The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-02-25
Evening Chat
BY RUTH CAMERON.


Oh, how wish every town and ev-
cry city in this country might have
q get-together bureau!
What do 1 mean by that? Well. let
me tell you a little incident. A young
working woman was taken ILL Inc
doctor ordered her sent to hospital
as she could not receive proper care
in her boarding house. She lived some
distance from the nearest hospital and
to have an ambulance would cost ner
fifteen dollars. She was not absolute
ly poverty-stFicksp. that is she was not
she made fifteens dollars a week. but
even on that it isn't particularly easy
to save and fear of the many expenses
Of fllnees made her look carefully to
her hoard. Besides, she was saving
for her trousseau. So instead OF TAX
station, took a train and then drove
to the hospital. The extra exertion
was the last straw. She is on the dan
eerous list. And she needn't have
been, the doctor says. II she could
have been brought in comfortably.
Now, here's the point. In the city
at this time there must have been q
dozen people who would have been
glad to put their automobiles at the
service Of this girl for g rev hours,
IL they had only known the need. But
they didn't know and there was no one
to tell them.
That's the kernel Of the whole mat
ter. They would have been willing.
But they didn't know. And there was
no one to tell them: The world is
full of such miserable little needn t
haye-been tragedies. And what's more
poieant, your little neighborhoOd and
my little neishborhood are full of
them.
Now. my idea of the get-together
bureau is this q committee with which
people who have things they would
give If the need arose-tfme, the oc-
casional services of machine. old
magazines, tumbler of jelly. the loan
of a library, flowers, the loan of q
music machine-in short anything no
matter how small or how large.
could register their Willingness TO give.
To that same committee tie people
who needed something could bring
their need, and the get-tOgether bu-
reau would put them in touch with
each other just the way the telephone
girl thrusts in a plug and completes
q call.
Perhaps the best part of it AL IL
that no one would put himself def
nitely in either class for all time. Ono
might give one thing and need an
other. For instan ;. woman might
register her willingness to send q tum-
bier of jelly to an invalid occasionally
and the same woman might some
day have a convalcscent child fol
whom she might ask the bureau to
find an occasional empty seat In some
ones machine. Or q man might Offer
the services of his auto and some day
find himself lonely and sick and ash
bureau for someone TO read to him
or to send a homemade pudding.
Don't you see it all just as plain Al
day, friends? Not charity, not any.
thing formal putting the giver on ono
side OF the fence and the recipient
on the other. just clearing house fol
kindnesses of all SORTS
Why couldn't It be done? Get your
Woman's Club to take It up or youI
Church (only OF course 1t must hAvt
no UNCONVENTIONAL lines). Get q few
energetic women TO form the nucleus
OF your COMMITTEES: put q story about
1t In your local paper.
4 The season Of Seedtime IL at hand
wouldn't it be wonderful II this seed
too. should take root and bring forth
who knows what beautiful fruit o.
brotherhood and love.