The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-18
The WORK OF CALVARY HOME
p. C. BUTTERFIELD'S ADDRESS
BEFORECH4MBER OFCOMMERCE

tons of capita and Labor at January
Mee,Lng-SeveraI Members Admitted
tn hamber.
The regular monthly meeting of the
Chamber Of Commerce was held at its
hall on Chapel street last evening. The
bills for the year were read and APPROX
ed and ordered paid. The committee on
membership proposed the following adj
ditions to the Chambers roll: William
Beebe, teacher; George E. Beers, George
H. Burchell, Chalne r. Coan, B. w.
Bates, p. c. Butterfield, Thomas A.
| Bassett,
President Z. 2. Bradley said at the
coming January meeting there will be
an address by Rev. DR.. Newman Smyth.
The reverend doctor will give his idea
of the relations of capital and labor,
and it is hoped that his forthcoming adj
dress will open a calm and considerable
discussion of that all-perplexing prob
lem among the business men Of this
city.
Following this announcement the
president introduced Purley c. Butter
! field who addressed the Chamber on
the work of the Calvary Industrial
home. Mr.. Butterfield said in part:
Since the introduction of labor saving
machinery we have had a larger num-
| Der of unemployed men. AS labor saw
| ing machinery has increased so has this
army increased. Following the large
number of these out of work came the
professional tramp, with the out of
work and professional tramps came the
rescue mission, with preaching of the
J gospel cheap beds and cheap meals.
Then the money maker saw his oppor-
/ tunity and invented the cheap lodging
house. One of the best authorities Of
reform movements in New York says
the cheap lodging house is a nursery of
crime, and they do too often encourage
+ idleness, begging and intemperance.
! We have according to another good
! authority $4,000 professional tramps in
! the United States. There is another I'M
numbered army of self-respecting but
/ unemployed men from which the tramps
are recruited. Calvary Industrial Home
: exists to help men to help themselves
! and draws its numbers from the latter
/ rather than the former class.
| The home is Observation-Disclosures and is
controlled by an inter denominational
i board of directors. On its directory
there are three Baptists four Meth
odists, four Congregationalists and two
Episcopalians.
The home exists first, to save as many
as possible from that unnumbered army
of temporary unemployed from becom-
ing tramps. Second, to help men to
! permanent positions; third, to help
them to be better citizens; fourth, to
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and
endeavor to help men to become Chris
/ tons. II does not duplicate the Organ
lied Charities. The latter keeps men
/ only three nights; we keep them as
long as we can help them or until they
/ prove that they cannot be helped. They
! do no religious work, and the home is
founded on the principle that the souls
of all improvement is the Improvement
! of the soul. We had rather have one
man twenty days than twenty men for
one day. We never keep men for
one night; they must remain three
days working ten hours a day, then
/ they have a day to look for work. II
! the man has the promise Of a perma-
nent position in any place in the city
! in week or two he can remain with
us and work until that position opens.
The Organized Charities does large
work in looking up families in the city,
! determining whether they need help or
not, relieving the needy, etc. We do
none of that work. We exist for the
sole purpose of helping men to better
lives.
A director of the Organized Charities
: said to me recently: You harbor tramps.
I denied the accusation, and he replied
they say you do it at the home. I
made some statements to him which I
think helped him to see the difference
between the two institutions. In the
hottest weather in August we have for
ty men doing work ten hours day,
when it is more comfortable to sleep
under trees. Seventy-three per cent. of
our men are American born, IS per cent.
are born in New York or New England,
81 per cent have residences in New
England or New York, the majority
have been out of work from one to
three weeks before coming here. 1t is
always easier to beg than work, but
the men we help prefer working ten
hours a day rather than degrade them
selves by asking for that for which they
given no return. These facts would
seem to indicate that the men helped
here are not tramps. but working men
who for many reasons are out of en-
ployment. The statement is often
made that we are the thieves.
Our teamsters are selected from
men who apply to us for help.
They collect for wood delivered at least
$4,000 year and the loss in four years
has not amounted to over SIS. The men
in the home earn $1,000 year work
ing for families in the city, doing odd
Jobs and out of the large number sent
out in four years only one of them has
done anything out of the way, and the
man who employed him knew his weak
ness and put the temptation before him.
We have from three to five men
working in students rooms almost ev-
cry day from the first day of the school
wear until the last of March and in
four years not one of these men ever
has been known to take anything from
the rooms. Not man has been ar
rested from the home in year. Our
men are up at $50 a. H., at work at
T working ten hours a day, and we
have a service at at which all the