The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-03-18
STARVING IN BOSTON.
THE GOLDBUG TOWN SUFFERS.
Hard Times Reduce People to Pow
erty.-Men Willing to Work
Find No Employment.
CHILDREN SENT TO SCHOOL WITH
OUT BREAKFASTS.
Church Efforts to Aid Destitute Families-An
Urgent Appeal for Help for the
Worthy Poor.
(BOStOn Sunday HeraldO

Boston Sunday Herald)
With little children going to school in
the mornings without having had any
breakfast; with strong men and willing
women begging for work and walking the
streets N fruitless search day after day
and with families all around the church
without food or clothing-the workers at
the Ruggles Street church are at their
wits ends how to relieve the suffering, true
tales of which are being poured into their
ears every day.
Assistant Pastor Hague and Supern-
tendent Russell of the employment bu-
reau. and Pastor Burr himself, are all in
touch with hundreds of worthy people who
are now N distress. They have about
200 worthy families on their list. In Or
binary times they are able to see that the
working members of them have employ
ment, and that the sick are cared for, but
the hard times are now upon them; there
are more people out of work than there
have been since the hard times of 1898,
and those who have been employed at
small wages have not been able to save
enough to carry them over until business
starts up again in the spring.
And these are the worthy poor.
A baby died at the city hospital few
days ago. 1t had membranous Group, and
the mother was unable to care for it.
Somebody informed the Ruggles street
workers that burial clothes were needed
for the little one, but when the hospital
authorities were consulted it was learned
that they would look after this part of
the arrangements, for owing to the ma
ture of the disease. the body would have
to be sealed and buried as soon as pos
sible.
One Of the workers went to the home
of the mother. There were two other lit
tie ones there, and they, too, were sick.
There was no food in the house. no fuel,
nothing in fact but three chairs, a stove
and a table.
The mother was young woman, Will
ing to work, but could not find enough
to enable her to provide for her little
ones. The church worker who called Of
fered to give her some assistance, to help
pay the funeral expenses.
NO" was the reply, 81 will pay every
cent of that myself. That is my privi-
lege, and l am going to earn the money
myself. | will try and have the children
put in home where they will be well
taken care Of and then l VIII try again
to get work"
This is one class of the people who are
suffering. Men who years ago lived COM
fortably and could provide for their fam
lilies, are, according to the workers, un-
able to do SO today.
"a doctor came to me few days ago"
said Mr.. Russell. land told me about
family he knew to be in want. The father,
he said, was an industrious mechanic,
whose wages had been cut down until he
could not make enough TO support his
20 :ly bI1t tbny tNO nrond IN lot
body know they were in want.
Il went to see them and a look at the
little ones told me that the doctors story
was true. | spoke to the woman as kindly
as possible. and tried to get her to acccpr
assistance in a way that would not lead
her to look upon it as charity. She re-
fused to take anything. saying. IL we
choose to starve here it is nobodys bus
mess and we don't want anybody to know
anything about it. My husband is now
earning enough to pay the rent, and so
long as we can do that nobody need know
how we are situated She then begged of
me not to let any of the neighbors know
how they were situated. and to not even
tell the landlord promised this and went
away.
"a woman came here this morning"
SAID Supt Russell. land as she sat down
in the chair beside my desk tears came
into her eyes. and she could hardly speak.
I would not come here she said, but my
little ones had to go to school this morning
without any breakfast and do not know
NAat to do
Then she went on to tell her story.
Her husband. paper hanger, had been
out of work for months, and after trying
everywhere to get work, finally found en-
nj 1n,,t of fox.-p ,,fy;,
there some weeks, ne could not get his
pay, and the family was almost destitute
II went to the house, and found that
they had not only no food, but no fire
and the rooms looked anything but cheer
full
I'VE sent them some groceries and fuel.
but the demands upon us are now 50 great
that we are rot able to do as much as we
would like. The hard times have an eff
feet upon our Sunday contributions. and
they are not as large as they were a few
months ago. The people who attend the
services cannot afford to give much more
and If we carry Cl In work we must have
help from outside.
"People with employment have 10 idea
Of the way others are living" continued
Mr. Russell Some OF the cases [ have
cited show how really deserving people
will keep the knowledge Of their desr..-
tuition from their neigh bors. but in many
cases they finally become so desperate
that they are forced to do something"
Il have n mind a family | visited a
few days ago. The father is a mechanic
who, up to the present, has been able to
support his family. but for some time he
has been out of work
Continued on Page Five.)