The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-08-22

opportunity to offer any needed courtesy
my main desire being to let any stranger
know that as Young Women's Christian
association representative. | stood ready
to serve and to establish a friendly re-
lation with the public.
Hundreds of girls travelling alone have
been shown courtesy In various ways; the
comfort of the old and the sick looked
after and If need be a lunch provided, and
In case Just little money was needed
for a ticket this also has been given.
1.-THE work of course is rich in Incident.
much that on the surface seems ludicrous
In the extreme-but the crude mistakes
of those who possibly in old age are,
as they term it. riding on the train for
the first time The i'll clad mother and
father with pitifu brood of little ones
who look at you like timid partridges,
cease to amuse when once you see the
infinite pathos of it all. Naturally this
depressing phase has its opposite express
sion In the normally prosperous and we'll
bred traveller who is interested In your
work and who meets you more than half
way in courtesy.
although the Travellers aid Is not one
of the Louisville and Nashville Official
family all courtesy and co-oberation is
extended her in behalf of the Young
Womens Christian association and | am
assured that the work is acceptable in
their midst.
THE lessons that have come to me in
the past year will. l trust, enable me
to put more efficiency into my work for
the coming year
The necessity for a shelter home to
be used by the Travellers Aid secretary
is daily felt While the Young Womens
Christian ASSOCIATION is able to take
care of a number of persons daily, there
is often no time for investigation in
the moral life of the woman which pre-
cludes the using of the Young Womens
Christian association and unless
poarding house is used and the money
obtained outside of the aid secretary
she has no place for the girl to spend
the night. Many girls have as has
been seen, been sent to the Volunteers
of America and the Salvation army
homes, neither of which are ideal for
the purpose.
The success of this work lies in
three channels; publicity, cooperation
and efficiency
1t Is necessary for the public to rec
ognizc the existing dangers, and the
way TO escape. The people of the city
must CO. operate with the work and
aid 1t materially and morally, and the
worker must be efficient, sympathetic
and a trained worker
Mrs. Henry Badham, the Travellers
Aid chairman, Young Women's Chris
tan association, in speaking of the
work said:
mo girl need be friendless upon
arriving in the city, no girl need leave
home for an uncertain position. no
traveller need be exploited by agents
OF commercial vice In any FORM
Mrs. Badham's Comments
Mrs. Badham continues:
You may ask how it is that people
trust themselves to strangers and get
into these dangers. We have to re-
member that agents of vice during the
last % years have evolved into an ed
ucated and cultured class.
Mr.. Lynch, who is an authority on
the subject says their work Is so de-
veloped they can secure almost any
woman they set out to get
There are many reasons why peo-
pie get into dangerous difficulties
from travelling: unexpected emergen-
cies arise, they lose their tickets; their
money runs short they are defrauded
or overcharged; they have wrong ad-
dresses or none at all; they miss con
nections and must remain over in the
city; expenses have been more than
they expected; their expected friends
md relatives fail to meet them; they
have difficulty with baggage and
the hour may be late and the
many changes necessary may prompt
them to ask advice and guidance from
chance passersby and acquaintances of
the journey All these emergencies
make easy openings for the unscrupu-
lous.
Travellers Aid safeguards these In
experienced or confused travellers The
work Is done by trained workers who
meet all trains to aid inexperienced,
confused, unfriended or otherwise
needy travellers at any hour of the
day or night. They are known by the
official badge. While the most i'm
bortant work is for young women and
girls. still men. women and children
cf every age and nationality are helped
solely on the ground OF their neces-
city,"