The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1902-07-17

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weeks before they told me they could
not raise $4,000 to keep the little hos
pital they had from being abandoned.
Later they raised another $4,000, and
It is now rich institution. My condi-
tions were hard, and they fought me
for months over them, but they feel
differently now. I provided that the
building should cost $4,000 and the
remaining $4,000 should be placed in
4 permanent fund, which l named aft
er the widow of an ex-governor Of the
state solely because she was a good
woman. She had not dollar to give.
Then I provided that every patient
who had no money should be paid at
the rate of 81 per week out of this per-
manent fund. If there were no poor
patients, they got none Of the fund.
Begging letters?' he repeated in an
swer to the question. eyes, get thou
sands Of letters of all kinds-letters
asking me how I work my charities,
letters telling me that ought to have
Il helper, and winding up with some
good woman Offering to marry me. But
it is not through letters that find out
what to do. go into town, attract
ed perhaps by little item in paper.
I say nothing, but find out things. One
time I went into town and found
there was an old woman's home where
the inmates We're placed two in q small
room that had to be chalked across to
keep the occupants from Quarreling.
They asked me to buy quilt, as they
We're having to make and sell things
or close the institution. 1 refused to
buy the quilt because could not see
any good that money would do, but
hunted up the richest man in the town
and told him that if he and his neigh
bors would raise $4,000 I would give
the same He laughed at me and said
the thing was utterly impossible; that
they had been trying to raise $1,000
for two years and had only half Of it.
talked to him for half an hour, and
he gave $4,000 himself and got the
other $4,000 in twentyfour hours
Mr.. Simmer is now, as he says, sew
enty-three years Of age. He is small
man., perhaps 5 feet inches, and
weighs 130 pounds He is inseparable
from his hat and never changes the
style. He cares little for dress and
wears a twelve dollar suit, with old
style boots. Besides his work" his
hobby is old people and old friends.
Among the latter he numbers Turk,
as rascally an old horse, grown fat
and sleek on the best the land affords,
as one will meet in a days journey.
He had little crop cared dog, men,
tion of whose death year ago is still
the signal for solemn face on the
part of the master. ~--, >s,-ss,--, .--
Mr. Simmer has many plans for the
future. He has just begun to give
money away, he says. Some Of his
plans concern Chicago. He will not
discuss them except in a general way.
But wherever he goes and whatever
he does it will be taken for granted
that some conditions will be main
tained.
IT do not make hard and fast condi-
tions with the sisters" he says, 'be-
cause they devote their lives to the
work, perform the labor of the institu-
tions with their own hands and can
make an institution pay where sala-
ry drawing people would fail. They
are ho2est and earnest, and if their re-
ligion IS narrow, according to my way
Of thinking, they are earnest in it and
believe in it.
IT will not have women in the direc-
tories Of the institutions help to start.
/ do not care for few, but I will not
have them given any part of the man
agement Of affairs. They are sympa-
thetic and emotional, but they cannot
do anything without getting up fac
ttons and quarrels, and they put their
personal friends in fat positions if they
can. And, last Of all, will not give
anything to institutions that can get
along without me. I prefer to start
something myself-something that
would not be started without me.
can find enough to do even with all
these conditions, so my business will
not suffer for want of patronage"