Putnam County herald. (Cookeville, Tenn.) 1903-1922, 1916-11-30
TRAVELERS'AID
BY GERTRUDE WHITNEY

BY GERTRUDE WHITNEY
While very new to many, Travellers
Aid work is really one Of the Oldest
charities, for does the Bible not ac
monish that we be mindful of the
stranger within our gates" To be
come Travellers Aid, training, which
consists of courses In the Bible, so
cial service, good housing. hygiene
and first aid, is necessary The
watchword of the Travellers Aid So
ciety is protection from danger and
prevention Of crime" for travellers
especially women, girls and boys
alone.
Travellers Aid Societies are now
definitely organized in. considerably
over one hundred cities which have
regularly employed workers. There
are also probably one thousand differ
ent cities and towns which we can
count on for cooperation.
All persons, American or foreign, of
whatever race, age, creed. class or
sex are helped solely on the ground
of their necessity. The basis of the
work is entirely non-sectarian. It
shields from temptations which are
vicious morally. physically and finan-
cially 1t conserves the morals and
future usefulness of thousands Of
young people every year, and is the
timely prevention which makes res
cue unnecessary.
Mr.. Mullanphy of st. Louis showed
his recognition of the great work
done by reaching individuals before
there is need of rescue in making his
will and endowing society known
as the "Mullanphy Travellers Aid Bu-
reau" for the purpose Of carrying on
the work; and while most cities are
paying from fifty to sixty dollars a
month to their workers, the st. Louis
Aids receive one thousand and twelve
hundred dollars a year.
In Buffalo the Travellers Aids are
employed by the Y. w. c. A., which
more than ever makes 1t connecting
Nrk between young people coming
into a strange city and the church.
In Buffalo alone during the month of
August the Aids assisted over two
thousand women and children to
trains, In locating friends, in secur-
ing rooms in respectable hotels and
rooming houses, and in many ways
which ate classed miscellaneous. Hun
dreds are passing thru Buffalo in the
care of other Travellers Aid Societies
who hand their card with name and
description to our Aid to be signed
and mailed by her to the Society
from which they. had come An in
stance of the cooperation between
rNv>ov vyrIo IN nf< ie,
shown in this case.>
The day Of the Preparedness Pa
rade a young girl of some sixteen
years Of age disappeared from the
factory where she was working. All
efforts to locate her by her heart
broken parents employees of the de-
tectives seemed futile until one day
the Supt. of the Co. found in some
way that she was some fourteen
miles from a Pennsylvania city. He
came to me and asked If l could sug-
gest some way to get her without
using police force. wired Travel
ers' Aid in that city asking her If she
would get the girl, put her on the
train and wire me when the girl
started for Buffalo. She answered
that she would, but later
wired that she was holding the girl |
subject to our orders because of the |
fact that married man insisted up
on coming with her. We wired her |
10 let them come and notified the po-
lice. When they reached Buffalo I
The man was taken into custody on |
he Mann Act. This is not, the only
young girl this man has carried |
away to 4 life of sorrow and shame, |
md the Company, detective force and
Press were loud in their praise of the
Of the Philadelphia and
Buffalo Travellers Aids and their help
n returning this girl to her home
md bringing the man to justice.
Other cases in point are these, and
show the variety Of people needing
lelp and their wants: One night
we'll dressed young lady Of about
eighteen came to me crying and say I
ng she was suffering from inflama-
ion of the bowels and wanted to
70 to a hospital, and would / please !,
,hone and make arrangements with il
he hospital for private room for
ter. She was suffering 80 intensely ,
was glad to do 1t for her and after
making the arrangements got taxi
md sent her with nurse to the hos
,ital. On the steps Of the hospital
he became a mother. Only anoth-
r case OF poor misled girl!
Another young lady came here to
neet her betrothed; he had failed to :
ppear and after two days of waiting /.
he Travellers Aid wired her people 4