The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-15
rnr sn4MEN,s nnrHNL.
Annual Meeting of the Ladies' Seamen's
 Friend Society Held Yesterday.


 The twenty-fourth annual report of the Ladies' Seamen's Friend society of the city of New Haven was held at Center church chapel yesterday after noon and was attended by large num- Der of ladies' The president, Mrs. F, Wayland Fellowes. presided at the meeting. Miss Mary E. Law, the re- cording secretary, submitted her report, after which the treasurer, Mrs. Helen l.. Cowles, reported that the entire re- ce.pts for the year were SIS, ,429 2S, and the expenditures had been S,4OS97 leaving $25.26 in the hands of the treasurer.
 The report of Rev, J. o. Bergh, the superintendent of the bethel was very interesting He spoke of the great ben eft that the reading room and the shops libraries had been to the men. A great deal of good work had also been done visiting the vessels arriving in port. The shipping office connected with the home has also been very use ful. The religious meetings which have been held have also been great tn- huence for good among the men.
 Mrs. Helen l.. Cowles, the chairman Of the building committee, submitted the | following report concerning the new Seamen's Bethel:
 On July Il, 1880, the Ladies Seamen's Friend society opened it's first bethel for sailors. For some years previous | to this time it's work had been a simple matter when theological student was employed with a salary of SIP month to visit any vessel at the docks, dis tribute tracts and interest such sailors as he might meet in better life, or | young man from some one of the churches was thus employed, but when | the society took into it's employ s. P. | Thrasher it's aggressive work began. A reading room was the first outcome of his efforts After that the bethel was built, and five years later, early in the l year 1885, they rented a tenement house opposite the bethel on Water street, changed it's interior, furnished and opened it on April as a sailors home. It was an experiment urged on the society by its missionary. The doubts ! of the advisability of this step were le- zion in number, but MT. Thrasher's san guine belief in it's success was in part accepted by the executive committee, and later experience proved it's wisdom. The house was rented year after year, l and made as comfortable as possible for such sailors as desired its accommoda- tions. It has never been self-support- ing, that is the missionary part of the work, although so far as able the men are required to pay for their board, but the evident help and comfort of I these men coming there, as so often | they have done, from some wrecked vessel half frozen, hungry and desti- | ute, to be cared for and to have places l found for their services again, on some out going ship, or sick, have staid there until nursed back to health, or if needful had the way provided for them to enter the hospital, or when robbed by the so aptly called land sharks of all they possess so soon as they land on the wharves they come to the home and are cared for until such time as they may be re-shipped and sent on their way helped and comforted. All this and Iluch more has shown the necessity of a Sailors Home in the best sense of the word.
 For the past three years the society, also it's present missionary, J, o. Bergh, have felt strongly that if this work was to go on 1t must have better ac- commodations and anyone who has visited the old house must have also seen the need. After much thought and counsel it was thought wise to sell the Seamen's Bethel and erect such 6 building as should when completed ac- commodate both parts of the work the Bethel and the home. An opportun- ity to sell the Bethel building came and was accepted. A location on Water street which seemed peculiarly adapted to this purpose had been secured and held for the society some years pre- vious by the generosity of ten men, who pledged the interest on the pur- chase money for a term of years and so for the past six years the eyes of all have turned Iongingly to this spot of ground with intense desire to see the first spade full of earth thrown off, preparatory to the beginning of the much needed building. Early in the spring of 1894 the desire eliminated in the belief that the time had come, we must build, if we were to continue a Sailors Home. In pursuance of this belief all, both executive and managers, were asked to bring forward plans or suggestions for plans. A building com mittee was appointed and these various suggestions were considered. Several plans were crudely drawn. Numerous were the consultations until one plan giving general outline for three floors was arranged by one of our number, Mrs. James H. Foy, which seemed to meet the requirements for a home and a small temporary chapel. After con sultation with the society's advisory board this last plan was, by common consent, given to two of our city s architects for estimates of it's cost, the one giving the lowest approximate price for the work was, by the decision of this advisory board, to take the contract and erect the building. In this way it came to Mir William H. Allen, who, with the one submitted, drew the plan in it's detail, giving us well proportioned three-story build ing with high attic, attractive and home-like in it's extension, and thoroughly adapted to the needs in the interior. The first floor, an English