The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-05-03
THE POOR cHILDREN's LOSS.
Mrs. Fosters Parting Address-At the Presby-
byterian Church Sunday Night

| s6iIullOu OIL MIS- Il. u. OSler WHO, ma
been all these years a mother to the pool
little waits who have been thrown, Will,
mere infants, on the charity of a "colC
world" The program of the evening wa:
as follows:
| opening Anthem. ...................Ch oli
scripture reading. President
Prayer. Rev. E NJ Jone:
| Duet. Some Mother Child
Walter and Viola.
Presidents Annual Address
Solo. ."Nobody's Daring
Walter.
Gentlemsn's Quartette
Report of Mems Benevolent associa-
tion... w E. Stanley
IlCiIldl Ms .DE. w IuleCs
Solo Papa wat Will You Take for Mei''
Mary Watkins.
Benediction.
The following is Mrs Fosters annual
and farewell address for the truly benevo-
lent lady is about to leave the fair Peerless
Princess to make her home at Indian
apolis, Ind, much to the regret of every
man and woman in whose hearts throt
feelings Of sympathy for the poor little
| homeless children for whom she did SO
| A4ONAs 11EI dDOuuQS VIII 50 utduJ
manifestations of the virtues of a womanly
heart that it is given in full as follows
hoping that it will stir the hearts of other
noble women to emulate her great devotion
10 that greatest Of all virtues-charity.
MRS. FOSTERS ADDRESS.
DEAR FRIENDS: l have chosen two texts
tonight, Jer., l:6. Behold l cannot speak
| for am a child" Deut. So ''Thou shalt
raj lar ? -, 7 IL, 4
| led thee" a worldly man declared that
every anniversary is time of memory and
OF tears; and TO one without God every
anniversary must be that. But to a
christian organization which has felt at
every step the divine hand leading, ami
versaries are occasions for JOY and graft
/ tude. Such TO US, tonight, is the fourth
anniversary OF the Wichita Children's
/ Home.
| When twenty busy wives and mothers
| heard the cry of the helpless little ones Of
| our city and county, they responded not
because they wished TO press the claims of
| another society upon tho people, but that
| helpless Innocent children might find
| home and mother with all the blessings
those words imply. A dumb cry raises
from the pages of the past four years
records. II is cry OF pain and anguish,
that cannot be heard by the busy world,
cry OF silent agony that cannot voice it's
self It's The cry of the suffering children.
What saddenlng life histories, piteous,
struggles, reckless folly, ending in ruin
wanton sin eliminating in retributiun
of signs. And this is the pity of it-this
the shame that the brunt of all this great
wrong doing descends upon the weak
shoulders Of the innocent The mother is
a low character,-it is the children who go
in rags and cry for food. The father is a
drunksrd,-it is the children upon whose
helpless, tender lives the heavy blow de-
scends, and they are worse than orphans,
1T is their misfortune to have father
and mother. Ny friends 95 per cent of
every 100 cases of misery with these little
ones rescued duting these years have been
the direct result of drunken
ness. If the police commissioners
and officers of our city could
have gone with me into homes of poverty
abd degradation, could have seen the
wrecks of humanity and the pitiful plead
ing little ones. OH it seems TO ME they
would be willing, yea, glad to take hold of
this monster, drink, and enforce the laws
inste. d of allowing here and there, right
in our own fair city's business center,
those ughly joints to entice and finally
eugulf the best and noblest life Of any
city. The following l quote from a re-
ligious paper i is entitled; Making
Drunkards," "No drunkard shall in
herit eternal iife;'' and yet the American
people, said to be a Christian people, le-
gally authorize 500, 900 men to engage in
traffic that lures our boys and young men
into drunkards grave and into drunk
ards he'll at the rate of from $1,000 to 100
600 annually. There is an awful response
bility resting somewhere. Everyone
shall give account OF himself to God.
Our gratitude reaches the climax tonight
for has not the generosity of our city and
county provided the longed for home?
Ye, in its modest Quaker garb, it stands
upon College Hill as monument, not of
architectural beauty nor grandeur, but of
Godlike love and sympathy that needed
the waits Of orphans and the groans Of
helpless anguish. At our last annual
meeting in this church you responded TO
our good friend Mr.. Stanley's appeal for
assistance upon the building. Al that
time the collection and subscription
amounted to $l62. OF this, SIS could not
be collected. The amount on hand from
So we started upon our building psoJect. |
with only 81, 1886 How meagre the sum
looked as we turned it over aud over and |
over in our mind. night after night, and
day after day, as we saw before US fam |
lily of from twenty TO thirty to be |
sheltered, and the rented house growing |
more and more shabby. the treeless |
EEOulNS AOOhlIe AOlSSA- AbC spdNC dbOAS
the yard moreover, until we frl6 impelied 1
TO make an effort at least to build. Our /
strenuous attempts TO secure a donation 1
OF ground were fruitless and resulted in |
the purchase of eleven lots on |
College Hill at cost OF $500 /
and house for $3.50 This /
we moved and repaired, putting in bath
room, aud finally generous hearts came TO /
TIA e rescue all over the city. Donations of /
money from individuals. societies and |
lodges, proffegs or work, reduction of bills, |
proceeds from entertainments and brick, /
books, until the home WAS completed at a /
cost Of S3.592 30 This amount included I
S5i5 of borrowed money, of which s25l y /
stands in bank aud leaves S313Sl TO be I
lIeve a long suffering public will assist US
in lifting this burden away in |
time for US to sing the doxolosy
at our Thanksgiving feast. The S, 592 So
expended includes lots. house, barn, taxes
aud insurance on house and furniture To
properly improve our grounds, and not
bring disrepute upon our aristocratic Col
lege hill neighOoTs. We are putting n
three hvdrants. plenty of hose, blowing
aud grading, planting seed, trees. shurb-
berry, etc, at an expense of over 500. This
we hope TO meet by your collection. to-
night. We have been greatly cheered in
times of great anxiety and darkness over
this building, for each time as we reached
4 point where we knew not from what
source the next money was coming, some
would surprise Us with loving /
gifts, so while the amount raised repre-
,ents sleepless nights aud anxious days, it !
also represents eloquently our hearts full
gratitude aud we feel assured, tonight 1
bat our children's home has safe and
permanent place in the hearts and purses
IF Wichita's broad charity. / would love
TO enumerate each gift and rcmem brance,
bat time forbids, aud Wednesdays EAGLE