The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1900-01-12

lowing Jes,ssY Was this going with
him all the way2 He had been to many
members OF his own wealthy and arts
tocratic congregation and was appalled,
to lind how few men md 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
ments2 Is it a ten dollar bill given to a
paid visitor or secretary of some be-
nevolent organization in the church?
Shall the man never go and give his
gift himself7 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 mo
tropolis2 Shall charity be conveniently
and easily done through some organiza-
tion2 Is it possible to organize the af-
fections SO that love shall work dis
agreeable things by proxy2
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
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 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
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
u ol,a
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.
s'Shot and killed while taking lump
of coal from car. His npnily was
freezing, and he had had no work for
six months. His six children and a 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 She reporter 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
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 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
corners, young man preparing for the
ministry, said: 'Why didn't the man
apply to one of the charity organiza-
lions for helpor to the city? 1t certain
| ~ 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 !"
| emo; don't believe that it would, .
| replied DR.. Bruce. HBut we don't know
the history Of that man 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, J" said the bishop. "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 were ILL How could he
move or get into the country2 How
could he pay even the meager sum nee
essary to move his few goods2 There
We're thousand reasons probably why
4 nc ,nr%,