Evening star., 1898-10-12
System of Relief.

| Our system of relief has been, as soon as
| a name or case was given to US, to send
| the same to the police, and they would
| make the first report giving us official an
| swers to our queries. You fancy what
| a relief it was to have this strong arm to
| lean upon, and we tender cur grateful
| thanks to the memory of Major Moore, to
| the present chief, Major Sylvester, and also
| to each member of the force, for they dis
played a tenderness of heart toward the
| poor. combined with justice toward i our
work which is greatly appreciated. This
first visit made, then one of us would go
and the home. the surroundings, judge
| generally of the character of the relief
needed the size of the children, age
often meaning so little, and procure many
details, all of which was reported to the
committee at its weekly meeting and acted
upon. No one but ourselves will ever know
| what this work has been; only those here
can realize the hot, burning day when we
started early and worked late.
| We know our Washington well. our feet
have trodden all its tyways, often We would
only keep to it by helping one another on
| by kindly words or cheering jest, for, add
| ed to the wear and tear upon our bodies,
was the tugging at our heart strings; the
pallid babies vanly seeking life at empty
| breasts, the bare pitiful homes. when 2e
| II en- had gone to fight, men who for months
had walked the streets looking for work
and finally had welcomed the President s
call to arms, not only an opportunity to
show they We're men to do and dare, II
| only they had a chance, but also because
they said $3.50 a month is better than
Eothing, 1t will at least keep A roof over
the little heads. and so they went trusting
| in the promise of the government to pay
them each month. and that promise was
broken, for over three months the 1st Dis
trct Regiment not paid. and If our
chapter mad not come to the rescue there
would have been the shameful fact of
some of the families of the men who had
gone to fight for us taking refuge in the
hOnSe from the streets, where, home
less. they would have starved. The name
of the Mary Washington Chapter is be-
loved in many a home within our city, and
many prayers from grateful lips have car
ried your name to the throne OF God.
First to Take Up This Work.
We were the first to take up this work.
In June a society known as the District
Volunteer Aid Association was formed.
With Miss Clay and Mrs. Hatch 1 attended
several of the meetings. We We're told
that their work was to send comforts and
luxuries to the men at the front; that they
had intended including aid for the fam
lilies, but finding that We were doing the
" ork decided to leave 1t all to us. | asked
ttem for money, and after twice appearing
and talking until | was half sick they
gave us just $25. end requested an exact
account of how it was spent. They received
it. To date seventythree cases have been
reported with. one exception involving fam
lilies. and siXty-one relieved, more or less.
Individually they numbered 1G4 souls. Our
work has lain among whites entirely, and
as class they are people whom it is a
privilege and pleasure to help. The fam
lilies of the District of Columbia Volunteers
are proof of what our army is, not the
offscourings of Europe, but the bone and
sinew of America, poor. perhaps but coun-
trymen of whom we may well be proud.
Do the Marketing Themselves.
Every week the members of the commit
tee do the marketing themselves, in order
to be sure that good and sensible food is
secured at the lowest possible rates. Every
one having any experience here knows the
generosity of the dealers and market men,
hence when we found we must buy largely
and long, we did not ask them to give the
food entirely, only to throw off all their
profit and deliver free. This they have
cheerfully done and are content to con-
tinue. but to make it as easy as possible
for them the members visit the public mar