The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-30
NEEDS ITS OWN BUILDING.
AN APPEAL on THE PORT sOCIE-
TVS BEHALF.

Year and shows why the People
of savannah should Interest
Themselves I'm the Work of the
socIety-WIth $4,000 Additional
the society Could Have Its own
BuIIding-ChaDIain VERSIONS Re
pOrt-The Amount Received by
Rev. r. }. Shipman.
The sd anniversary of the Savannah
Port Society was celebrated at the INDIE
pendent Presbyterian church last night.
owing 10 the fact that she regular SER
vices were held at the other churches, the
attendance was not as large as it might
have been, but nevertheless there were
between 400 and 500 people present.
The services were conducted by Rev. T.
J. Shipman of the Duffy Street Baptist
church. The special features were the
annual report of the president, the sing
ing by the orphans Of the Savannah Fe-
male Orphans Asylum and the sermon by
Rev. Mr.. Shipman. The girls of the or
phanage were in charge Of Mr.. r. Is.
Reppard. They sang several hymns very
beautifully, and their singing was very
much enjoyed by the congregation.
An interesting annual report was read
by Rev. II. Iyersen, chaplain of the So
ciety. Mr.. IVersen stated in his report
that the society continues to be a power
for good among the seamen, and that
much work had been done by it during
the year for their temporal moral anu
spiritual welfare. I'VE had S96 vessels In
port during the year" said Mr.. Iversen.
There were held Isl gospel meetings in
our hall at Lincoln and Bay streets. 1
held three prayer meetings on vessels anu
six In the bethel in Brunswick. The aV-
erage attendance, including the weekly
prayer meetings, was about AZ seamen. 1
made $50 visits to ships for religious pur-
poses and siXty-one to the hospital"
Mr.. lVersen said he believed the tenn
perance work to be of great Importance
among the sailors. He held thirty tenn
perance meetings among them during the
year and l4 signed the pledge for life. He
sent home Tor seamen during the year
$99l.95. The reading rooms We're kept open
all the year, well supplied with reading
matter and writing materials and were
well attended by the seamen. The ladies
auxiliary society did much good work for
the sailors, the chaplain stated. The Sat
urday night meetings were kept up during
the year with good attendance. The sea-
men think a great deal OF these meetings
and they have without doubt been the
source OF much good, the chaplain stated.
Thirteen captains held a meeting Feb.
II, said MIR. lVerSen, in his report, land
they all agreed that Savannah Is the best
place the seamen can come to, as 50 much
IS done here for them by the Port Society.
They said that the pleasing results of our
work had been very evident, referring also
to the Saturday night meetings. 1 Will
thank the churches Tor their assistance in
that part of our work and l hope that
they will do still more in the future. The
result OF the dormitory work was very
good. We furnished lodging to tifty-nine
crews The nationalities were as follows:
Scandinavian, Al American, IL; English,
4; German, 2 We also gave 695 nights free
lodging to seamen in distress and IN needy
circumstances and great deal of charity
work has otherwise been DONE
Mr.. Iversen said that a better place is
needed and more room for the work, and
he expressed the hope that the society
would soon have a building of its own.
The report of the secretary and treas
portant facts of which are embodied in the
presidents report. The annual report was
read by the president, Samuel b. Adams,
Esq. Mr. ADAMS stated before beginning
his report, that as he had only been pres
adent for thirty days, he was not as ia
miliar with the work of the society as
some of the others present, perhaps. The
report was, nevertheless replete with in
teresting Information. II is of interest TO
many besides those who heard it last night
and is given in full as follows:
The ODD anniversary of the Port Society
witnesses some progress In our good work
and Frightening prospect for Its future.
And yet this great enterprise lags, sadly
Tags, although domciled among a gener-
Gus people, to whom it ought to appeal
with special force. A city of Savannah 5
commercial importance ought to give
II they be considered selfishly, in their re-
lations to the city's commerce, apart from
their religious and eternal interests, as
only men with whom this life is the be
all and the end-all" Probably more than
1900 visit our city with their ships every
year. practical exhibition of our sym
pathy with them and our desire to help
them would do our city good in a material
and practical way, not to speak of THAI
higher and better good that comes to
every man who recognizes the claims of
a common DFOf hRrhOn6 and aOdpa {r,
some way to meet them.
The Items of our treasurer's report are
suggestive, if not stimulating to our seir-
complacency. The total receipts for the
past year were $2,S4S.59. OF this small
sum $500 came from the American Sea-
mems Friend Society of New York; $500
from the Norwegian Mission Society of
Norway, and $354.79 from our Investments
Nlnety-n1ne dollars and thirty-one cents
resulted from the general collection at
our last annual meeting (a figure when
VIII safely bear enlargement; sos. 3S were
donated by ships; 1927 from friends; $694 Ii
are the net proceeds of our dormitories
ana 5000 are the aggregate of annual dues
representing III sustaining members as IS
each. In mercantile city like Savannah
the second cotton port in the United
states, the first naval stores port of the
world, with immense lumber and other
commercial interests, in generous beneVo-
lent savannah, with it's population of more
IMAM oODQ people only Ill members in a
society which is really doing much gooC
among the sailors and which could do
50 much more with greater means This
showing is not creditable If YOU think
of 1t fairly and honestly, recollecting how
much we owe to the hardy, brave men
who come to us in their ships how i'm,
portant and just ii is that they be treated
well in the port, you must at least saw it
Is surprising, If you use no stronger term
NO class of men deserve when they are
ashore kind and considerate treatment
more than the sailors. Subject. as only
men on the sea, to the ''perils of waters
winds and rocks where ships are but
boards" and sailors but men, they know
also that there be land-rats and wafer
rats, water thieves and land thieves. ,"
They are an easy prey to the temptations
and the wiles of a city. They are like
children often in their helplessness. They
need sympathy, wholesome surroundin yS
and good influences. This society is try
ing TO meet this need, byt its reading
rooms, where good literature is supplied
and a safe lecturing place secured; BY its
dormitory, with clean comfortable beds
away from the fumes of the saloons and
their deadly, blighting influence: bv re-
hglous services designed to arouse and
encourage the religious element in them
those principles which take hold on the
eternal life and fit men for their eternal
home. My friends, you have no benevo-
lence in Savannah more deserving of vour
support, none where your response is
more out of proportion with the innor-