People's voice., 1900-03-22
In Dis Steps.
"What Would Jesus Do. "
By Rev. Chas. M. Sheldon.

z g II tIle uldH HeN6I 20 ana give lls
{ giit himselfl Shall the woman never
deny herself her reception or her party
Y Or her musical and go and actually
! touch the foul, sinful sore of diseased
i Aulhanity as it testers in the great me-
8 tropolisf Shall charity be conveniently
and easily done through some organiza-
tionf Is it possible to organize the af-
fections so that love shall work dis
agreeable things by proxyf
ALI 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-
Gstlessly, 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 a 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 a 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
papey for the benefit of the others. Sud
denly he paused, and his face instantly
grew stern and sad The rest looked
up and a 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 for
six months His six children and wife
all packed into a 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
Ehe visit Of the herepOrter to the tenement
where the family lived
He finished. and there was silence
around the table. The humor Of the
hour was swept out Of existence by this
bit Of human tragedy. The great city
ruared about the settlement The awful
e current of human life was flowing in a
great stream past the settlement house,
and those who had work were hurrying
10 it in a vast throng, but thousands
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
comers, a young man preparing for the
ministry, said; "Why didn't the man
apply to one of the charity organiza-
tiOns for help to the cityf 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
mo; / 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 thai
finally, in moment of desperation, he
determined to help himself. / have
known such cases this winter"
THAT is not the terrible fact in thi;
case, said the bishop "The awful
, thing about it is the fact that the MAJ
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
Especial study of the opportunities fol
work in the country answered the ques
ton. According to the investigator, the
places that were possible for work il
the country were exceedingly few fol
steady employment, and in almost ev
cry case they were offered only to mel
without families Suppose a man wife
and children were i'll How could h
move or get into the countryf How
could he pay even the meager sum nee
essary to move his few goodsf There
were thousand reasons probably why
this particular man did not 90 else
where
Meanwhile there are the wife ant
children, said Mrs. Bruce. "How aw
full Where is the place, did you sayp
The bishop took up the paper.
"Why, it's only three blocks from
hga This is the Penrose district ] be
hSHP Penrose himself owns half Of tht
that block They are anon,
worst houses in this part Of tha
q aud enrose is a church member. >
~ &YaS #1 h<lonoo 4, Aha Ma a1c~,<h L.,