Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-01-06
CAN THIS BE TRUE
Does Mr.; kruse Use Abusive
Language
TO APPLICANTS FOR RELIEF Z
The Story Told BY . Man in Straitened
Gi:mpses Of Life
Among the Poor.

On Christmas day. while the people
at one of the fashionable boarding
houses of the city were at dinner. =
man came TO the house and called for
one of the boarders. The gentleman
left the table. and upon returning tols
pitiful story about the man who had
called to sec him. He said that the
man. who had . family consisting of
wife and four children. had been un-
able 70 find work for some time. and
on Christmas day Their stores were re-
duced to such point that they had
nothing in the house TO eat except
some bread. The man said that if he
could get money 70 pay railroad fare
he could send his family 20 be taken
care of during the winter by nis father,
who lived ia the country. while he
would remain here and try 10 get work.
As soon aa the people 1T the table heard
the atory they subscribed = consider
able sum of money 10 give TO the man,
and one of the gentlemen went out
and bought q basketful of "things good
to eat" and sent il TO the afflicted fam
lily. On being questioned why he did
not apply TO the city poormaster tor
help, the man said that both he aud
his wife had gone to Mr., Kruse, but
that he had been SO abusive IN his Ian
guage TO them that they could not sac
rihce themselves by going again.
Good samaritans.
IL don't know what eome OF the
poor people of the city would have
done tins winter without that society
composed OF Mesdames Moore. Lanore-
aux and Sweet said Officer Fraak
Fee. They've done more good than
some of the bigger institutions. Why,
whenever l he ar OF a peculiarly dis
tressing case, or when l know of one
that don't know what TO do with, 1
Just telephone for Mrs. Lamoreaux.
No matter what she has to do or how
busy she is, she always has time 70 do
little bit more. Now. ii there were
more such organizations in the city, it
would be good thing. The public
charities have enough TO do in taking
care of the distressed cases that come
to them-they can't 60 and look for
misery and distress IN the city,"
Meat for the Poor.
There is quite difference in the
way the rich and the poor buy meat"
said clerk at Pegler's market. "Wc
notice the difference moro in the win
ter than the summer, because the win
ter brings with 10 many other wants,
and the poor man must look out Tor
ail OF them. The rich will buy meat as
they need it, from day 10 day; bur the
poor man. knowing that he has just %
much money to spend each week,
allows q certain amount of it for meat.
Just as soon as pay day comes he is apt
to buy as much meat "a he thinks he
will need for the week, knowing that il
that he buys only q little at tlms the
meat money will be sure to 60 for some
thing else. Poor men como IN and buy
ten. fifteen or twenty pounds at . time
of the or 4 cents q pound beef.
They have TO do considerable schcmin~.
If the weather is very cold, they knox
that they will have to burn more wood,
20 they take little Oft the allowance
for other things and put it on to the
fuel money. They try to have all the
meat possible. but they buy the kinds
that don't equire long time TO cook.
Take soup bone, for instance. They
know better than to buy that. even if il
is cheap, for they know that what they
would save on the meat would pe more
than spent in burning fuel to cook it."
Fuel For the Poor.
That poor people are suffering from
the cold weather is shown by the way
they are buying fuel. They buy small
amounts at time, several orders for
dollars worth OF coal, and even az low
as 55 cents worth coming IN 10 s. Il.
Benefits Yesterday. The fact that
they order it cent Immediately, and
buy so little, shows that they waited
until the very last minute before buy
ing, and that they spent all the money
they could spare. The clerk said: at
doesn't seem to be the fashion now for
rich people to order fuel sent 10 the
poor. We don't have any such orders
maybe because they think the public
charities will attend TO the poor. The
city isn't distrlcted and canvasscd AZ il
should be TO loox for the distressed.
One of the Monroe street ehoe-dcaiers
came in here this morning TO order
some fuel for one of his ttnants. He
said she was entirely without the nccee-
saries of life. questioned him about
her, and asked if she paid her rent.
lie said no, she couldn't pay il because
she had no money, and there wouldn't
be any use in turning her out because
she couldn't pay any one else any bet
ter than she could him. He said that
the attention of the director of the poor
was called TO the case. and that he had
gona 20 see her, bat that he had posi-
tiveIv abused the woman. and inst
about made her sick. 1t seems as if
there ought To be some help for this
sort OF thing"
NEW YoRK's FALLEN WOMEN.
A Demand for Reformafory 20 be Made