Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1900-01-24

~ is not true that, even at it's worst,
this city full of Christian people would
knowingly allow any one to go without
food or fuel
mo; don't believe that it would
replied DIR. Bruce But we don t know
the history of that man s case He may
have asked for help so often before that
finally, in moment of desperation, he
determined to help himself I have
known such cases this winter
''That is not the terrible fact in this
case. said the bishop. 1.-THE awful
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 country7' 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 wife
and children wero ILL How could he
move or get into the country? How
could he pay even the meager sum nec-
essary to move his few goods? There
were thousand reasons probably why
this particular man did not 20 else
where
''Meanwhile there are the wife and
children. said Mrs. Bruce. ''How aw-
full! Where is the place, did you say?'
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. ="
"Yes; 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-
ton when the bell rang and one of the
residents went to the door
"Tell DR.. Bruce and the bishop I
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.
Come 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
great wealth and social distinction. He
was exceedingly wealthy and had large
property holdings in different parts of
the city. He had been a member Of Dr.
Bruce's church all his life
This man faced the bishop and his
former pastor with a look of agitation
on his countenance that showed plainly
the mark Of some unusual experience.
He was very pale, and his lip trembled
as he spoke. When had Clarence Pen
rose ever before yielded to such strange
emotion Of feeling2
''This affair Of the shooting-you un-
derstand You have read it. The family
lived in one of my houses. It is terri
bic event But that is not the primary
cause of my visit. " He stammered and
looked anxiously into the faces Of the
other two men, The bishop still looked
stern He could not help feeling that
this elegant man of leisure could have
done great deal to alleviate the hor-
rors in his tenements, possibly have pre-
vented this tragedy. if he had sacrificed
some of his personal ease and luxury to
better the condition of the people in his
district
Penrose turned to Dr. Bruce
Doctor. he exclaimed, and there
was almost a child 8 terror in his voice,
II came to say that have had an ex-
perience SO unusual that nothing but
the supernatural can explain it. You
remember l was one of those who took
the pledge to do as Jesus would do. l
thought at the time. poor fool that
was, that had all along been doing the
Christian thing. l gave literally out of
my abundance to the church and char
ity | never gave myself to cost me any
suffering l have been living in per-
feet hell Of contradictions ever since
took the pledge My little girl. Diana,
you remember also took the pledge
with me. She has been asking me a
great many questions lately about the
poor people and where they lived l was
obliged to answer her. Two of her ques-
tons last night touched my sore Did !
own any houses where those people
lived2 Were they nice and warm like
ours2 You know how child will ask
questions like these I went to bed tor
mented with what l now know to be
the divine arrows of conscience. could
not sleep seemed to see the judgment
day was placed before the Judge
was asked to give account Of my deeds
done in the body. How many sinful
souls had visited in prisons What had
done with my stewardship How
about those tenements where people
froze in winter and stided in summer
Did I give any thought to them, except
to receive the rentals from them
Where did my suffering come in
Would Jesus have done as l had done
and was doingP Had I broken my
pledge? How had used the money anc
the culture and the social influence I
possessed? Had I used them to bless
humanity, to relieve the suffering, to
bring Joy to the distressed and hope to
the responding? had received much.