Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-16

~ s @y H Eons. near fI this
city. His surprise
was genuine. and it
probably echoed the sentiments Of the score
or more of other young holiday seekers who
had been taken out of the hot city for a
glimpse at nature-and a succession of
square meals such as they had seldom ex-
perienced before. The idea of regular eat
ing, and not only that. but plentiful eat
ing, OF warm, soft beds ct night and of
clean clothes every day was enough to
stagger the mind Of almost any child who
had not been accustomed to such Injuries.
That is why the home has been established.
and why. indeed. 1t has been successful.
This institution now has a record of
eleven years OF unbroken success, and 1t
Ecw enters upon its twelfth season with ad-
mIrable prospects. but with pressing need
for more room in which to accommodate
the eager tots who seek it's comforts every
summer. The house that was built in the
spring and summer of 1888 has been out
grown. Notwithstanding the fact that at
the time of its erection 1t was thought to
be ample for many years to come. But of
that later. The present season will open
next Thursday. when Miss Mamie Gordon,
the visitor of the home, will lead up
ward OF twenty selected children out to the
green groves that surround the house which
Is six miles north Of the city. and just be-
yOnd the Zoo. that paradise of the young
sters- To some Of these children this will
be the first glimpse of the country. To
Others II will be like the revival OF a long
neglected sense. while to still others 1t will
be a repetition of one of the pleasantest
experiences in their lives.
To Roll ON the Grass.
The Chldren's Country Home is run as
charity for the purpose of giving to the
poor children Of Washington. who would
otherwise be cooped up within the city
throughout the hot weather. a chance to
Sc. close to nature. to roll on the green
grass without feeling that fear of the blue
coated guardian OF the yerdure that every
town child must feel, to climb trees with
out a sense of risk, to pick berries right off
the bush, to go swimming in the creek
without trembling on account of the law,
to wander about the nelds, plucking flowers,
Without any cares In other words. this
Enlistment is run to give as many young
sterS as possible genuine summer outing.
ct no cost to themselves or their parents.
This Is the primary object of the home.
Another. more subtle, more earnest object.
Is TO mstil the into the hearts and minds
OF these little waits some idea of right
living. of regularity and cleanliness,
Ideas that they may take with them to
their poor homes when their fortnight Of
joy Is ove-. The other object is not. of
course presented TO the children or the
parents themselves, but is pressed forward
Carefully and kept always in the view of
the management.
Good results have been secured by this
dual ideal. Not only have hundreds upon
hundreds of children been introduced to the
MohdertuL presence Of Mother Earth.
DAY they have been sent. like many lit
lie unconscious missionaries, into the lower
depths OF the city'S lie to leayen some
what the mass of degradation. 1t may as
m "a q,
that there are here many byways and AL
lcys where the most abject poverty exists
10 De sure, IL Is the proper boast, well sup
ported by facts, of citizens that Washing
ton has less very poor people than any
ether city of its size in the country. Yet,
hidden away In the depths of humanity that
must inevitably accumulate in every COM
nIunlty. there are pools, stagnant pools of
me- where existence takes the place of
progress and where suffering comes so
Naturally mat II is accepted the common
Lot OF mankind.
Icii Worth Doing
From these places come forth young men
AM women, having been bred there with
out the sun of human kindness ever touch
Ing them. without once getting a glimpse
or the true life, without an ideal beyond the
thought OF universal ease and Indifference
THIS material IL surely worth working, and
IL IS this that such institutions as the Chill
dren's Country iiorae seeks to mold and
kLcId INTO more plastic condition fo- fu-
ture Lencit 70 mankind. IL is but little that
tne H,hle can 90 now, with its small build
Ing and t-s restricted grounds but N is a
tJJd zeal wAen compared with the little
th.it was done before. Two weeks of COM
IluniGA with the COWS and horses those
dumb Gdvoc&te5 of natural living and of
with the tots
they 80 cat wondering what this new OK
peFience IS 70 De Ike. and they return TO
their homes vita pInSs OF reGret at the
tnflnS OF "a yisign OF Joy such as never
before flashed over their little brains Some
or them forget the C-pSriCnce. Othe-s talk
diligently about II to their mothers and
sometimes = their ia thsrs. They tell about
the cleanliness and the regularity of meals
ani gradually there dawns upon these
blurred minds the nJtiod Of dolng some
tnIn- Of tHe k!2l them elves. That this il
re.tiiy accomplished WAS shown the other
Gay y 4 cal which Cae CT the twenty
SOcn5 lIdlCS who i.4ans,sS the home re-
ccived f-Uni poor woman whose child
went ont 20 the pasture last season She
said thIt she Eai joac so much better
since the trip of her little one into the coun-
try that she wanted u express her graft
tude by making 4 little present to the
homo. She was Indy told that the best
present she could make was the continu
ence Of her good work at her own home
and snc left, delighted TO think that her
offer had been appreciated.
Duty of the Lady Visitor
1t is not easy for the managers to dis
crtnin1tc TIE worthy eases from the I'M
worthy when cones the pressure for places
at the home. There are yearly far more
child en- wEO want to 80 than can be taken.
and lady visitor. Hiss Gordon. has
been SDpo;atai to Investigate each case and
- w.InJw the wheat from the chaff The
desire Of ths managers is 10 send out only
tie most nicely children that can be found.
and Hiss Gordon, in the beginning of
the hot weather. goes; down into the slums
and hunts fer poverty. Her aim is to
End the very lowest level. and she has 10
difficulty in locating IT. Then, sometimes,
Come struggles with parents who look with
suspicion his eHOrt to take the children
out Into the Country. They imagine. some
tines, that TIE youngsters are to be carried
on u those horrors OF the poor asylums or
hospitals. Drink often makes the struggle
worse. but IN the end the visitor usually
sIcc-el Is in pe-su;tdiI.s the elders to let the
children go. and then, when the happy day
comes, the t1ts dressed in their best,
not knowing that there await them at the
home fresh. clean suits Of blue jeans for
the boys and SinghamS for the girls. These
clothes they wear Gurig the fortnight OF
their stay. and their own ga-b is put care
fully away, 50 that it can be worn home,
unframed by the rough usage Of country