The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-09-15
Fresh Ar Charity.

We are apt % think Of the very poor
as suffering most DO cold Weater, J. Jm
lack OF proper clothing and insufficient
fuel. Ana our thought. no doubt is gem
orally correct But ln great cllrs. par
tlculary New York. with IT'S horrible
tenement-hOuse system. tne very poor
seldom shiyer and freeze IA decay ed
Edrrcts. They are more likely Zoo ne
harmed in summer 10y want OF room, ~
excessive heat. by Wtlated air Inc
poorest poor those who, from any cause,
work as was the case an oyer the country
last winter, and Is. 10 a Jess extent sun
the case, nnu their worst enemy in coid.
hut ordinary ldbOsers WHO nave employ
ment VINO can earn from 81 ~ % 500
day, usually have littie trouble 100 Keeping
warm during winter however Wuch
trouble they may have in Dig. crowded
towns I'm Keeping cool from .th- iirst OF
June 10 the last OF september and I'm get
ting a breath of fresh all
This is especially true OF the more than
nalf million occupants OF the packed
u0NiOus, miserable tenrmehtS " the mo
tr0pOlis. This ls painfully evident also
t0 any and all having any occasion 10 visit
those Wretched quarters mat are Il stand
ing disgrace 10 oar civilization. me
roofs the windows the dDOrWays, the
sidewalks. are crowded on a hot night
with men. women, children, even infants
actually gasping for air, ana such air ds
surrounds the tenements. IL would poison
those unaccustOmei % 10; II pOlsOus the
mulutudes who Vegetate there, but uu-
natural conditions, long continued. nave
50 Injured them 10 the poison that they
inhale 10 constantly, Yet DO not die. II
inulfrates their blood, uudeimineS their
ambition. their enterprise, their very
hone. gradually dehumanlZes them until,
in the end, they are not man nor are tney
beast.
them even for a while. from their baueful
environment. but by dint Of perseverance e
In has succeeded. Hundreds and tnou-
sands of them have been introduced 10
fresh air. and II has proved in every
wav Il blessing 10 them. Intelligent bcne-
voience long ago discovered mat the
very poor must FIRST be aided by
material means. IL Is worse than vain
10 nreacb 10 them when they are hungry,
cold or ill., They must be fed. made
warm and well. before any impression
can be made on their minds or hearts.
Reformation must begin with the body.
What hope can there be OF improving
or elevatfng any man when his physical
needs are unsupplied2 Fresh air and
cleanliness a e more conducive 10 virtue
than ali the systems OF ethics that have
ever been composed.
our tenement-house population deter
iorates more from absence OF fresh air
especially In hot weather, than from any
other single cause. Hence summer out
ings benefit II immeasurdbly, and the
benefit has come 70 be- widely recognized
In New York and In every OVeF-cfowd@d
city. And strange 20 say. so slowly do
the soundest. most wholesome ideas
dawn II Is only seventeen years since
the first excursion for poor children was
made from the metropolis 20 the country
One might suppose that as soon as the
laboring classes began 70 get packed into
tenements like sardlnes Ia a box. the
thought would have occurred = some
body 10 give them an occasional ia'roduc-
tlon 70 Nature for their very sustenance
and sanity But they huddled together
there. sweltered, sue.cated, and SLOWLY
persisted from masma by the hundreds
year after year, from generation 10 gener-
alton, and no one seemed 10 see OF care
why.-Harper's Weekly.