Evening star., 1894-03-26
THE ASSOCIATED CHARITIES.
The Work of Relief Done Since the
First of the Yenr.

First of the Year.
The following report has been made by
L. 5. Emery, secretary of the Associated
Charities. to the board of managers:
From January 1. 1894, to March 20, 1894,
l have to submit the following brief resume
OF our work: Orders for food and fuel have
been given as follows: BY the central office,
2,o'l orders, aggregating s2,39o.3S by the
first division (Georsetown), 4OS orders, ag-
sregating S455.9J; by the second division,
1O2 orders, aggregating s2l1; by the third
division, 42l orders. aggregating s4Na. IS;
by the fourth division, 14I ord ers, aggre-
eating $SO45; by the sixth division, /, l40
orders, aggregating OLA; by the eighth
DIVISION, 2Di orders, aggregating S2TT.44 {;
by the ninth division, 100 orders, aggregat-
ing, S223.lO; by the tenth division, 80 or
ders. asgregating S3O179; by the eleventh
division, 2,S63 orders, aggregating 81 ,S47.29;
by the Anacostia division, IS ordars ag-
gregating S4565. Total number of orders
given, I,ISI, assregatlng N,UO3.97 In addi-
ton to this the second division has pur-
chased in bulk groceries amounting to
sl6I9I and has put the goods up in pack
ages and delivered to applicants at their
orfice, and the Anacostia division purchased
in bulk groceries agsregating s1I.S4. The
central office has purchased fourteen bolts
OF flannel, amounting to S45.I1, for the pur-
pose of giving poor women an opportunity
to sew and aid In the support of their fami-
lies in that way. Making an aggregate ex-
penditure for food, fuel 500 pairs of shoes
and the flannel during that period of
S,237.55. OF this amount the central re-
lief committee paid S.. $3.50 and the As
sociated Charities raised and paid the bal
ance. In addition to this we have distrib-
uted 4l0 contributed loads of wood, LOO
loaves of bread, five contributed tons of
coal and about 1000 garments from the
central office
An interesting feature Of the work, of
which the public has not heretofore been
advised. but which l feel it my duty to call
attention to especially, is that 100 families
have been employed at sewing on cloth
furnished to them to take to their homes
and paid reasonable sum per garment,
and have been enabled to tide over their
distress with their needle and to keep their
families in food and fuel for nearly the
entire winter. One set of families have
been in charge of Miss Blaine and the
other of Mrs. owen, who volunteered their
services to the Associated Charities early
in the winter, and, after a conference, 1t
was thought that this plan was practical
one, and 1t has proved to be a most ger ruine
and philanthropic one. We have employed
quite large number of men In our little
woodward at the central office, each hav-
Ing the privilege of saving or splitting
wood two hours at time, for which We
gave them food or fuel, as they needed.
We have had visitors in every part of the
District going to the poor families, famil-
iarizing themselves with their habits, their
real needs and encouraging them all to as
much self-support and self-respect as pos
sible.
For about two months the average num-
Der of calls upon our association was about
325 daily. The number of calls by citizens
to obtain assistance for some one that they
knew has been unusually large this winter,
and the letters received at the central office
begging assistance for themselves or some
one known to them averaged for long
time about fifty daily
In conclusion, / wish to say that in all
my experience here in Washington Of
twenty-siX years in connection with aiding
known our honest poor laboring class of
people to make more heroic effort to take
care of themselves without asking aid than
this winter. They are to be commend ed
especially considering the difficulty in OBJ
tanning employment which has existed. Two
elements have developed conspicuously one,
of the lazy and shiftless, who come to the
front always when there is much publicity
given charity work, and the other, the
honest self-respecting, in their effort to
take care of themselves