The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-12-13

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 For the poor shall never cease out of the f land; therefore I command thee say ing: Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor and 70 ! thy needy in thy land" Deuteronomy XVII.
 The glad season of the year is drawing
 near, 1t is . season of much joy to some hearts: season of much sorrow 10 otn- CTS.
 As this happy period approaches We of Montgomery. should reason together as 70 | the best method of making Ight the hearts of those of our peighbors who are bowed down with the every day practical
 There are poor in Montgomery, There are poor who have not, will not have the ordinary necessaries of life on this forth coming glad birthday of the Savior of men unless their fellows, their next-door neighbors of this community are aroused 1 to their true condition.
 The word poor Is used in its best sense. , am not writing of the hardworking mes chanic who ekes a meagre but honest live lihood; of the family which Is snpporteo on 50 cents a day; of the earnest. heart ractxed clerk who supports Wife aLd | children on paltry salary. None or these are within the scope of the really
 poor. They live . different life. They have something. .;
 We are considering those who have nothing-nothing! .. r.. But, says the well kept man on whom
 fortune has smiled, There is none of such in Montgomery" e. He has not sought his cousins who sor-
 row and look with longing for the end. The money he spends daily for tobacco and food would keep the family of his l brother--for the unfortunate Is his broth er-an entire month.
 None of such In Montgomerys Come with me- .F. Let me present you to some of your neighbors. s ..-.e Let me tell you on the way that 1t is . mistaken Idea that all of the sorrow: all of the misery; all of the poverty of Mont- gomerT 10 confined to one section or to one class. Be assured that there are thrifty persons employed in the cotton mills of West End: take my word that all 1 of the operators of the Cordage works in Riverside, are not poor in the truest sense. have seen; I know. -s There are persons who are really poor, persons who are needy, persons who de- serve your aid in nearly every section or Montgomery. Compared with other cities there are not so many of them But they are here!
 Away out in South Montgomery in an humble hut neatly kept home there l is a woman, worse than widow. She has four bright-eyed little girls. The hus-
 band and father has gone. They are de- serted and the woman is i'll. This little home was once happy. It shows traces of its one-time comforts, There is neat furniture and comfortable floor coverings | But there is no food. no fuel. no money In the house.
 l And the woman Is i'll!
 My husband" says Mrs. G., "was a
 hardworking mechanic. He fell sick and
 finally became discouraged and went
 away. But he will come back" her loy- aIty asserting itself as she smiles through her tears 1T am sure he will come back l for the sake of the children" | The little girls hardly old enough to know the great grief in the breast of their parent nestle close to her, their only de- pendence.
 That parent is overcome with her help
 lessness, her, iInpotency.
 Santa Claus will pass by this cheerless
 home unless its necessities touch a great | hearted people.
 One need not go to the far away sec
 tions of the city to find suffering, depri- | vation, want and misery. Within a stone's throw of the City Hall,
 an aged woman, Mrs. F. is living-trying
 to live-with her two daughters. The wo-
 man and her oldest daughter are in bed
 i'll. The youngest daughter Is not in bed,
 but she is a charge on the other two.
 Perhaps Providence has been kinder to | this youngest daughter because she has
 not the mental power to understand the
 desperation of her family. Fuel, clothing,
 food and medicine are needed here.
 This family has known the luxuries of
 life. Refinement and intelligence. parents
 of pride. make the burden of this aged | woman harder Co bear.
 l In North Montgomery a young wife,
 Mrs. P. wrings her hands, because of the
 enforced idleness of her young husband.
 capable. honest and faithful workman. | He Is i'll of typhoid fever in a hospital | and has been there more than a month. l The neat little home Is bare of all com
 forts, but the little wife is brave. There
 are two infants and the venerable mother | of her husband to be cared for and she
 is making a courageous struggle against a spectre that is nearing her door. l By the dying embers of fire the old
 woman the mother-in-law, croons all day l long,
 My son is a hardworling boy; we are
 not objects of charity" she cries. "When
 he is at work he provides well for us."
 The young wife raises her hands and
 smiles, oh, so gently
 Be quiet, mother" she says, "the gen | tleman Is merely a visitor"
 'Ts there anything that can be done to
 make you happier?" the little woman Is
 asked.
 For moment tear stands in her eye.