The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-29
COME EASTER
y FLOWER OFFERINGS.
An Incident That Disproves the Idea
That New Workers Can't
Be Neighborly.

Every now and then an incident occurs
in an apartment house in this city which
refutes the general impression that nobody
cares who lives next door" is the way a
dweller in a f1athouse uptown prefaced the
story that follows.
There are ten apartments in the house
where | have shelter. am the oldest occu-
pant. | have been in the building six
years. I never had occasion to speak to
any of the tenants until Easter Sunday.
Last fall an elderly woman and her two
children, one Of whom was a young woman,
moved in on the ground floor. Without
making any special inquiry / soon learned
that the young woman was the chief pro-
wider of the family.
i also learned in a general way that
these people had given up their home in
another part Of the country because OF
reverses. The head of the house had died,
The community in which he had lived
knew nothing of his misfortune. TIL
family came to the city in order to Keep
their condition hidden.
THAT is one advantage that the city has
for those who are poor and proud.
Il did not know all have stated until
recently. All the occupants of the building
in which / live are, for apartment jewellers,
tolerably we'll fixed, SO far as appearances
indicate. There are a number OF little
things which show an observer how the
wind blows.
Now, for example, the day before Easter
| noticed that every occupant save one had
Easter flowers in addition TO the window
boxes. Some of the displays were very
attractive. All this made the window where
there were no flowers the more noticeable.
Hn, Got,,rlur aN-nninn nrnpaijnU Fms or
the mailman stopped me on my way IN and
said that the young woman in the lower
apartment had died an hour before.
II AVE knocked about the old world n
good deal in my time, and know that
sympathy for strangers and PEOPLE in dis
tress never turns awrv. ] called at the
APARTMENT of sorrow and offered my SER
vices.
AT once I saw that the bereaved mother
was a well bred woman and that better
they ha no friends in the city. The house
in which the daughter had been emplo"ed
had taken charge of the funeral arrange
ments. Thu physician, too, had done his
part-in fact had done more than a physician
is supposed to do. .
After | hal left the apartment l called
on the occupants of all the other al art
ments, made myself known, and told them
of the death, and nv impressions.
'Now this is where the idea that Heorle
In apartments do not know or care who
their next door neighbors are was refuted.
In every instance | found sympathy, The
next day every aster display in that build
ing was sen to the one that had none
There was not a single exception. Not
only that, but the dav on which the coffin
was removed every apartment in the build
ing was represented at the brief service.
THE body was shipped back to the old
home in another State. The Easter flowers
of the entire building were placed in the
care Of a florist, who shipped them with
the remains.
sWas this an exception in apartment
life in a great city? | do not know. !
do not care. 1t wa enough to make me
think better of people ana Easter Sunday
viii alwavs have a double significance to
me in the future