The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-29
HELP THE SUFFERERS.

The duty most urgent in its nature be-
fore the welI-to-do people of San Francisco
| is that of providing relief for the sufferers
by the great fire. This duty is SO urgent
that If it were necessary all others might
be postponed until its fulfilment 1t will
| not be necessary, however, to postpone
| anything. In city so populous, pros
porous and rich as San Francisco it will be
| easy to raise the needed money without
putting an undue burden upon any in
dlvldual. No man need neglect his bust
ness or deprive himself Of any money re-
quired for his home or his trade. 1t will
not even be necessary to check, hamper or
stint the preparations for the Fourth OF
July. Much is not required nor asked OF
any one person. Let every citizen in pro-
portion to his means contribute to the re-
lief fund SO promptly started by our con-
temporary, the Examiner, and the amount
needed to save the sufferers from destitu-
ton will be easily obtained.
1t should be borne in mind that those
who have suffered most by the fire are
those least able to bear it. Moreover, they
are men and women who deserve not only
the sympathy but the help of their fellow
citizens. They are themselves helpful to
| the City and all who live in it, for they are
industrious working people who not only
are themselves producers, but consumers,
making considerable part of the market
for home products. Their money does not
go abroad for foreign Injuries 1t is ex-
pended at home for the support of home
merchants and the benefit of home manu-
features. In certain sense, therefore,
they have claim on the public in their
hour of distress, and people like ours
who have been so generous in responding
to appeals for aid for far-off lands cannot,
| In common justice, ignore or put aside the
| appeal now made for those at home.
A crisis of this kind, which calls for aid
from all classes of people and in which
every dollar donated counts not only for
charity but for the upbuilding of the City,
| can hardly fail to impress upon rejecting
| minds another aspect of the criminal folly
of purchasing lottery tickets. Many a
kind-hearted man and woman who would
| like to help their neighbors in this distress
will find themselves unable to do so,
because the dollar that would be of such
useful service now has been thrown away
on fake scheme, or perhaps forgery to
enrich swindlers.
The lesson taught in this way is made
the more impressive by the fact that at
this very time when the appeal for aid is
being made, some of our contemporaries
| have published notices of lottery draw
| ing calculated to entice people to spend
their money for the worthless tickets Of the
| concern. Intelligent men and women will
need no argument 10 emphasize the lesson
| taught by the juxtaposition of the appeal
| for aid and the lottery notice. The lesson
to be learned is clear. Beware of the lot
terry. Save your money SO as to be able
not only to provide for yourself and your
family, but to help your neighbors when
| overtaken by some swift disaster like that
of Thursday night, which brings hundreds
to distress and threatens many with alb
! soIute restitution.