The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-11

"home" the scene that met our officers
gaze was heart-rending. The poor father
in the last stages of consum ption-lav
on broken down bed in one corner and
the mother. exhausted by starvation and
overwork, lay on the other side of the
room. The young girl. who had been
earning nearly $3 a week, had been obliged
to stay at home to wait on her sick pa
rents, and thus all means of keeping soul
and body together seemed shut off.
Hearing the little ones cry for bread so
often had wrought upon the fathers feel
ings until he had repeatedly risen from
his couch and made attempts to go out to
work, but had failed; and now they were
in danger of being turned out of the rooms
because the rent was due and there was no
money with which to pay it.
Although little out of the ordinary,
our Shelter officer paid the rent and daily
saw that they were provided with food. AS
the father grew worse he was finally
sent to the hospital, where we still contin-
ued to visit him, he protesting conversion,
until he died. When dying he made men,
ton of the kind words of prayer that had
helped make him better man, and told
his little girl they were ''such sweet
words of prayer"
The mother recovered and all are now in
fair circumstances.
Visiting one afternoon in dark, moi.
some alley, 1t was rather hard to get up a
flight of narrow, winding stairs. When
We got up we knocked and went into a lit
tie room, whose walls had once been white.
but now were almost black, and whose
dirty windows were broken and stuffed with
paper and rags. Facing us as We entered
was an old table and on it dry crust.
Turning to our left we saw, sitting on an
old bench, poor man in the last stages of
consumption trying to get as close as he
could to little stove, SO broken that he
\ 80
ing into his pinched face | tried to say a
few words of kindness, but it was hard to
keep back the tears while | spoke to HIM.
for my heart took in so much at a glance
of what he must be suffering. In few
minutes l said looking around, wv here
do you sleep::at night?" for there was not
so much as a bed. He answered, ION
that" pointing to an old broken mattress
doubled up in the corner, land some one
else shares il at night"
We sang of Jesus love and PRAYED
which ne enjoyed very much. as q smile
came over his poor white face. We visited
him continually, brought him beef tea and
milk Cruel regularly and attended to his
room each week. One day he told the
slum officer of the only way he had of get
ting the rent. Every Saturday he bought
case of bottled beer and sold it TO his
neighbors Sunday morning, the profits on
which paid his rent. He was too sick to
work and had no other means OF getting
his rent, but knew he must give this mp
before he could get saved He said he
would do it that day, and did and got
saved and really accepted Christ The
Stun officer promised him he should not
want for food ans. she would also pay his
rent, and did for months. as his sickness
was lingering. We bought him little
cot to sleep on and did what else we could
during his last days on earth. We found
he had brother living and hunted him
up. Although himself very poor he took
the dying man TO his house just before the
end came.
For such as these we gladly live and
spend our lives, and il brings Joy.
Now, We wish il distinctly understood
by all that there is nothing We have a
stronger objection to than the pauperizing
or demoralizing OF those classes whom
this organization specifically seeks 10 re-
Iieve and reclaim. We deem il infinitely
preferable for man who applies TO us
with an empty stomach, after having been
supplied with food, TO be put to work at
once that he may nave some opportunity
of earning sufficient means for securing
his next meal.
Yours faithfully, on behalf OF the unpro-
tected and unrescued OF our cities.