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


There has been tendency OF late to
rank what should be the shame Of our
modern civilization as one OF It's shows.
With her opera, her balls, her portrait
exhibitions and her shopping. my lady
Is pleased TO examine under due pro-
lection and with lively curiosity. the
dlreful conditions in which the other
half live. This 'slumming' has been
called nm insult 70 God and man"
Without rejecting on its moral aspect,
II Is certain that while Il may have
succeeded rs diversion for satlated
society, 1t has failed entirely TO give
the slums their proper place In socinl
philosophy. For the slums are not objec-
i've, They are not merely distinct dis
trict OF the city, set apart for poverty.
viicness and suffering, They are rathera
powerful dynamic force, the Visible
presence Of the devil with us, bound
at last we trust, TO weaken and pass
away but now dangerous and potent.
reaching far into the hearts Of things
apparently remote.
year ego or more "a man went
down into the lower part OF one OF our
great Eastern cities to study out the
question Of the poorer classes Tor HIM
self. He was clergyman, but his act
I was not directed by any sect or shared
by any congregation. He bought a
house on narrow alley, Infamous In
the crlmlnel calendar, The roadway
was Just wide enough for cart to
pass between the curbstoncs. and on
either side n narrow. uncertain pave
] mcnt slipped the passor-by towards
the central hollow, Refuse gathered
In that hollow and In the corners,
The house the clergyman purchased
was OF brick, two stories high with
two rooms ON the lower floor aud twn
| above. Next door was a so-chlled
church, used internationally ~ = va
grant colcrCd preacher for "roviynls,
| and generally by thieves anC Nnga-
bonds Of all sorts as depot for sloicn
goods and O shelter for sucn orgies as
no respectable pen could describe. The
clergyman purchased the chnrch as
wcll as the house. and both wore put
Into the hands Of a professional clean-
| or. Whiskcy bottles were carried IN
cart loads from the premises strong
I dislnfoutnuts ana other chemicals were
used literally. and finally with paper
and whtew0sh mud paint the process
was completed. and the family moved
In. 49,,
There was a mother and three little
children, and they had come to live
In locality In which theirs was 81
most the only house not given over
] 10 evil 1 Hf hilAN VI Wv NA'1 WV
ornnmcntcd by large, rather impusinE
buildings, outwurdly quite ornate, but
VcritRblc whitod sopulchrcs of vice,
These were disordorly houses of the
more arlstocratic sort, patronizcd by
the Weather men OF the town, The
{ inmates were mostly white. There
was no lack OF money here, tho peo-
plo were not poor. About their doors
! clustered yaiiouH dirty little shops
! which their custom supported.
From corner TO corner the alley was
! lined with places OF lower prctenslonB,
but not more vicious These were
maintained and filled by colored We
men OF british aspect and worse than
brutal natures, Their faces glarcd out
Of tho open windows like demons Of
! a nightmare. They sat on their door
steps ana watched for prey. Men
sauntored by aud Tested with them, At
night when their revel was NJ It's height
the noise that lllcd the alley was like
the roar Of an evil ocean, CULTURAL
harsh and penetrating.
From the main alley or Minister
| street proper, rRdintod narrow courts
crowded with brick buildings three
stories high. Those were mere dcns
for human creatures. one hydrnnt
[ suiIicod FOR an entire court, and there
was no other water on the promises.
Sixteen families drawing water sup
plies from one source We're not likely
10 spend much OF the rare fluid ia
bathing Fights mt the hydrant for
any chance NJ all TO draw tho water
| were daily occurrences. The fnmily
with most marked tendencies to clcau-
Illness probably had the most broken
heads There are things IN Minister
street and similar localities which
make those seem comparatively triillng
faults, The Jews who inhablt this
district are industrious, they are peace
. Il
healthy and they are moral. Their
brains are active because unclogRcd
by vice They nrc willing TO work
and do work-terrlbly In the sweating
Hhops--so learning and reaping the
fruits Of regularity and discipline,
They bring up their children TO fear
God md to obey Him. In n few genera
tons. they generally become well-to-do
citizens Of too often ungrnteful conf
monwcalth, The jew Of the Hluma Ia
n seed bound IN time to boar excellent
fruit. though now often buried n little
too deep In dirt.
sixteen families, court 30 narrow
that one standing In tho middle could
touch the houses on either side with
his hands, one hydrant, no porches,
no area, grimy windows, stuffed
through broken pnnes with rags and
old papers-all this does not promise
much freah air or comfort when sum
/ IAlfl HlNNt lulh 10 tilf
country and the shore. The clergyman
had one tree In his back yard. the only
tree of the ncighborhood. He built a
little wooden pavilion around II and
put up swing on the tree. II was
the swing that began his work In Min
ster street. One by one the black.
wooIly heads popped up around the
fence. Say, mister. femme inl" cuaxed
voices In various keys, belonging to as
many assorted wallis In rags and tat
terg. Mister" let them in, and after
the stronger boys had beaten down tho
little ones, they proceeded TO have n
glorious time, ending probably IN free
night and their expulsion from the gar
den. For let no charitable enthusiast
beguile himself. Gratitude does not
spring spontaneously In Minister street.
Humanity there promptly hits both Of
fered cheeks, because II has been
taught TO strike. has seen and known
little but fistlcuffs In all It's Swallowed
life. And the man who would let light
In 10 drive AWAY the shadows must be
prepared to loan his cloak and get II
not again, and know how to meet force
by force judiclously.
After the swing was an established
fact. society became lively In the back
yard. The clergyman's wife took her
roclsing-chair and a story book Into the
pavilion. While they waited their
turns, the children crowded around
her and listened us she read aloud 20
her own little boy. Their mothers had
no time TO read to them and no story
0 a