Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1899-11-02

give, what hurt them the least. Where
did the sacrifice come in? Was this fol-
lowing Jesus? Was this going with
him all the way2 He had been to many
members Of his own wealthy and aris-
tocratic congregation and was appalled,
to find how few men and women Of that
luxurious class in the churches would
really suffer any genuine Inconvenience
for the sake of suffering humanity.
Is charity the giving of wornout gar
ments9 Is it a ten dollar bill given to
paid visitor or secretary of some be-
nevolent organization in the church?
Shall the man never go and give his
gift himself2 Shall the woman never
deny herself her reception or her party
or her musical and go and actually.
touch the foul, sinful sore of diseased
humanity as it Testers in the great me-
tropolis2 Shall charity be conveniently
and easily done through some organiza-
tions Is it possible to organize the af-
fections so that love shall work dis
agreeable things by proxy?
All this the bishop asked as he plunged
deeper into the sin and sorrow of that
bitter winter. He was bearing his cross
with joy, but he burned and fought
within over the shifting of personal
love by the many upon the hearts of the
few And still, silently, powerfully, re-
sistlessly, the Holy Spirit was moving
through the church upon even the aris-
tocratic, wealthy, ease loving members,
who Stunned the terrors of the social
problem as they would shun con-
tagious disease
This fact was impressed upon the
bishop and the settlement workers in a
startling way one morning. Perhaps no
one incident that winter shows more
plainly how much of momentum had
already grown out of the movement of
Nazareth Avenue church and the action
of DR.. Bruce and the bishop that fol-
lowed the pledge to do as Jesus would do.
The breakfast hour at the settlement
was the one hour in the day when the
whole resident family found a little
breathing space to fellowship together.
1t was an hour of relaxation. There
was great deal of good natured re-
partee and much real wit and enjoyable
fun at this hour. The bishop told his
best stories Dr.. Bruce was at his best
in anecdote. This company of disciples
was healthily humorous in spite of the
atmosphere of sorrow that constantly
surrounded them. In fact, the bishop
often said that the faculty of humor
was as God given. as any other, and in
his own case it was the only safety
valve he had for the tremendous press
ure put upon him.
This particular morning the bishop
was reading extracts from a morning
:,aper fer the benefit of the Others. Sud-
denly he paused, and his face Instantly
;,rew stern and sad. The rest looked
up, and hush fell over the table.
''Shot and killed while taking lump
nf coal from car. His family was
:raezing, and he had had no work for
TX months. His six children and wife
Ill packed into cabin with three
:coms or the west side. One child wrap
ped in rags in closet"
These We're headlines that the bishop
read slowly He then went on and read
the detailed account of the shooting and
the visitof thereporter to the tenement
where the family lived.
He finished. and there was silence
around the table. The humor of the
hour was swept ont of existence by this
bit of human tragedy. The great city
roared about the settlement. The awful
current Of human life was flowing in a
great stream past the settlement house,
and those who had work were hurrying
to it in vast throng, but thousands
were going down i'll the midst of that
current clutching at last hopes, dying,
literally in land of plenty, because
the boon of physical toll was denied
them
There were various comments on the
part of the residents. One of the new
Corners, a young man preparing for rht
ministry, said: .'Why didn' the maj
apply to one of the charity organiza
tions for help or to the city? 1t certain
ly is not true that, even at its worst
this city full of Christian people would
knowingly allow any one to go withou
food or fuel."
"No; don't believe that it would, !
replied DIR. Bruce. ''But we don't know
the history of that mans case. He ma.
have asked for help so often before tina
finally, in moment of desperation, h
determined to help himself. L hav
known such cases this winter"
4 "That is not the terrible fact in thi
case, /" said the bishop. 1.-THE awfu
thing about it is the fact that the maj
had not had any work for six months
i ''Why don't such people go ont int
the country?" asked the divinity stu
dent.
4 Some one at the table who had mad
special study of the opportunities 70
work in the country answered the ques
ton. According to the investigator, til
: places that We're possible for work i
the country We're exceedingly few 70
steady employment, and in almost ey
cry case they were offered only to me
without families Suppose a man s wifi
and children were i'll. How could Ii
move or get into the country? Ho,
] could he pay even the meager sum nee
EENA