New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1903-12-07
TRIBUNE FRESH AIR WORk
Satisfactory Shozcing for the 4 ear
Manu- Children Sent to Country

80 ,,fs,5 tttx season and spent in giving Two
,,.oets, Visits in the country to 923I children
FROM, the tenement homes Of New-York Clty' @'
an average cost of 50 81 per capita. beS'O0
this there were twenty-six day excursions up
the Hudson for the benefit Of mothers anu 80
dren who do not have the advantage OF tne u.
nightly trip to the country. The money Tor
these day excursions was all given by one man.
and is not included In the total receipts Ihese
trims were eDioved by % 4T people In all
then "A 5S4 persons have been guests OF tne
Tribune Fresh Air Fund during the summer OF
1903 The army OF 9.231 children went out ia
202 parties that required separate escorts anu
were received in $50 different towns Such
record is all the more satisfactory when one re-
fleets that it was made in opposition to the pre-
vaiIing cold. damp weather of the summer
which always tends to discourage contributors
to the fund
A comparison of these figures with those OF
previous wears will show that they have been
exceeded slightly in a few cases The excess
however. is small, and many more seasons have
not come up to this mark But the especial
cause for congratulaton Of the management TINS
season lies in the fact that never before has the
complicated machinery of the work proceeoeu
with so little friction and jar as during the last
summer To he sure. these unpleasant features
have always been cOnspicuousiy lacking III 'lie
work of this charity. Nevertheless, the oesI 1'IN
plans will sometimes meet with dlsastsF' anu
there are many possibilities for mishaps such do
missing the train failure of children to appear
MISUNDERSTANDING on the part OF the WorAei :
and other annoyances that are liable 10 ARISE II
the hurry of seeing off from two TO a dozen
parties dav. But during the entire season not
one of these slips of any consequence mas DC
curred to mar the regularity of the work All
Had host
were generally satisfied, not child was injured
in travelling. and the little guests themselves
were throughout most responsive to the Dement'S
they received Add to this a steady stream OF
contributions to the fund and a very efficient
body of helpers. and altogether the Fresh Air
work for the last season gives unusual cause
for satisfaction and gratitude.
METHODS AND RESULTS.
Perhaps a little outline of the methods of car
rying on the work and hint at it's beneficial
effects will better show the difficulties met with
and the results obtained There are three ques-
tions often asked; Where do you send the chill
dren?' How do you get them What good
does the outing do them?
First, as to where they so. This season they
were sent to $50 different towns in seven different
States. including Rhode Island, Massachusetts
Vermont. Connecticut. New-Yorl1, New-Jersey
ceived the children into large homes founded in
various ways for the Fresh Air work In the
remainder they were taken guests into pri-
vate families Three of the institutions are
supported and managed directly by the fund
These are Eunice Home. at Chapel HILL y. j.
the use of which is given by the Reade AluTnnae
Association; Ashford Hill Home, near Ardsley,
n Y belonging to the Church of the Holy Com
munion. and given rent free to the Fresh Air
%F,=-
near Shokan N Y. This last place is given
TO the use of the fund, rent free, by Mrs
H S Ladew of New-YOrk. The other homes
are supported by various individuals and or
ganizations in the various localities St Helen's
Home. at Interlaken. Mass. is owned and sup
ported by John E. Parsons. Of this city This
place is. managed. however by the fund directly.
The people of Middletown and Goshen, n. Y,
have a home nearby, at Mechanicstown- AT
Fairfield is a home supported by a local organ
ization there An association having head
quarters at Hudson. n. Y, has home at
Claverack near the Hudson River. Happy
Land, at Tenahy n. j.. was built by Mrs. John
s. Lyle for the Fresh Air work and is sup
ported entirely by her. At NewWindsor, N
Y and westheld n. J.. are homes also in charge
of local organizations.
WIDE RANGE OF THE WORK
Then. as to where these children come from
and the process required in getting them to-
gether. To begin with. objection is often
voiced by those who are deceived by the re-
spectacle appearance of the children and their
childish boasts to the effect that these children
are not the poorest children in New-York In
all cases where this objection has been followed
UP by intelligent inquiry IL has been removed.
The members of one community this summer
were so convinced that their guests were not al
tneyc hat ,f,iSt Of h Mo
came to the city and visited the home OF every
one OF the children entertained there. The re-
suit of this visit was letter 10 the manager of
the fund. In it he acknowledged that in every
instance the people were apparently extremely
poor and the children most deserving of the
charity. II must be understood. however. that
the purpose of the fund Is to gather not home
less vagabonds from the street. but those who
have homes. however wretched, and who are
for the most part in touch with the missions
Compliance with certain necessary demands can
be obtained from them and with them only is
the work practical
Look for moment at picture of a typical
tenement home. Let the visitor seek the crowd
ed quarters of the East Side, where 100000
persons live a square mile of territory, and
seldom leave its squallid limits Here are chill
dren who have never even seen the parks that
lie so near them, and parents who have not been
outside the boundaries of the city in their lives
The narrow street is reeking with vile doors
shut off from the air by unbroken rows Of
brick buildings and crowded with unkempt hui
mainly, finding even this cherries resort a re-
lief from their dungeonlike homes. But enter
one OF the tenements One proceeds down a
narrow hall. lighted only by dim gas lets on
either side of which are the gloomy dens known
as rooms. occupied in suites OF two and three