The Topeka state journal., 1902-12-20

i snail THINK OF consul Emma
BoothTuclrer of the Salvation
Army distributing baskets and
blessings to the poor and lowly on Dec
25. In connection with that scene some I
how always comes to me the thought
of the redemption of the race and OF
Jesus of Nazareth feeding 5000 hungry
ones with miraculous loaves and fishes,
albeit the loaves and fishes Mrs. Booth
Tucker dispenses are not the least mi
raculous, and, what is more, not few
of them are provided by wealthy and
kindly men and women of the Hebrew
faith. 1t is something that could hard
ly happen outside of the United States
Jews aiding generously to provide in
honor of the birthday of the Founder
of the Christian faith dinner to be
distributed by the heads of the Saliva
ton Army to 25 600 hungry people of all
races. all colors, all religions and many
of no religion at all
In the largest cities of the Union this
annual Salvation Army Christmas din
ner has place. For weeks before the
25th of December at street corners in
the most crowded thoroughfares are
earthenware pots hung upon cross
sticks in imitation of gypsy cooking
pots. A wire netting is over each so as
not to tempt weak brethren to snatch
it's contents The meshes of the net
ting are large enough to permit bank
notes and all sizes of silver coins being
slipped within them. Upon placard
above the pot are inscribed the words,
Keep the Pot Boiling" A gentle, blue
! uniformed sister in scoop bonnet stands
guard over the pot, or sometimes in the
busiest or toughest localities it may be
two men Salvation Army soldiers This
is the Army's unique method of appeal
ing to the public to help it give din
ner to from 10000 to 10000 hungry per-
sons on Christmas day
The public responds generously.
Probably one-sixth of all the persons
| who pass those pots contribute from
! one copper cent upward to keep the
Dot boiling" l have looked into the
receptacles and seen them sometimes
| quarter full. Then it is the part of wis
dom to empty them and begin over
again.
In New York no building except Mad
ison Square Garden is large enough to
hold the Salvation Army diners and
basket guests. 1t is there Mrs. Emma
Booth-Tucker may be found on Christ
mas. when she is not out of the city on
Army affairs Weeks before Christmas
morning Army soldiers have been pre-
pairing for these dinners The cooked
feast is served in the evening. In the
| early part of the day baskets OF eat
| ables uncooked, are distributed to the
Just and the unjust. A stream of hu
4 manity that begins to gather by s
/ o'clock pours into one door and passes
out the opposite one, each person car
rying a basket containing food ample
for four persons-a fowl, vegetables,
| fruit and some cake or candy. 1t is a
dinner good enough for your family or
| mine, reader, yet some of those who re-
ceive it grumble audibly becausei it is not
! already cooked Some folk are hard to
please. The long procession of the hum
/ gry winds around Madison Square Gar
den for a block and d half each way
north and south. 1t is composed large
| ly of women and children To their
| credit ablebodied men are somewhat
i ashamed to form part of the doleful
double file, unless pushed hard for food.
Among the women are now and then
the most awful specimens of their sex
this earth holds-fer1ale outcasts, with
bruised and blackened eyes and cuts
| upon their poor, degraded faces I'm
mediately behind one of these will per-
haps be a slender woman with face SO
thicl6ly yelled that her own mother
would not know her. She is neatly, but
not warmly, dressed She receives her
basket with downcast head and hurries
past. She feels as mean as if she had
been caught stealing She is a sensi-
tive, respectable woman, that day din
nerless. Plainly she has been well
brought up and used to plenty Some
how she sets the spectator of this
strange scene to wondering whether an