New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-12-26
Feeds 1000 Families and
Gives Biggest Basket
to Little Girls.
1000 KIDDIES GET
PRESENTS THEY WANT
Volunteers of America Provide
5000 DinnerS-fIunger
FiecS Bowery.

tHdL MIS- hii+1IlA tNSleA ''NN' w.
what the Salvation Army Santa brought
his friends yesterday.
Before the street lights mad wInked
out there was line that reached from
the 9Th Regiment Armory 70 Sixth ay.
and beyond to 10th st. At S o'clock
the doors were opened and men, women
and children fled past the deputy
/ Sentas. who handed out tine Christmas
dinners in exchange Cor the tickets IS
sued by the Salvation Army.
Well up toward the front Of the line
stood Martha Oechsler, thirteen years
old. and her scycn-year-old sister,
/ Louise. Huddled together as they
we're, they shook with the cold and
/ with grasping sobs. Little Louise
/ clurg with blue fingers 10 g paper bag.
, Their faces were chapped and purple
from the tears which had frozen.
Boy Stole Their Ticket.
whats the matter, little girls ~
asked Colonel Mcintyre.
we've amt got no ticket. A boy
/ tones. Ny mother. she couldn't come
/ and father, lie coughs so that we don 7
| let him go out this weather except to
| look for work, so me an Louise had 10
/ come. Mother said We should come
carly. an We was here before l. but
[ a boy stole our ticket my fingers was
so cold ! couldn't hold 70. But maybe
you'll let US s,ay mere tlll we get
D In %. 4 rsr Sal
"Tt amt tina. we haven't got anything
al all TO eat, but we're 50 cold. You
| see when our ticket was stole Louise
| she kept our place for me and ] went
around TO baker lady on Eighth AZ.
/ that know an she gave me these.
And Martha opened the bag which
! Louise was clIsping. l. contained
! leaf OF stale bread and several rolls.
BLESS your hearts said Colonel Nc
/ intyre, "vou shall have the biggest bas-
! ket i'm the place" So they did. too,
/ and IN the afternoon they came back.
tragedy forgotten and laughed till the
tears came At the antics Of the mon
KEYS. And when Santa Claus and Eyer-
Feline Booth rolled right into the al
r1ory IN big automobile the two thou
sandth part Of the great cheer that
arose came from little Martha and her
sister.
Another in the line waiting for
| Christmas dinners was young IRON
worker with the frame and muscles OF
Hercules Both hands were crippled
and he had come for Christmas cneer
for his father. who IS eighty years
old
The intricate machinery that turned
4 . fgf % %
thousands 10 whom otherwise the day
would merely have oecn one when tnej
could not look for work has been turn
ing smoothly and silently orslN months.
The express carts, the dolls. the doli
carriages and the shoes and clothing
that we're distributed Yesterday were
not scattered hclter-skeitcr
No one got two dolls or two drums
or two pairs Of shoes. no ono Una.
needed an overcoat got uuCerclotAes
and no child that piued for a dark
haired doll got one with yellow locks.
For weeks and months the soldiers o.
/ the army 81 peace have been maNing
roports which those al headQuarters
tabu'ated and filed. L was an organized
.ystematic Christmas that those IN the
9th REGIMEN Armory got yesterday, DuJ
l. vas ORGANIZED and systematlzed with
the sole idea of bringing pleasure and
aid 10 those I'm need OF both, and ~ was
q success. No one heard the wheels
turn. ,.-L
A suggestion Of the work on which
yesterdays celebration was built was
given by Eyang,iine Booth
Worst Year She Recalls.
81 have been doing slum work since
I was a little girl said she. and :
never saw year 50 hard az this one
on the poor. Il is due IN great part
TO the war. Many OF the applicants for
baskets this year never before asked 70
/ be helped. Five times as many people
/ have asked 70 be aided this year as
asked last year All Of our cases are
/ investigated, and the deserving he!pcd:,
| The Salvation Army is feeding 4OO,.OOo
/ people to-day i'm the United States.
Later Miss Booth made snort al,
/ dress 10 tie crowd. which was reDeated
F in German, Russian, Italian Frencn
and Dutch.
On the main floor Of the armory, we're
gathered the recipients Of the CHRIST
mas bounty. In the gallery we're nu-
merous visitors, among them 7, ,. RE
tro, a sculptor, whose bust or hVaHge-
line Booth rs now on C.sNlplt4yli ii' -i'-
National Academy of Design.
A. the end OF the festivities, late m
the afternoon, the entire audience flied
mast the two great Christmas trees
/ where deputy Santas we're stationed 20
hand out the presents according 20 the
INSTRUCTIONS on the tickets presented.
The Volunteers OF America gave
/ Christmas dinner baskets TO 3,OOo yes
terdav. They had distributing stations
az 1925 Broadway. in Stuyvesant FsrA
and in Brooklyn
Through the Solomou-like judgment
| OF Patrolman Murtha. who kept order
al 1926 Broadway, q half-frozen mite OF
| GIRL who had shiyered for hours while
/ sbe guarded basket for friend, had
GOOD Christmas herself. The doors
had becn closed when the girl was
found covering in the semi-snelter OF
a doorway. Behind her crouching form
was hidden basket.
Nothing more left; time 20 20
home" advised Mur,ha cheerfully when
" am M watching this basket for a
friend" chartered the girl; "she said
she'd be right back
Take the basket yourself and 20
home" directed Murtha.
"It amt mine" whimpered the girl.
ian If I leave IL it'll get stole o.,
"Tps yours" replied Nurths, I'll
give II to YOU. You've earned It. Come
along now
Santa Rides in Surface Car.
The big policeman halted a Broadway
car i'm the middle Of the block and car
ried girl and basket TO it, He paid the
fare and slipped coin into her chilled
hand. Half-dazed. the child sat near
the door until the conductor put her Oft
at her corner. and then she found an
other Christmas surprise. for the pas
- ia ..ur,ht tho drift of the