Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1895-07-07

tain had to be appointed each evening
TO see that every boy bad his turn and
did not defraud the others. Sometimes
the captain would forget his duty, and.
knocking down some OF the applicants,
would usurp the saddle himself for a
long. Wild gailop. Then would arise
how the defrauded. calling the
attenui.p ~ the clergyman, who forth
with itA- cod and punished the dere-
llet otlclai. Occasionally the policeman
had TO be called In 10 restore order,
but this was not often. and the chill
drcn grew less and less unruly as they
learned that what was done was meant
to. help and please them, and the man
who spoke to them was really their
friend. the only friend they had
In the world.
Every night and almost every after
noon the play room was open. and the
clcreyman stood ready 10 welcome his
/ guests A little library had been start
! ed In one corner A brisht-eyed Jewish
\ boy proved an acceptable. librarian,
and through his hands the books went
out into the courts and alleys. Some
| times they We're lost and sometimes
stolen. So were the toys. All endured
hard usage and wore out honorably in
! service. But the children OF the street
1 grew Enthusiastically happier. better and
| brighter. There was less noise and less
open sin In the houses around the guild.
/ ON Sunday evenings there were meet
lngs I'm the upper church. with songs
/ ana stories told or read. And at all
/ times the latch string OF the pleasant,
/ tidy Christian home was out for all In
l trouble and for the children.
I One Of the customs OF Minister street
I was lihcr0lity In the matter OF beer.
/ The Inmates OF the houscs served beer
/ by the pailful. II came about In this
| way a colored woman sitting on her
/ doorstep would offer cupful Of beer
! from the pan Mt her side to the stran-
Z ger who stopped TO speak to her. The
/ beer looked like any other beer, but
I It wasn't. Something had been put In
I It which benumbed the senses OF a man.
! Ho drank IT, fingered in the house. and
! by-and-hy found himself robbed and
/ without redresH. In many such cases
/ he appealed TO the clergyman across
1 the street, The clergyman would find
I policeman and send the man back to
/ the house with that guardian OF the
peace. There would follow much talk
| ing much protestntion. n great noisy
/ fuss, which usually ended In the gen
! oroua proprletrcss giving the policeman
enough Gosh to pay for nights lodg-
/ Ing for the man, lust to hep him out,
pOh fellow, case he done lose he
I money" The man. hopeless OF anything
more then, and sim partly under the In
| nuencc OF the drug would be taken 10
another locality entirely, SO that In tha
morning should he be Inclined to fol-
! low up tho matter. hia way to Minister
street would be lost and the whole To-
cality swallowed up for him In the
I bowels OF the night In one way all
/ this served him right. He should have
known better than TO p0rley with be-
/ ings whose foreheadH bore 40 plainly
/ the stamp OF the devifs hoof But II
4 isn't the kind OF Justice one would de-
/ sire IN an ideal republic,
The men 80 trapped were often OF
comparatively respectable class, and
1 too frequently boyH from the country
1 .NslIh "a
of long ears and n bray. II " such
facts that give the Hlums their deep
est signincnnce. for In such ways they
| touch every citlscn, every household,
They seize the young girls who should
be the trusted servants now bcwniled
in our Sunday papers and devourlng
them. digest them In their hldsoua
| organs into more power and strength
/ for evil They faint. weaken and de-
/ stroy the young men, the sinews OF
the nation" They are TO the body
polite the disease IN the blood which
untended, ends In loathaome death.
The clcrgymAn's wife opened sew-
! ing school when II grew too cold to
| vii In tho pavilion. Cloth ana sewing
materials were donated She cut
out various garments and the children
] trooped IN There were flfty Of them
| and four teachers. 1t Is not pleasant
work to teach sowing In the slnms.
/ The air ~ close the children naughty
| and dirty, and twelve little people
/ stitching away with might and main
/ keep even an experienced sewer busy
/ Moat OF the teachers who came to
| Minister street were not experienced,
/ and there was no aesthetic impetus to
/ the task. II began with practice stltch-
| Ing on little pieces OF cotton cloth ana
/ from that progressed through handker-
| ohlcfs, hlbs, body aprons and under
/ wear, 60 pettlcoata mud shirt waists.
I when n child finished u garment she
| took II home. This was the only way
| Ia which the clergyman offered direct
material aid to his nciRhbors. For tho
/ people were not 20 poor financially. AZ
4 morally and mentally In one sense
| they had more money thfin thcy hud
/ anything else, Dirty, miferahle little
mnldena, half-clothed and ragged,
would come eating candy or bringing
pennies. They told OF coffee for break
| fast, OF going to the theatre % OF fruit
out OF season and various unnecessa-
! rIes not usually expected In the slums.
| or course there II ahIect poverty there.
! but It IN lees evil than the Ignorance.
the cnrelessneHs and the sin.
II ~ FOR this re0son partially that
| the magnificent charities OF our great
| cities are practical failures In reduce
! ing tho need and suffering OF the poor.
| As John Burns said: ut IL not charity
| we want. but Justice" Sldo by side
with the homes for the aged. the
/ orphans and the inflrm, IL properly
rented by wealthy owners for immoral
purposes. And n not for oonfesscdly
] immoral purposes. yet rented In such
n condition that Its every influence is
degrading to the poor who must In
! habit Il. Tho money ground out OF
operatives lives In sweat shop and mill
makes but foul sacrifice ms charity.
| In another way, md one which should
never be lost sight OF. the slums strike
TO tho vitlls OF national life. For every
man OF the degraded host has Il vote.
The Clergyman found that In Minister
street the local political authority had
registered sixteen coiored voters from
his own place. house of III fame. The
case was exposed and the man cowed
into temporary reBpectabillty, but he
was only one of many malefactors
who otherwise fiouriahed undisturbed.
| The Investigations of the Lexow COM
mlttec have proved the Influence Of the
1 Stun In politics. Minister street merely
confirms the same state OF things In
another city. Under the shadow OF
/ the public schools stand houses to
corrupt the boys and girls whom edu-
cation Is trying to upllft. and those
houses pay regular tribute TO the
emissarleH of the same government that
supports the schools.
The end OF Minister street In not yet.
nor can II be forecast. So far. It's
workings have been good. II IL but one
OF the many solutions offered to solve