The Brinkley argus., 1918-05-03
THREE OLD ~5N "crVE TILL IT HURTS SAc-IrIctNG g. OF
 THEIR MONTHLY S.
WOMEN INMATES BUY, TOO
Mother of 20 Sends Two Sons to Serv- lce-ParaIyzed knitter Works
 for "Unfortunates"
By HUGH L. WOOD.

When the grand total of much more than $3,000,000,0e0 of Liberty Bond sales is cast up sometime after May 1 no one bond among them probably will represent so much sacrifice-so much scrimping-so much real "giv- ing till it hurts" as three $50 bonds sold in the St. Louis Poor House.
 Those three bonds, to be paid for at s1 week, will represent many little luxuries given up-a bag of candy here, pocket knife for whittling there by three old men alone in the world but still partners in the great Ameri- can nation and ready and willing to do their humble bit" to help bring vic tory home.
 These men are John Crane, Joseph Walsh and Charles Helmholt, all on the shady side of 70 years. They have for years been inmates of the St. Louis City Infirmary, the large institu- tion topping a hill on Arsenal street, in sight of Potters' Field.
 A dollar probably looms larger in that structure than anywhere else in the large city. Even nickels and dimes are treasured there.
 Crane has for long time been mes senger at the institution and receives $5 every 30 days for his services. tendent, placarded the reception room of the Infirmary with Third Liberty Loan posters-more in spirit of pa triotism than in the expectation of making sales-Crane was deeply inter ested. He inquired if cash was re- quired to buy bond, and when Dr. Baur informed him he might buy $50 one for $1 a week he was over 5oyed.
 T am an American" he said. land l would like to help my country. be- leye could finish paying for one"
 So Dr. Baur put him down and he. is. going to give $4 every month out of his salary of $5.
 Crane told his crony, Helmholt, night ttendant at the telephone, about it. Helmholt gets S5 month for his serv- -ces and he very shortly convinced himself that he, too, could afford to buy bond. He signed up for a $50 one on the $1-a-week payment plan.
 Walsh outranks his fellows by far in the matter of wages. As the sexton of that cheerless place-Potters' Field he receives $10 a month. He is an in- mate Of the Infirmary and soon fig ured that he could well afford a $50 bond if his two $5 friends could-and, besides, the government needed the money So he, too, became a bond owner at $1 week.
 Mrs. Clara Kersting, another inmate of the institution, is keenly patriotic and is doing her share in helping to finance the war for human liberty.
 Although paralyzed on one side, she Is an expert with the knitting or cro- cheting needles She has crocheted yards of fancy laces and knitted nu- merous garments. The knitted articles go to the soldiers and sailors and war sufferers even more unfortunate than herself. The laces she sells to inter- ested visitors.
 She manages to handle her knitting needles by sticking one of them into the sleeve of her paralyzed arm. She makes up for the handicap of the use less member through the dexterity of her useful one. She is saving the money from the sale of her articles to buy Liberty Bonds.
 Mrs Bessie Lackey is another pa- triotic inmate of the institution. She is now employed in making a patch work crazy" quilt which she hopes to sell in order to buy thrift stamps and. perhaps, . Liberty Bond.
 Another woman, mother of 20 cAil. dren, is one of the busiest knitters in the institution. Seventeen of her chil- dren are dead. Two of the three living are in the national service-one in the army and one in the navy. She is buying thrift stamps and hopes to buy . bond, too.
 4rr. Harry Lee Wyatt of Park land place probably has the most novel assignment within the gift of the American Red Cross. She has been detailed to instruct classes in knitting among the inmates of the City Hos pital, City infirmary and Insane Asy- lum,
 She declares that the work Is being taken up enthusiastically by these un- fortunates. In the Sanitarium the oc- equation of knitting is said by officers of the institution to have had g marked soothing effect upon the minds of the workers, Their first concern upon awakening in the morning is alout their knitting materials Mrs. Wyatt has a regular visiting day at each institution. The St. Louis cAapter of the Red Cross supplies the l ] IlAterlalE and inc fintshad e.arrra or, ts