The Detroit times., 1915-01-07
DOCTORS WILL
WELCOME STORK
WITHOUT PAY
big Brother" Physicians To Do
nate Services Where Famil-
les Are in Want
EVEN AGREE TO PAY
FOR HOSPITAL CARE
Number of JObless Men Apply.
ing to Board of Commerce
Shows No Decrease

The great white wings OF the stork
are tapping over many homes in De
troit which have been pinched for or
dinary comforts because the fathers
are out OF work.
The Little Brothers and Little Sis
ters may never know II, but their
coming into the world is TO be made
welcome by about $50 Big Brothers
OF the Detroit Board OF Commerce
These 100 big Brothers" are the
physician members OF the board, and
they have agreed to give their ser.
vices free In ushering babes OF the
poor into the world. In many cases,
the medical big Brothers" have
given OF their means to remove moth
ers 10 hospital, when conditions
were such that they were not assured
or proper care at home.
Investigation of the hundreds OF
cases where want has followed loss
OF job. showed that frequently the
greatest worry OF the troubled father
was that he was expecting a new
conner in his home, and did not have
the funds TO give the new arrival a
proper welcome. This emergency was
promptly met by the officials OF the
Board OF Commerce, who are In
charge of the relief work They or,
ganized the physicians and surgeons
of the board into a separate division
OF the big Brother" movement. The
doctors have agreed TO look after all
such cases and see that proper atten-
tion is given the mothers even II il
is necessary to send them to a hos
pital at the physicians expense.
Walter c. Cole. assistant secretary
OF the board, who is in charge of the
Big Brother work, has prepared a
brief report on some OF the more
urgent cases which members OF the
board have attended to in the last
few days. Here are some examples
OF the work being done
On Cadillac-ave., there was a man
whose wife was i'll, and whose chill
dren were in need OF clothing. The
day after two big Brothers" visited
him, he went to work as chauffeur.
The wife and child Of a laborer on
Theodore-st., had nothing TO eat. = A
well-known local jeweler visited them.
tried to find work for the father, and
failed in this, because thousands of
laborers are battling for positions
each day. The jeweler dug down in
his pocket and relieved the family
temporarily, then set out again to
hunt job for the man whose broth
err he had become.
A prominent merchant visited a
Hastings-st. family, found the wife
Ill, and no food in the house. He left
money, and arranged matters so the
family could get credit from the land
lord and the coal dealer. He is now
trying to find work for the father.
Another man, who lives in Brook.
lyn-ave., had not worked for three
months. His wife and child were in
sad condition. The head of the fam.
lily is now working as a janitor for a
large Detroit knitting mill, Big
Brother getting him the job.
On Twenty third-st, Big Broth.
err found a man in i'll health, who
had not worked steadily for two years
He has wife and three children
Stores about them had refused credit
The man from the Board OF Com.
merce gave them enough money to
keep them for week, and is now
trying to find light work for the
father.
In almost every case, the investi-
gators, touched by the suffering of
woman and children, have left no
chance for doubt as to what is to be-
come of them. Almost every report
brought to Mr.. Cole has some State
ment like this: II left - dol.
lars, which will look after their i'm.
mediate needs for week at least"
The crowd of new applicants at the
Board of Commerce was again so
large, Wednesday, that several hun.
dred men could not be interviewed
They were told TO come back in the
afternoon