Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-08-24
LIGHTHOUSES SET UP
BY EPISCOPAL BISHOP
Continued from First Page.


Darlington of this city. in mining
sections of the state.
The story in part as 1t follows:
The lighthouse of the mining sec
| tions are not stone structures that
rear their flames to guide wandering
ships at sea. They are far inland, and
instead of saving sailor men they save
the miners from going on the reefs of
| liquor and crime"
1T was in the small towns, where
there were no beacon to hold the
young men true to their course. that
the whirlpool, spinning round and
| round in the gambling rooms and sa-
looms, sucked in its daily toll. Then
Bishop Darlington set up his light
houses"
Here the miners may have enjoy
. ment without danger; they may cruise
/ far from shore peacefully and joy
. fully without nearing the wrecking
shoals. There is no telling how many
II es these institutions have saved nor
how many barks they have steered
safe into the harbor."
These buildings have come to be
| known as Bishop Darlington's Light
houses, for he was the one who con-
ceived the idea of having a place of
refuge for the breaker boys and their
sires, where they could gather and
have good time after their hard
~
Moreover the Bishop presented his
plan before every community and
urged the erection of structures in the
most isolated sections with such good
effect that to-day a chain of Light
houses extends from one end of his
diocese to the other. He is the guild
ing spirit of the lighthouse affairs,
keeps ever in touch with them and
gives literally from his own private
purse toward their maintenance and
needs. These lighthouses, by furnish
ing legitimate, wholesome amuse-
ment, have provided the greatest foe
of the gambling dens, houses of ILL
repute and Saloons
Before the bishop was called to
Harrisburg there were many vicious
resorts in the isolated towns. with no
Young Mems Christian Associations,
settlement houses or social centers to
counteract their influence. To-day it is
a different story, and ii was the re-
claiming of one wayward youth that
was responsible for the great change.
ing Bishop Darlington tells of the
founding of the lighthouse as follows:
Bishop Darlington's Story
Il had only been in this diocese a
| short time when l started on a tour of
the various towns and parishes to get
acquainted with the conditions and
needs. | was passing through one of
the small streets when a woman
| called me into her home. One could
| tell at glance that she was woman
| of refinement, who had seen better
days, but through circumstances had
been plunged into Poverty. She told
| me her story. and it was a sad one.
She had come form Philadelphia where
she had married a man from the min
in" regions. He had worked in the
city for few years, but when times
became dull he went back to the
| mines and took his wife and young
son with him. They got along fairly
we'll until the man was killed at his
| work and his body taken home. The
woman's sorrows continued from that
day forward. The boy was inclined
to be wild, but the father had held him
in restraint. The mother had no con-
| troll over him whatever. The boy
d.ifted from bad to worse; he fire.
quented the gambling dens, some
| times spent his whole weeks wages
and the mother was fortunate if she
got enough to buy food. H. drank
| heavily, oftentimes came in drunk at
night and abused his mother. At
other times he didn't come home at
all.
The poor woman said that she h, d
| been watching and praying for several
| that he would have some influence
with her son, and she thought tht.t
/ her prayers had been answered.
The Change in a Boy
when the boy came the mother
| took him into the room where | was
sitting and told him that l wanted to
say a few words. He was a fine-Iook-
! ing, robust youth of about 19 years.
When he saw me he threw his shoul-
| ders back, struck a defiant attitude
and said that he didn't care to see I've,
| that he was his own boss, would do as
| he pleased and didn't want any med
| ding from preachers. Unknown to
| the boy, motioned to his mother to
| leave the room, and I had a quiet,
| fatherly talk with him. l told him
| how he was breaking his mother's S
heart, how he was killing her by inches
| how the waiting. continual worriment
and the sleepless nights were begin
ming to tell on her system and that
she couldn't stand the strain much
! longer. / told him that he had a good,
! holy mother, of whom he should be
proud, that he was all she had and
| that instead of breaking her heart he
should be a comfort to her.
while 1 was talking the boy
| changed, tears came into his eyes and
saw that l had touched the right
| spot and that there were some good
! in him after all. He wept until his
| entire frame shook. Finally he threw
himself on his knees at my feet and
said. Take me away from here.
| Take me away from here. j know l
haven't done the right thing, but what
| else was there for me to do? There
are no lights in this town to attract a
| fellow but the saloons and the dives.
! One has to have some amusement,
| have a good time somewhere, so what
else was l to do and what else am l to
| do as long as | stay here? | can't keep
| to the house all tSe time
Il called his mother into the room
and asked her if she was willing to go
back to Philadelphia. She was more
than pleased with the idea, and l told
| them to get ready. to pack up their
things. They left the town the next
morning, and in this way the boy
broke away from his evil companions
and associations for all time. 1 gave
him letters to several friends in Phila-
| delphia and one to the secretary of
| the Y. M. G. A. The boy became
| interested in the work, and is a
| model man in every sense of the word.
He is especially efficient in organiza-
ton work. is one of the leaders and
devotes most of his time to helping
young boys.
| Thought of Lighthouses"
This little experience started me to
| thinking. l knew that theer must be
scores, yes, hundredc of boys of the
same kind and that it would be impos-
sible to remove them all from their
| stirroundinps The 0nIy coIu+io,,