The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-07-28
CHARlTY'S FREAKS
Old People Who Always
Need Aid.
CLEVER ONES IN THE LOT.
A Wife Whose Husband Slept by
a Safe.
CLUTCHES AS A PRECAUTlON
Double the Usual Number of Appii-
cants for Midsummer-Anxiety
for the Coming Winter.

The rooms of the Associated Charities.
on Pine street, on the occasion of The
weekly meeting is not place one would
recommend another to go in search of en-
joyment.
But the report of the registrar is not
always an unrelieved tale of woe. The
registrar is Agnes w. Flint, so accustomed
to distress in every form as it files in con-
slant procession through the society's
rooms that only when she comes to tell
her trials to the board on Friday after
moons she singles out the more notable
cases. And from these the following:
A frightened and very unhappy little
colored woman came into the Office one
afternoon during the week seeking assist
ance to get back to Napa. her home. and
where she had left the children. Her bus
band was in Jail, and she had just visited
him. having hurried down from Napa for
the nurnose. Her husband had merely
been unfortunate, she said, having fallen
asleep beside an open safe at midnight,
and the police had arrived and arrested
him under the suppostlon that he was try
ing to break into 1t.
Her husband is William Richards, who
exactly the circumstances described, with
the addition of there being kit of burg
| lars tools with William at the time.
A man whose first name was A. R., and
who lives in the rear of S04b Geary street.
had been at the office frequently and in
great distress. His business was the cut
| ting and fitting of dresses, but business
had been bad. He had explained that
/ there was a great mystery shrouded be-
| hind the fact that his given name was
A. Il, and nothing more. He had followed
the fashion his father had set, and also in
creased the mystery by naming his chill
dren as they arrived, first A. C., then o. c.,
then l. c., and finally &. Z. lie said that
| c. C. was dead, but there was still A. c.,
O. c. and I. c. to provide for. He was
neither q spritualist nor Christian science
believer. but bis faith took middle course
between these two. he had been offered
cheap apartments in the 400 block on
| Clementina street, but he had learned that
a family given TO drink lived there and he
refused to move ln-would prefer 10 SIT on
the curbstOne, himself and wife and A. o.,
|. C. and o. c., rather than GO so.
Mrs. Flint suggested that he take the
family and 90 to Nanny Peasance's
farm, where she knew they would be pro-
yided for. but be said 1t would greatly dis
commode him to do so. She advised him
then to go to the benevolent society, but
he said that. too, would discommode MIN.
She asked him to come again tomorrow
and he said he would, although it would
discommode him.
The next most interesting OF Mrs.
Flint's visitors was D. Phillips. She con-
scented 10 namo him, as it was agreed thai
be must be fraud. Mr.. Phillips was a
young and said to be a very clever man.
| who hobbled in on clutches. He explained
that he did not really need the crutches &c
get around, but carried them as precau-
tion-he might need them.
He had opened a long conversation by
asking the REGISTRARS advice as to what
class Of people she thought were most
liberal. and confessed that he was making
a house to house canvass. in search ol
aims. He showed her an elaborate direc-
tory he had prepared of the well-lo-dC
people of the city, with footnOtes as to
| their reputation for liberal giving. After
all this, he still bad the assurance to ASH
for assistance, but refused to give his adj.
dress in the city.
Then there was the case of man who
had been given friendly lessons by another
man in the art of peddiing vegeta bles. He
needed horse and wagon TO set up fol
himself in this line, and the registrar told
quite seriously now, when the cavalry
came home from the war al Sacramento,
there was to be sale Of old horses and
they expected to get one for him at the
sale for S.. The farmers products and
| wagon would be c0mpassed In some other
such fortunate DEAL
There was the case of an EnglishmaD,
| too handsome to work. and who stayed al
home and Bursed the children and washed
the dishes while his wife played piano
| for money in sOuth-O f-Markst-Street
dive.
The proposition was to get the woman
| out of the dive instantly and find some
| ofh yicya for a flor q
one had counseled that as the woman was
earning livelihood in an apparently
honest manner she should not be dis
turbed, but rather that the husband should
| be put to work by some sort Of pressure
| first and the woman released from the dive
afterward. The counsel was deemed wise.
With this the tone of the report took on
a more somber cast, it saying:
THE mum Der of applicants for assistance
| for the week was 46-an unparalleled re-
port for midsummer. Half the number
for this season of the year had been nD-
usual heretofore. OF these thirty-five
were entirely new cases. The reasons
given in majority of cases for needing
| assistance were: Lack OF work 10. illness
6, intemperance 4. shiftlessness 8, false
addresses 4, dishonesty ., begging ha bitual
3, old age s. no cause whatever 8.
/ There are people generally inefficient,
who are never more than able to keer
themselves and family fed and clothed.
| and who, in the presence of such times as
these, fail entirely. we never had any
thing like it in the history of our char
! liable work. Wen see terrible times this
winter if things do not change"
The move to have the streets swept by
hand was a matter that gave the board
much satisfaction and called forth an ex-
preston of hope that there would BIZ
| other steps in the same direction looking
1 rIy 70 ~