Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-09

what we deserved where would we be?
There's only certain amount OF time ana
energy availa BILE for running these CHRIST
mas feasts: if you waste it in sorting out
the undeserving cases you have none lett
to ferret out the deserving ones. They
don't come to you. You have to hunt them
good and hard"
The same idea was expressed In d1ffer-
ent language 10y the head of an aggressive
and popular religious denomination.
when Christ said Feed my lambs p" he
said, He did not tell us to find out first
whether they were well-behaved lambs or
not. We are the almoners of large sums Of
money given to US by all sorts and condi-
tons of people for the purpose of providing
these Christmas feasts. Their idea OF
what constitutes a deserving person may
not always agree with ours; therefore we
have no right to establish any tests. Prac-
tically we give to all who ask; but, as a
matter of fact. comparatively few do ask.
Those who need have to be found. We
must go the by-ways and hedges and com
pei them to come in.
do you know that the charity organi-
cation societies In most American cities
rage furiously against these great Christ
mas feasts which are becoming greater
year by year? They say the whole thlnS
runs counter to scientific philanthropy. The
absence of investigation makes them shud-
der. and they urge that giving man a
good dinner one day makes him more dis
contented and restless afterward. But we
go on with the work serenely and the
n
that on Christmas day everybody In the
country should have Christmas cheer"
They do indeed. The Christmas dinner
OF charity is becoming more firmly root
ed American institution every year.
Charity Dinners for 5000
In New York city alone, on most con-
servative estimate made by an expert, from
go coo to 100000 people eat the Christmas
dinner of charity supplied through most
of religious, benevolent and political Or
CARNATIONS. How many more are cared
for by private persons 1t is Impossible 20
estimate The numbers grow in all the
cities year by year.
Take for example, that comparatively
small hut very active and enthusiastic pody.
the Volunteers of America. Last year II
eclipsed all it's previous records IN the mold
ing of Christmas feasts and the giving
cWay OF basket dinners to poor famliles,
but this year it expects, when all the re-
turns are in, to have done at least 70 per
cent better
Over IA 600 people were fed in New York
civ nearly as many in Chicago, 2 500 IN
Philadelphia, SEQ in Baltimore, sou In
San Francisco, 1000 in Indianapolis, 2,5oo
In Boston and proporuonate BUMPERS III
MANY other cities. And this, remember,
was the work of only one not very large
organizat ton. 1t was FAR exceeded IN Noi-
ume, but not in worth, by the manlino.n
feasts given by the Salvation Army and
ofbnr bodies with large sums at command.
..W1are those dinners needed? Was it a
oood form of chartty?" said one of the
leading officers OF the Volunteers. Il should
saw So l wish you could have seen the peo-
nile who came to receive the baskets, as
did. - ,,o4 ETC.
crowds hogan to gather two or three hours
before the time mentioned on the tickets.
rrbare were old men, wrinked and bent
with the weight of years, leaning neavliy on
sticks and looking as If they were suffering
the dIrest poverty. There were old women
clad so scantily that you wondered they
had net died long since OF pneumonia in
that terrible wtnter-mothers with babies
in their arms and other little ones clinging
10 their SKIRTS, chilrden with pinched faces,
trembling from the biting cold, all sorts
and conditions of poverty and wretched-
ness.
I'VE asked the people of New York to
give us money enough to feed 10000; they
gave Us enough to feed 1900. Had they
seen the crowd at any one of the diStribut-
ing stations 1 am sure that all the gvers
would have at least doubled their gifts
What 5000 Chicago People Ate.
The Volunteers do not believe much In
large public dinners to the poor, although
they give them in some cities, especially to
children It is too much like seeing the
lions feed" they say, and therefore humili-
ates the poor. They prefer to spend the
money which the public drops into their
Santa Claus chimnies in making up basket
dinners for the needy families to eat IN
their own homes. A typical basket Will con-