Middletown transcript., 1900-02-24


Is cnarIty the glvIug OF wUrnout gs.r
mentsf Is it ten dollar bill g!vtn 70
paid visitor or secretary of some be-
nevolent organization in the churshf
Shall the man never go and give his
gift himseif7 Shall the wonlssa n>yci
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-
tropolis7 Shall charity be conveniently
and easily done through some .organiza-
tion3 Is it possible to organize the af-
fections 90 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 a 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 little
breathing space to fellowship together.
It was an hour Of relaxation. There
was q 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 morning
paper for the benefit of the others. SUD
denly he paused, and his face Instantly
grew stern and sad. The rest looked
up, and hush fell over the table.
''Shot and killed while taking lump
of coal from a car. His family was
freezing, and he had had no work fol
six months. His elk children and wife
all packed into cabin with three
rooms on the west side One child wrap
ped in rags in closet.
These were headlines that the bishop
read slowly. He then went on and read
the detailed account of the shooting and
the visit of the reporter to the tenement
where the family lived.
He finished. and there was silence
kround the sable. The humor OF the
nour was swept out of existence by this
bit Of human tragedy. The great city
roared about the settlement. The awful
current of human life was flowing in
great stream past the settlement house,
and those who had work were hurrying
to It in . vast threegg, bat tlaeHaeHaaas
were going down in the midst of that
current, clutching at last hopes, dying,
literally in a 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 the
ministry, said: 'tWhy didn't the man
apply to one of the charity organiza-
tions for help or to the city2 1t certain
ly is not true that, even at its worst,
this city full of Christian people would
knowingly allow any one to go without
food or fuel
"No; don't believe that it would, :"
replied DR.. Bruce. "But we don't know
the history of that mans case. He may
have asked for help SO often before that
finally, in moment of deQera ton, he
determined to help himself. l have
known such cases this winter. -
''That is not the terrible fact in this
SctoO, SdAO llAt DASIOIJ IAO dM1ol
thing about it is the fact that the man
had not had any work for SIX months. "
''Why don't such people go out into
the countryf' asked the divinity stu
dent.
Some one at the table who had made
a special study of the opportunities for
work In the country answered the ques
ton. According to the investigator, the
places that were possible for work in
the country were exceedingly few for
steady employment, and in almost ev-
cry case they were offered only to men
without families. Suppose man s wife
and children were ill How could he
move or get into the country7 How
could he pay even the meager sum nec-
essary to move his few goodsH There
were Thousand reasons probably why
this particular man did not go else
where.
Meanwhile there are the wife and
children, F" said Mrs. Bruce "How aw-
full Where is the place, did you sayf"
The bishop took up the paper.
"Why, it's only three blocks from
here. This is the Penrose district. be-
Heve Penrose himself owns half of the
houses in that block. They are among
the worst houses in this part Of the
city, and Penrose is church member !"
eyes; he belongs to the Nazareth Av-
enue church, " replied DR.. Bruce in a
low voice.
The bishop rose from the table the
very figure Of divine wrath. He had
opened his lips to say what seldom
came from him in the way of denuncia-
tion when the beIl rang and one of the
residents went to the door.
sTell Or. Bruce and the bishop
want to see them. Penrose is the name
Clarence Penrose. Dr.. Bruce knows
me-"
The family at the breakfast table
heard every word. The bishop exchanged
a significant look with DR.. Bruce, and
the two men instantly left the table
and went out into the hall
'sCome in here, Penrose, :, said DR..
Bruce. and he and the bishop ushered
the visitor into the reception room.
They closed the door and were alone
Clarence Penrose was one Of the most
elegant looking men in Chicago. He
came from an aristocratic family Of
cyrnak xEvna Ifls n,ld eT,c;a1 dss4f, +s.s,, r.