ENLARGED UPON.
TIE troubles related by Mrs. Stark have
been enlarged upon In an evening con-
temporary whose hostility to the members
of the Croker family or its proteges Is
public property, and a series Of articles
have been written condemning the So
called cruel treatment OF Mrs. Stark and the
methods alleged to be employed in the
home by the committee of management.
Ina
such charges were totally unwarranted, for
after inspecting the institution, the mag
nihcent appointments, furniture and gen.
eral appliances for the comfort OF the in
mates thereof being too well known to need
description, THE CALL representative in
terviewed a number of inmates of eithe
sex and found all 10 be loud in their praises
of the comforts they enjoyed. Mrs. Stark
herself said she had no fault to find with
the institution or the table. but with the
conduct OF her fellow-inmates toward her.
Her lawyer had advised her, however, that
she could not be elected from the home,
having once been admitted, aud she likes il
50 we'll she means to stay whether the
authorities are willing er not.
From number OF inmates il was ascer-
tanned that ever since Mrs. Stark came 10
the home not only her habits at the table
were disgusting, but she has set all the
authorities and rules at defiance. She is In
the habit of also surreptitiously concealing
ana carrying fO0d TO her bedroom against
the express rules of tue Institution.
MRS. sTARK's MINSTREL BOY.
Then, again, her son, who is a negro min
strel by avocation, has disturbed every one
in the house by playing the bones and
chanting those pathetic and comic ballads
with that delicacy of tone and style so well
known 10 the frequenters of ''Barbary
Coast" dives until late hour of the
night until persuaded to leave. On
another occasion the artist made an
early call on his mother al 30 o'clock in
the morning. the suppOsitiOn being that he
had never been to bed at all. Be this as it
MAY. when Chaplain w. Il. Citizens went
up to the loom he found the young man
snoring in bed and Mrs. Stark engaged in
mending her boys garments, and the latter
was very indignant when the reverend gen.
teman insisted on awakening the minstrel
boy aud requesting him to quit the building.
"All this and more / could tell you," said
Mrs. Nelson, but we only want to rrove to
you that every one else In the home Is
happy and comfortable but this unfortun-
ate old lady. The MiZpah Club, a private
charitable organization, paid $500 for
her admission, aud when we decided
to discharge her we returned this
will not eat or associate with her. owing to
her conduct, and she sets us all at defiance.
Under her agreement with US aud our rules
she must leave; if not the management of
the entire institution will GO to pieces.
understand that her husband Is an able
Veterinary surgeon, and we'll able to sup
port her; besides, her son is an able-bodied
young man. Her relatives got tired of her
and fOisted her and her vagarieS upon us.
of our community destroyed by any one
individual"