The Washington times., 1914-03-13
the truth. and begged~us not to ask
him.
The Inside of the Cup.

With engaging frankness. he went
on to tell how he had left Canada
three years ago on a charge of forg-
cry and had sought work in various
towns in the United States Now he
was stranded and wanted work. We
asked him what sort Of reference he
had In all seriousness he assured
us he had committed neither murder
nor polygamy. He wanted to be
good, he said, but felt that his sur
roundings pulled him down. He en-
larged upon that statement with dra-
matte gestures until he had epito-
mized THE Inside Of the Cup. which
! am sure he had never read, and
brought each idea into direct rela-
ton with his own experience
The office force sat spellbound
while the monologue flowed on
When he had finished he bowed HIM
self out, and. may add. never re-
turned. It's such types as this that
lend amusement to a hard days
work.
Visiting the various cases brought
into the office is about the most in
teresting part of the work. 1 started
out simply to satisfy my curiosity
concerning the people one reads
about and seldom sees. but the more
j come in contact with them the bet
ter l like them. Girls have asked me
II wasn't afraid of catching ms
eases. 1 suppose it never occurred
to them that they are just as likely
to catch them in street cars and
crowded shops. II they are in a re-
ceptive condition. as in the houses
they would enter visiting for the As
ISOLATED Charities.
Human Nature a Factor.
Even though a man may live In .
tiny room and scrape together
scarcely enough to live, ne has his
pride, petty, perhaps. still it's human
and has to be taken into consfdera-
ton. Just giving money to help him
out isn't going to better his condf-
tions. 1t only makes matters worse
by forcing him into dependence. The
only way to reach him Is to know
him and work with him, to make
him feel you are sympathetic and
honestly interested. OF course. lots
of people promptly impose upon you
that's human nature and to be ex-
pected.
Still there's enough gratefulness
and progress to warrant hope that
you're getting somewhere after all
On Wednesday afternoons, at the
conferences held by the Associated
Charities. the friendly visitors and
volunteer workers get together to re-
port new cases and talk over old
ones. It's at these conferences that
the real humanity OF the friendly
visitors shows itself, in its endeavor
to keep families together. to provide
comfort for sick women, to look
after neglected babies. It's always
done with an attempt to act, as lar
as possible, according to the wishes
of the client. except in cases where
a mother is bad. or a husband abso-
lutely worthless, or 4 child incor-
risible.
me opinions given on the cases
are those OF experienced men and
woms.' which alone are worth a
wee II writing cheques for
chart There are always volun-
copy files, and run errands which
may prove more or less interesting.
II you once start working for tho
Associated Charities, you are car
ried forward by a keen admiration
for the good they accomplish and 4
fervent desire to help along. The
funny things that happen. the pa
thetic stories which arouse your SYM
pathy and probably turn out to be
wild tales WITHOUT foundation. the
actual suffering you come into con-
tact with. all eventually revolves
themselves into n part of your life.
and unconsciously YOU take your
place as an exponent of the social
service which seems to be the only
solution of modern charity