New-York tribune., 1902-08-04
WITH ONE OF THE TRIBUNE PARTIES
HOW II SEEMS TO CONDUCT A PARTY Or
CHILDREN TO THE COUNTRY.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
sir. hid Won ever have the good fortune 10 con-
5,,,+ "a destination A Tribune Fresh Air tuhd eN-
reion marty? If not try it. and If ever atteF you
do not evince an interest in this fund aio Tue sooD
work il does you must indeed be very nluch Ell
crossed in other matters ., .
The writer had the pleasure or conducuhs
,or+v of children to the country under the au-
spices of The Tribunes benehcence ana Witnessing
not only the children's happiness and expectancy
hut also the genuine heartiness OF the "eicoiie
which they received upon their arrival
Taken all in all, this cooperation on the paFt %
The Tribune OF the generous contributors 10 l''e
fund and the willing hearts and hands OF moss
receiving the children serves oniy to emphasize '''
a1tr,istic spirit begun in the nineteenth century
and I'd be characteristic of the twentieth.
Promptly Friday morning the children began TO
assemble each attired IN his or her best carrying
their bundles of necessaries What snnll'hs' haPpS
faces all eager for the start,
With little delay the children were arranged IN
order of march. and the start became fact,
Through the streets, in good order ana Win de-
cor1lnn they went and soon the elevated train was
boarded and the party whirled rapidly 10 the ferry
There the party augmented by the arrival OF
another until the little ones counted up foTty-two
in all. On across the ferry, and after wait OF
some little time the train backed In, and all were
got safely on board and settled In their seats with
faces toward the windows, eager for the first
change of scene. The big wheels begin to turn,
and the station seems to be moving backward
Now were Off" We're going" We're the eX-
clamations heard every side from dozens Of little
voices.
How their eyes sparkled when the fields were
reached Not much said. They just looked
and there plenty tc look at, animals peacefully
grazing in the pastures, pretty farmhouses, run
ming brooks. sweeping past villages and towns,
with their white church spires and shady streets
all these formed an ever changing panorama that
kept the little ones busy At their occupation of
looking and drinking il in.
Perha ps you may be asking yourself: Were they
| orderly? Were they hard TO manage? Not one bit
of it. They just managed themselves.
Mile after mile left behind In due time
New-Jersey was crossed and the Delaware River
reached. Where are now" will we soon be
there" These and kindred questions had to be
| answered, No not yet
Still on went Over the Delaware part of the
| beautiful city of Easton, the city on a hiu and
| up the busy Lehigh' River. with it's monster fur
| naces giving employment to thousands Of men.
Now we reach Bethlehem beautiful Moravian
| town Of Pennsylvania, founded in l7l, and older
/ than the war of the Revolution Next Allentown.
another Of Pennsylvania beautiful and solid
And now. at last. we are at our destination. Cata-
sauqua, and it is about p m. We have been
riding since 4:22 p. about two and half hours
Lehgh f&fi Valley ley Railroad Raj e 4'O''S S route OF the
| you could have been there! It would have done
| you good. as it did me; 1t seemed as though the
| AS the children's faces came into view when the
with pleasure and satisfaction. on the platform
were old men and young men, women of all ages
| il was a kaleidoscope of humanity.
| AS the children disembarked they received many
| compliments on their appearance. They're a nice
looking lot "Ah! Poor things" How tired they
must bei'' AS they marched by. Isn't she pretty.
There's two little sisters: bless their little
| heartsi One young they were fling
| along. was overheard to say, Aren't they white
The route from the station to the Lutheran
| church was continued ovation from the towns
| people That The Tribune Fresh Air Funds work
| had the sympathy and willing cooperation of the
| Witnessing of this fact was what did me good, and
| il would have done you good, had you been there
| At last the Lutheran church is reached and here
| again another surprise. Three congregations
| charges for the next two weeks assigned to them.
Here again considerable for the children the
| prevailing sentiment. Sisters separated,
the women taking each whenever necessary to
playmates were kept together-in fact. the ma
jority the children distributed in
they would be less lonesome and more contented.
II evident that the women OF CataSauQua were
determined-and the pastors ably backed them up
in this determination-that the children be
kept happy and willing to stay; ii evident that
the children really welcome
The distribution was AT length completed. and the
movement toward their homes began for sup
| per and sleep. What awakening for them the
morning will bring!
The whole ride was an object lesson for the chill
dren worth many times than the cut-and-
dried object lessons Of the schooroom
In conclusion. If you wish 10 humanity at its
best, if you wish 10 see how people look feel and
act when they fulfilling the Injunction ''Suf-
| fer little children me and forbid
| them not just conduct company of children 10
the country under the auspices OF The Tribune IS
Fresh Air Fund. II you cannot find time for that
| pleasure. do the next best-send in your contrbu-
''''' - CONRAD E. HERMsTAEDT
Pastor of Moravian Church, Six Xth-st.
| New York, Aug. 2. 1907