The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-11-27
SWEET CHARITY
 SHEDS ITS RAYS Many UnfOrtunates Cared for by Those Kindly. Disposed SOME VERY PITlFUL SCENES United Charities Gave Baskets to Poor People, and. Though Imposed Upon
 In Some Instances, Many
 In Need Got Relief.
SOME VERY PITlFUL SCENES

It Is rare that so many calls for char ity have been made on Thanksgiving as yesterday. Where the charitable people of the city have given to 100 families on Thanksgiving in years past, yesterday they were called on to give to almost three times that number.
 It seems that the greatest need is for coal. as the severe weather of the past few days has caught many families with out any of the necessities for keeping warm and it Is known that there are at least 100 families who are suffering from the weather.
 Call after call has been made through the charitable organizations of the city for provisions and fuel but they have not been responded to as lib1ally as in the past and these good people are to some extent unable to supply the actual needs of the poor of the city.
 From sources where charity was never needed before are coming the calls. In many of the districts where the rolling mill people, the furnace people and fam flies whose head worked in places of this kind, the calls are greater than ever be- fore Recently there have been num- Der of mills and other places of business closed down and it has left men without employment. The families of some of these are in bad condition, and the ladies in charge of the various charitable organ izations have urgent demands on them every day for food and fuel.
 Many Baskets Filled. of can be made than that the United Char ities yesterday filled more baskets be- fore noon than they did all last Thnaks- giving day, and at that time there were stil. more than score of people wait ing with empty baskets until more pro- visions could be obtained.
 By noon yesterday the supplies of the | United Charities had run low and the ladies in charge were forced to make a canvass of the city in order to obtain additional supplies with which to meet the demands. Even the usual liberal dona- tions from the public schools were not sufficient to supply all who asked and wagons had to be sent along Morris ave- nue and the wholesale districts of the | city to collect what provisions were at | the command of the ladies.
 While provisions are needed badly, the most urgent calls are for coal. Usually the United Charities have several car | loads of coal donated a winter, but thls year their supply is short and they are forced to purchase coal with which 10 supply the needs of the poor people who really deserve charity.
 465 Persons Fed. l At the United Charities headquarters yesterday there were baskets filled with provisions of all kinds. This fed about 465 people, A careful list of all those to whom baskets were given has been kept and this list is being kept for future reference. The ladies in charge will not allow that list to be published, but it is available for any one who wishes to see it and get an idea of what is needed.
 Case after case is shown by this list where widows with two, three or even five children are actually in need, and heaping baskets were given them These baskets only supply the needs for day or two and possibly a week at the out | side, and more will be needed in the next week. There were several cases reported where families are ordinarily able to take care of themselves, but at present one or more of the members of the family are sick and in bed, being unable 10 work and support themselves
 More cases are reported from the region of the Birmingham rolling mills than any | where else In the territory bounded by Twelfth street on the east, First street on l the west, the railroad on the north and avenue F on the south there are two score or more families in need. All of these families were represented at the headquarters of the United Charities yes terday and none went away empty hand ed. The ladies in charge of that district of the charity work will take these lists and investigate every family and report those actually in need and what they need.
 Some Pitiful Scenes.
 The scenes around the headquarters yes terday were pitiful. Although the ther- there were many with insufficient cloth | ing to protect them from the cold, anc even a few with no wraps at all. These were supplied as well as the ladies were able with what clothing they had or | hand.
 Some told pitiful stories of not having had really good meal in several days. and there was even one family which reported that it had been without food 1 for more than a day. In some of the families there would be from eight to ten members, frequently the older ones being | sick or unable to work for some req son. and the larger portion too young to | do any work.
 | Around the fire in the office they all huddled, and one woman, evidently more than 45 and seemingly almost frozen, was heard to say:
 This is the first time I have been warm in three days
 The ladies helped every one yesterday without discriminating. Several times 1 they were imposed on by people getting one basket going around the corner and leaving it with another member of the | family and returning under a different name for second supply. In one or two 1 instances there were more than one mem- Der of a family present, and each gave a different name. These cases were ir a very small minority. the majority be- 1 ing really in need and deserving all they received
 1 At the Mercy Home. | Al the Mercy Home there was a scene