The sun., 1908-04-14
REPLIES TO FATHER CURRY
PRIESTS LIKE HIM 4 HARDSHIP
TO TIE POOR, SAYS Mr.. RIIS,
NnsreupOn the Pastor Of ~. James Ne
uerates That Settlement Workers Are
Maklng q Fat Living and Repeats Ills
Advice 70 WORK Among the Hich

The Rev. Father Jan1as b, curry, Wpo
,raigned settlement houses and settle
psnt workers In his sermon in ST. James's
Church on Sunday because Of what he
described as efforts at proselyting and
attempts to picture horrors Of the so-called
snms which do not exist paid his oompH-
,nents to Jacob Riis and the Rils Settle
ment House in a somewhat specific man.
per yesterday and challenged President
Rooseyelts biographer to prove that he
has done as effective work for the lower
East Side, and especially st, James's parish,
az Father Curry has.
Mr.. Riis had this TO say In reply;
so far as concerns Father Curry's state
ment that the settlement proselytes his
children, when he says that he says some
hing which he knows Is not true. have
no desire 10 enter into any controversy
WITH him. The poor Of the tenement dis
tricts have many hardships TO endure,
hut the greatest hardship is to have a man
ike Father Curry as a pastor"
Father Curry smiled when he heard
lir. Riis's reply to his criticism and said:
A good many persons are making a
line, fat living at this settlement business
and nobody knows IL any better than Mr..
Riis does. A splendid trade has developed
~ nice, JUICY lemons, and these takers are
thoroughly versed In the business II is
high time that some one took a stand against
these settlement houses with their patent
gospel attachments.
'Nr his says that his settlement does
10, proselyte Here is the stated object
of bin settlement rs outlined in the charities
directory, TO better the condition Of the
ueighborhood, spiritually morally and
physically II ia my duty 10 evangelise
my PEOPLE and take care Of their souls,
and don't require any assistance from
Mr. his or any one else. understand
that he Ia q friend Of Cardinal Gibbons,
hut that does not tmake any difference
10 me and the work Of this district. Car
dnal Gibbons has his work TO do and
have mine, which is here.
i came here first twenty-five years ago
as priest and returned seven years ago
AZ pastor Mr.. Riis claims 10 have been
doing his settlement work for fourteen
years. want to know what Mr. Riis was
doing for the neghborhood while was
away, for when came back here Chatham
Square contained a score Of disorderly
women every night and there we're many
houses Of bad Tepute not far from the
church What had Mr.. Riis been doing
Ia better the neighborhOod morally
have driven this bad element out Of the
parish completely. The records show that
Il was on my application 10 the Board Of
Aldermen that the East Side was fur
nished with a sufficient number Of electric
lights. as walked around with an engineer
from the Department Off ater, Gas and
Electricity and saw that the lights we're
installed.
Il kept silent about the Riis settlement
until ] was convinced that inducements
we're offered to my boys to desert their own
clubs, which are equipped with gymnastio
apparatus and everything elss essential
10 boys happiness, and go to the settle
Inent house. | understand what the reason
was for wanting my boys. Several Of the
rich patrons Of the settlement house went
there and found a number Of young Jews.
They made a protest against having their
money used exclusively for Jews. Then the
settlement folks decided to draw In few
~. James boys and decoys for the contribu-
lions which they have found 80 essential
10 settlement work.
Il asked my boys and girls TO stay away
from the settlement house and told them
] believed that their place at night after
they had studied their lessons was In bed,
Most VI them did stay away and Immediately
one Of the Riis workers visited many Of my
parshioners and asked them il they had any
objection TO their children going to the settle
ment. Most Of them said they hadn't. and
then the settlement worker came here to
the parish house TO protest against my
~. IL q,
Irish boys IN the settlement house because
they exceled in the athletic games and were
much brighter in every way than the other
boys who we're there. Then | considered
it time to have an understanding with the
fathers and mothers in this parish.
II you could see the nice, pretty little
girls on their way to school in the morning
al wearing fresh clean aprons and as
attractive looking az the cSc-te .! their
mothers can make them you would realize
that the sympathies OF the rich are all wasted
IN the children Of this neighborhood. The
tenement children are the happiest In the
world and they don't ask to be pauperized
by anybody. We already have bath Of
orr own AZ the foot ~ Oliver street, for
which no thanks is due Mr.. Riis, and we
are working for playground, also without
his assistance.
If these persons who delight to call
themselves slum workers would take their
gospel to Fifth and Madison avenues and
eyangelize the rich, paying particular
attention 10 the nAmby- -pamby mollycod
ding chiltren Of the lille rich. they
might find a field for their efforts. | am
sick and tired Of having them seek out the
most dilapidated child they can find and
make him take of his shoes and stockings
~ they can photograph him and call him
an example Of the East Side child. There
is more real charity In Mills Hotel than in
All the settlements put together, for there
no one loses his manhood or faith. II they
would use the money thst pays settlement
workers TO buy these Tookeries and trans
form them into model tenements then their
,iipis would count for something. They
mgnt also do well 10 throw the well fed
well raid workers out Of the settlement
houses and give them to poor families to
live in
Father Curry said that the Jews Of the
0fighborhOo1 we're protesting against the
pTDselyting as much az himself and had
established centres there to combat the
Efforts
Settlement workers refuse to taRe Father
'urry's criticism seriously and said yes
ter1ay that there IL no prOselyting, At
'he University Settlement II was said that
Father Curry's statement that out Of every
dollar contributed 10 the settlements % |
cents goes 10 the workers was ridiculous
According TO last years report out Of the
1900 collected a trihe more than $4,000
was spent on salaries.
historic HOUSE BURNED.