The morning news., 1899-04-08
GOOD woRK OF a COLONIAL DAME.

GOOD WORK OF 4 COLONIAL DAME.
The National Society of Colonial Danes
did some Of the very best relief work that
was done in the war with Spain. II was
the first relief organization in the field.
and its patriotic efforts in helping sick and
suffering soldiers were highly appreciated
not only by the soldiers who received as
sistance but also by the people of the en-
tire country.
a correspondent Of the New York Even
ing Post. in the Wednesdays issue of that
paper, gives an interesting account of the
work done by the society of some of the
states. The correspondent says that it is
impossible to give a detailed account Of
all the work done by the society, but that
one special feature must not be ignored
the work done by a Georgia woman, the
President of the Georgia Colonial Danes.
In this connection the correspondent says:
zone day towards the end of August,
CHANGING TO enter the railway station al
Savannah just as a north bound train car
rying sick soldiers of the one Hundred
and Fifty-seventh Indiana Regiment drew
in, she entered one of the cars for a
TO be in terrible need. without doctor, nurs-
es, or proper supplies of any kind, many
of them desperately i'll, and not a few in
the last stages of exhaustion. On the spur
Of the moment, the Georgia woman ap-
pointed herself nurse, to continue the jour
ney with the transport cars long as her
presence could be useful Her first step
was to induce the civilian passengers in
other parts of the train TO surrender their
a KS-bn n ea
ly needed them. Then she confiscated the
Pullman buffets entire stock of milk ice
and brandy. BY her single efforts several
lives were saved that day, and when one
poor lad died despite her best endeavors,
she sent his body TO her own home, tee-
graphing such directions for its reception
rs would have been issued had the dead
man been her personal friend. 80
In the early part of the summer, as the
horrors of the times developed, the Presi-
dent of the Georgia branch. backed by the
Treasurer of the National Relief Associa-
ton of the National Society of Colonial
Danes, went to her husbands camp In
Georgia, seized upon a conveniently situal-
ed barn, for lack of better place fur
nished it with cots, and filed the cots with
miseraby sick soldiers. Aided ~ her
daughter she not only nursed these men
oghty-six of them, first and last-wel into
kitchen extemporized at the back of the
building, did with her own hands all the
cooking that the invalids required
Such deeds as these have value far be
yond the scope of the moment; and the
thought of their softening widening, hu-
manizlng influence is one of the few bright
features in the record of our recent histo-
ry. At least one instance of gratitude is
worth recording. Among the patients har-
nj in 81
dier's home near New York was one who,
earlier in the year, had been in the little
Georgia barn.
And YOU know said the man, finishing
broken tale of the kind offices of his ben
efactress, she is lady. and rich lady,
and the wife of a general. Yet she and
her daughter couldn't have treated us
whiter-us common soldiers-if we'd been
their own people. The place was rough.
and we was rougher and dirty and sick
and weak as babies, and those two ladies
waited on us hand and foot as we was
clean ashamed to have 'em do Trained
nurses kick sometimes but those two they
never kicked at nothing. I'll tell you some
thing straight l used to hate the rich
and believed the rich despised the poor
read socialism and talked socialism, and
went to socialist meetings. But I've no fur
ther use for it, "
1t seems that this Colonial Dame did
something more than nurse the sick back
to health and relieve suffering-she taught
one poor fellow, and 1t may be many poor
fellows, that the rich do not despise the
poor-that is the right kind of rich people.
And she relieved his mind of many things
which, if allowed to remain there, would
have prevented him probably from becom-
ing a good citizen. And she did this not
by arguments but by deeds of kindness.
Her actions were more convincing than
words. They were so genuine that their
sincerity could not be questioned What
pity it is that the right kind of rich peo-
pie cannot become better known to the
poor! If they could there would be much
less bitterness in the hearts of the poor
for the rich and socialistic and anarchis-
tic ideas would not find so many converts
they do.