New-York tribune., 1909-06-27
q FIGHTING CHANCE"
FOR NEEDY CHILDREN
TRIBUNE FRESH AIR FUND
ENL4RGES ITS SCOPE.
Homes for ConuaIeScent and Under
nouriShed Little Ones Planned
Financial Help Desired.

with the opening this week Of the thirty-third
t--1son OF the Tribune Fresh Air Fund announce
-nent is made by the manager which Will carry
hope. and II is believed, life itself 10 thousand
children hitherto unreacbed by any philanthropic
agency Of this kind Last year the highest mark
in a decade was reached. when 1858 children from
the crowded tenements were sent TO the country
for a happy fortnight
The method Of the officers Of the fund from the
first has been TO seek out the weakest and most
needy children and. by sending them 10 hospitabie
homes in the country TO fresh air homes main
.ained controlled by the fund, surround them
with a atmosphere. give them an abundance
CT nourfshing food protect them from harm anu
IN every possible way promote their physical IN
tellecfuai and religious welfare. Marvellous have
been the results IN thousands Of children each year
and there is 10 be cessation OF tresh AIT 1ui'
ss the children their outing
The time honored fortnight the guest Of a
farmer in the Eastern or Middle Atlantic states
will be enjoyed according 10 present prospects, os
several thousand children; Last year about h'e
thousand children were resolved as guests IN care
fully selected families. About an equal nuInoer oi
,,ilsr.-s from the hot and dirty streets and the
small and stuffy homes in tenement houses i"uii4
love and hearty welcome awaiting them in some
one OF the Homes spelled with capital H. "ilic4
men and women OF wealth and vision have pro'iueu
for the children. Here other men Of strength ana
culture place and lay wealth Of affection IN
10 the holy cause Of childhood
But important as the Fresh Air work has been
during the nearly d third OF century since II Was
started two features TO be added ms year
which IN the opinion OF physicians and nurses ana
missionaries and Settlement workers and charitaoe
visitors Tar surpasses any single line OF service LOT
the children undertaken up TO the present ull1e-
One Of the new lines Of work Is the opening oI
ConvaIescent Home for Children who nave oeeh
receiving hospital treatment and who are not yet
aka heir Mace IN the TOQgn
vori-a-day world and the other fascinating expert
rnert IS the devotng Of entire home one OF ule
largest 10 the OF undernourished chlloieIl-
One might with truth refer TO all of the beneciaries
Of this fund as undernourished but there Is moro
than lack Of proper fool implied in this general
tite
FRESH AIR MOVEMENT INCEPTION.
There Is sentiment as well as pathos in Fresh
AR work and In these new forms Of service ooth
appear. In June. 1877. James Henry Devereux, a
young man from Deposit y y. village abort
thirty miles east Of Binghamton on the Erie, was
spending a week end with his friend, the Rev.
Willard Parsons, that time the stated supply OF
e PRESBYTERIAN Church at Sherman, Penn, eight or
ten miles from Deposit Mr.. Parsons was expect
ing 10 preach a sermon from the text: lnasmuch
as ye have done il unto one Of the least OF these
nv brethren, ye have done II unto me- Wishing
20 fortifv himself Mr Parsons read the application
Of the discourse MS guest; he said that he want
ed advice and he received II, though ii Is easily
Imaginable that ike other young men seeking ad-
vice he was really after approval but this he did
not receive.
Tf voJ tell the truth about the tenement chill
drep your people won't have them in their homes;
II you conceal the truth, you viii be found out and
Won viii lose your Job After the sermon Mr. Par
sons asked his opinion Of the effort Of the morning
''O-1e Of two things viii happen was the reply
Either they will take the children they won't
reach heaven themselves. In Offering them an op-
rcrtunity OF service you have placed a respon-
eib!lity which they cannot evade and claim TO be
Christians" The opportunity was accepted and
the Fresh Air movement was launched.
Paul Devereux, a brother of the who heard
the sermon deeply interested in the work
done by the hospitals OF great cities. and had
Iamented the fact that there along the
lne of the Erie Railway 10 which people could be
taken in case Of necessity. When Paul died his
father erected a fine building in Laurel Bank
in Deposit. the outskirts Of the village ard
few rods from the Delaware River. This house,
with its grounds. shown in the accompanying
cut is owned by the Paul Devereux Memorial Hos
pital Association. composed OF leading physicians
and other well known citizens of Deposit DR..
B. E Radeker is the president and James Cameron
secretary OF the association. The building stands
on square Of some six seven acres and com
Tnands fine view Of the beautiful valley Of the
Delaware. with a noble range Of hills behind It.
The house is complete in all Of its appointments
for al-the-yeaT institution. Il IS substantially
built has furnace IN addition TO a fireplace in
each TVOII' ana mas electric lights and a tele-
phone
The house and grounds have been leased for a
term OF years by the Tribune Fresh Air Fund AID
Society, and is 10 be known as the Paul Devereux
Memorial Home Yesterday its doors were opened
70 fifty children by the fund from the hos
pitfalls and clinics Of New York. The house has
been furnished by James Henry Devereux an
members OF his family, who rejoice that the name
OF their brother is 10 be permanently Identified
with that Of Willard Parsons, the founder Of the
Fresh Air movement. Two trained nurses q kinder
gartner and a college man viii take care OF th.
little convalesceuts and see that they are made
comfortable and happy while a matron 3 cool,
and several maids VIII provide for the material
comforts Of the children