The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-02-16
sUNsHINE WORK

The international Sunshine society now
has over 1OO,0oO members, and is daily re-
ce1v1ng letters from every state and ter
rltory IN the Union and from many for
elgn countries where branches exist. The
mail received has averaged over thou
sand letters a week for the past three
months, to say nothing of almost innu-
merable parcels MANY thousand holiday
remembrances have been sent out by
mail and freight and express. All the
work outside of that performed by ste
nographers has been done by volunteer
workers.
Yet what is done at headquarters is
only the surpSSs, the overflow from the
real work The society only encourages
people to send to the Office things which
they cannot place in a way 70 carry sun
shine to someone whom the sender
knows And it much prefers to give one
member the address of another in some
distant part OF the country who could use
what is to e passed on" because that
takes only single postage or freight or
expressage. The same article sent to
the office costs double in transportation
letter received at IS Fifth avenue New
York, at least ten go directly from mem
Der to members, and the same is true Of
packages
One invalid in a little Massachusetts
village reported that he had received if
ty-six cheerful letters on his birthday
from all parts of the United States. The
society might be called IAN Institution
Il
ship. 1t brings together persons whose
environments are most dissimilar and
helps one-half of the world to understand
how the other half lives
There are no fees or dues save kind
acts, which may be done at home No
bcdy is 50 poor as to be burdened by
membership, nobody so rich as to be out
OF soclety.s scope; Everybody is on an
equal footing with everybody else. No
charity is contemplated, save the charity
without with one may bestow all his
goods to feel the poor. and yet be as
sounding brass or a tinkling symbal,'
To one who is hungry. food may bring
most sunshine; to one who is cold warm
clothing may furnish the most cheerful
rays. But the idea Is to send nothing
except to those who have paid their
dues; so that each one who has. NAV
feel entirely free to take without sensci-
tiveness. whatever will bring the most
good cheer" And behind it ALL. is the
feeling that those who in the midst of
luxury suffer from heart chill. those who
rise from abundant tables hungry for
human sympathy are most in need of
what the society can do.
The question is often asked. and 1t Is
a natural and proper one. IF no dues
are paid in money how does headquar-
ters pay postage, freight, expressage,
rent and stenographers' wages?" There
is an endowment fund, to which any
member can offer to contribute a fixed
sum each year. Many will do so
But those who contribute are persons
who ind money easier to give than
something else, and not one OF them
thinks of herself as a member Of a
Sunshine Aristocracy. If such a thing
were conceivable. Besides this, the
branches have. many of them. arranged
international days" holding little enter
tainmants and sending what they NAV,
S. or SO, sometimes more. to headauar-
tiers. If every one of the 5000 branches
would have such a day once a year there
would never be any lack of money. But
they are never cons trained to anything
OF the sort nor are members constrain-
ed to subscribe to the endowment fund
All moneys must be strictly voluntary
offerings under the system of the Sun
shine society.