Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-06-07
A PRACTICAL CHARITY
The Good Work Done by Mr..
w. F. DoWney.
A HOME FOR MIGRANTS
THEY ARE FIRST FED AND
CARED FOR.
Then Helped to Find Steady Employ
ment-3, 900 Saved From Vagrancy
Their Self Respect Restored.


when men come to us for help they
have gone down on their luck as far as
they can go. They can't sink any lower.
They are in no condition to answer ques-
lions or work before they eat. They need
to be taken in without any delay and fed,
thoroughly cleaned. given comfortable
bed and the next day fitted with clean,
good clothes Then you have restored
their self-respect. And nine chances out of
ten you have cleared the way for them to
steady work and decent lives
The last sentence was expressed with a
rising infection and emphasized with a
sound whack on the table in front of the
speaker. which indicated the surest conf
dence. The speaker was Mr.. William F.
Downey. He was explaining in his own
direct. characteristic way the purposes and
methods of the Home of the Good Samari-
tan" To do this he had escorted his ques-
toner across the street from his livery
stable to a vacant lot on the north side of
/ street between 10th and 18th streets, and
then up a flight of stairs to a long room
over a blacksmith shop.
A Place for Work.
This is our home 1t may not be fine
place" he continued. but i: Is the best
workshop in the world. for 1t just suits the
needs of the workmen who use it,
The home" excited a hundred questions
at the first glance. Along one wall,
stretched one after the other, like berths in
sleeping car, were tiers of wire cots. three
high. with a roll of blankets and pillows at
the foot of each cot Across the room was
q Tong. plain board table. a projection in
the wall at the far end supported a niche
and small figure of St. Anthony, with
the infant Savior in one arm and loaf of
bread in his outstretched hand. Away in
the back. in a space inclosed by a railing
were stove. ice chest and two cup
boards. The walls were all tinted and or
namented with a stencied frieze. The only
other decorations visible We're several small
American flags and picture of President
Mckinley draped in black.
But the signs of use were everywhere to
he noted The blankets had all been fresh
ly rolied- Floor and table were as clean
and white almost as snow. The stove shona
Ike pair of new boots The air was as
fresh and clean as it is out of doors. Two
men well past middle age moved about
energet icalIy but slowly busting M the
last CTumb from the kitchen. The home
that afternoon might have been used as a
model for all the housekeepers in Washing
ton.
AS l said. this Is not very fine place
But it has been regularly used for seven
years now. and in that time it has received
well over 5000 men, has provided them with
more than 10000 meals and nearly Il 900
lodgings. mas moved about 2. 800 to assume
a pledge to lot liquor alone. and has per-
suaded about 300 TO go out and find work
il has served to make good citizens of
about 200 men who stood in the shadow OF
the jail. and that IS more success than |
even dared hope for when it was opened.
Migrants" Need Help.
All of those men stood in danger of ar
rest for what the police call 'vagrancy'
Suppose you belonged to one of these
classes. what would you do-the aged, In
ti--o L h.
from hospitals; the habituaI drunkards; the
discharged prisoners; the hayward youths
away from home; the unemployed and des-
ttute wOrkmen? Suppose. further. that you
hadn't a cent in your pocket and did not
know where you were to sleep.
Men in such positions need help, and
they need 1t right away. I happened to be
In institution once where a of one
of those classes applied for medical treat
ment, and the questions asked him, even
as 10 his religion, made me realize very
fully the need for a place where men who
couldn't answer questions might be received
ard helped first and then put the right
track. So | planned this home.
"a good many persons helped from the
start. We had the aid of the St. Vincent de
Paul Society. The sum of $500 OBJ
8, to be announced to the police and prison
workers that here was place for men at
the bottom of the ladder.
THE. experience Of that first day. Febru-
-. "
day since A man two came at a time.
walking slowly and doubtfully up the stairs
90 the door They stood about in wonder
while we helped them battle, shave and cut
their hair. They slept like men worn out
in body and soul. The next morning they
aWoke with bright. clear eyes, good APP
petite new strength and. better than every
thing else. a purpose to find work some
where.
Are Willing to Serve Themselves.
Some days in the winter bring in a
hundred men. In the summer there are
scarcely half dozen a day. But every
day we find some poor fellow from one OF
the six classes l indicated who needs our
help And out of every days applicants
we find enough skilled labor to do all the
work of the home without cost TO Each
man cleans and rolls his own bedding. Sew
eTal mop and dust the main room. Tive
three fix up the kitchen. There is always
q good cook on the roll
These accomplishments represent every
phase of existence and every kind Of train
ing But then men themselves can always
be allotted TO one of the six classes men,
tioned a little while back.
You would be surprised to know how
many upright. good men--leave hospital Is
conYelascent and entirely without means.
Some have undergone surgical operations
and many have been discharged long before
well enough to care for themselves. One
mp came to encased in a jacket OF