New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1908-10-13
THE CRY FOR CLOTHES
Sad appeal to City Bureau from
Rural D5CellerS.

woueus clothes have always been associated
with frivolity. but there are numoeTless women .
uhom the question OF clothes suggests any 'N4le
l,,t the lighter side Of life. To them II Is All
tragedy They have nothing to do with the IRON
laws which regulate the cut of their sklr1s su'u
the fashion q ;lieir hats. but they must ooeS
Them or perish Whether woman Is a saiesNO
or a concert singer she must dress her part or
lose ali chance Of advancement, and II she Is 'He
wife of a struggling professional man. her nus
hands prospects and many other things cepenu
upon her personal appearance ANU o4'eii "
problem seems and is unsolvable-
This side Of the clothes question has oeeh 700
much ignored by philantropists- That people heea
oIo,t,ee n keen them warm anybody can see nut
that a woman who has managed solheh"" 10 man
g. presentable appearance and who appears pr
porous may he in dire need OF ciotles mas NO.
ALWAYS been equally apparent The increasing ~
-ensa NJ clothes makes it increasingly difficult Tor
those who must maintain a position on iiiil-teN
means TO do so. and a little help aIons ullS IN
,,ro5uces effects sometimes which seem 10 De "''
Of all proportion to the cause At the same Ill1e
a. ~. increasing ex+ravagance OF the times there
.re q great many women who discard their gowns
in ? perfectly good condition and often af'eF "e@
ing Them only d few times What one "oli"-'
49, azrsv would often mean salvation to an
other but too often there has been no way VI =
tablishing a relation between the need anu '
supply. r,,-,. ? ,-7-7u-rS
Twas TO bridge this chasm that a clothing bureau
gn4 Mulberry street by Miss Julia Lathers- here
she cast-orf garments Of the rich are brought WIFI
IN the reach Of those who need them, ana merely
many a crushing burden has been lifted rom 'I
shoulders Of struggling wonlanklnd- Inc "IlS
trouble is that it cannot do enough. and MISS Lam
,-s &c now anxious TO extend the work and eStao-
fish an out of town branch. recent magazine an
Gle having revealed widespread need Tor suCl d.
sistance throughout the country
In consequences Of this article Miss Lathers mas
of +be mos. uarhetic and heartbreaklng nature.
A widow with grown UP daughters finishing 1helr
education preparatory TO self-support writes u.a'
while al her children were little ana al nome S
managed by strict economy to get along, but now
With two Of them away from home with board 10
INV and hooks TO buy the question of clothing mas
become a very embarrassing one. Another woo"
ssxs. Il an discouraged in trying 70 keep up any
longer without some help from somewhere
A college girl who has heretofore made her own
ends II very difficult TO get necessary clothing.
even though she makes all her own clothing IL she
could only get some of these discarded garments
she could reft them for herself clergyman
wife tells Of her husbands small salary, and all
.be little ones who need clothes and the grown up
5srgl-er who is lust starting her life work ana
finds il necessary TO make q good appearance l
an sorry il is So writes the fond mother bul
clothes DO make q difference in this world one
almost loses ones self-respect when not dressed
suitably for ones position 1t is SO hard says
another mother TO dress young girls and educate
them on such a meagre salary as we must manage
on II we could occasionally obtain suit or
zress from your bureau It would be godsend to
US"
A correspondent who appears to be a man says
IN a brief and businesslike note: L can give the
best Of testimonials as TO my character and stand
ing and M sudden pitch into the gulf of dis
rress from which I hope soon TO extricate my
self But now we are in dire need Of clothing
The plea Of q girl stenographer Is: I have a
little social part 10 keep up, and sometimes ma
fl very dimcult TO meet the requirements IN re-
gard dress.
These letters the clothing bureau feels unable
to ignore and at the same time it is face 70 face
with falling off in the usual contributions for
the city work. Since the hard times people have
been wearing their old clothes instead OF giving
them away and women Of means are making II
more and more their practice 10 sell their cast off
garments But many Of them would not do it If
they knew how much good they could do by Civ
ing them away
The clothing bureau does not give these things
away but charges small price for them. and
there are two branches of the work. one for gem
tIe7omen and the other for those whose needs are
of q different kind. So all sorts and conditions
Of clothing can utilized, from the richest even
ing gown down TO the hUmbest and plainest Of
useful garments and sometimes garments that
have done good service for the patrons Of one
branch are sent back for the use Of the other.