The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1906-03-22
New York Charity Organization
Warns Our People Against
the Sunshine Legion
SMOOTH GRAFTERS AT HELM
Women Representing the Organiza-
ton Were at Work in Kenosha
During the Past Week, and
Many People are Duped

The Associated Charities of New
York, have sent letter to Kenosha
warning the people of the city against
making any further contributions to
the work of s'The Sunshine Legion",
as it is claimed that the gleague is
composed Of company of smooth
grafters, who are working the people
of the entire country for vast sums of
money. During the past week young
women representing the Legion"
have been in Kenosha selling papers
and seeking aid for the work from the
people Of the city.
Kenosha has been particularly
liberal to the grafters and more than
a hnndredof the papers of the Sun
shine Legion come to Kenosha
monthly. In a letter from Edward F.
Devine, the secretary of the New
York~org anization strong arraign-
ment is made against the workers of
the SO called ''Legion." Here is a
part Of the article which claims to-
show up the real conditions in re-
gard to the 1tLegion:''
F. "The Charity Organization Society
of New York is about to issue a
general warning to all important
charitable societies in the United
States against the Sunshine Legion"
and its two publications Sunshine and
the Sunshine Journal. The Charity
Organizat ion Society has been on the
hunt for these people for year. Now
it has evidence in hand and is pre-
pared to move against Mrs e. M.
Tibbetts, national president of the.
society, and her companion. Joseph
w. Floridy the organizer and brains
of the graft. These two-he a
charitable worker with passion for
diamonds as personal adornment, and
she blonde of the peroxide type who
is uplifting the tenements-have been
living in a fiat in Jersey City and con
Quoting graft which has run
through all the Eastern states and
through part of the Middle West. It
is one Of the c1everest, best organized
and most far reaching taps on charity
that has ever come to the notice of
the Charity Organization Society.
To put it briefly, Sunshine and
the Sunshine Journal we're two
papers advocating the uplifting of
tenement house children They are
monthly publications, made up for
the most part of reprints from Sun
day school weeklies. The Sunshine
Legion pretends to maintain in seven
large cities of the United States settle
ments, day nurseries and employment
agencies for the children of the poor
To the maintenance Of these settle
ments the proceeds of the paper are
supposed to be devoted. AS matter
of fact, all the settlements" so far
investigated, including the two in
Greater New York, were blinds. They
did little or no work, just enough to
maintain pretence. Seldom were
any children found in the day
nurseries. When children were.there
they seemed to have been picked up
for the occasion. The employment
agencies apparently exist only for the
hiring Of solicitors for the publica-
tons.
These solicitors are mainly young
girls. They hunt subscribers for,
Sunshine at a dollar year. Their
pay is 50 per cent of the proceeds.
This seems like small returns to the
heads OF the concern, but many a
little makes a mickle, and as matter
Of fact statement by deceived but
honest manager who ran the Phila-
delphia agency for a month shows
that it has been a paying business.
The solicitors represent their work as
matter Of charity. For that reason
the business men, church workers
and charitable women who are ap-
preached rarely want the paper-but
they give for charity. Their gifts,
too, often exceed the ST. Subscription
asked for ssSunshine''.
In the cases where the people really
put down their names for the paper a
new refinement of the game appears.
Sunshine is sixteen page monthly.
printed on heavy ca1endered paper
and putting up a pretty fair appear
ance, although the contents could be
made up with pair Of scissors and a
stub lead pencil in about three hours.
But that is not what the subscriber
gets. He gets the Sunshine Journal
al eight page monthly printed on
much poorer paper. In neither journal
IS there any advertising.
As matter offact, Sunshine was.
never entered in the mails as second
class matter, and last year the United
States post Office authorities refused
| it the privilege Of the mails. That