New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-08-13
The I nbune
Fresh Air Fund

Fund would be not be active this wear.
there is high paid work for everybody
former contributor to The Tribune
Fresh Air Fund wrote this few days
ago in response to an appeal to him to
renew his support of the funds work
this year.
Is there good basis for his assump-
ton?
Or is the Tribune Fund right in beg
g1ng its friends for money to pay the
bills involved in the outings of the
outongs of the thousand children who
are scheduled to go to the country this
week as the funds guests?
The fund gathers statistics concern
ing many of the children it send away
tor vacations. When this rebuff was
received, it tried to answer the cues
ton impartially from its records.
While the matter was under discussion
the Fresh Air worker from the Broome
Street Tabernacle brought to the office
of the fund the history cards of fifteen
children whom she wanted to send to
~
them is given below
DO you believe that there is no need
of the Fresh Air Fund this, that eyerv-
body has more than enough money be-
cause there is high paid work for evry-
Dody?' Then read the facts concern
ing seven families.
The first family was one of Italian
and German mixture, living in Null
berry Street. There are four in
the family. The father is dead. The
family income is put down as ST (not
always certain) a week" The fund is
asked to send the boy of seven years,
1alr,' to the country.
What do you think of 81 a week az
family income of four people as an ar
gument for discontinuing the Fresh
Air campaign his year
Shall we give the boy a vacation?
The second family is of Italian stock
and numbers seven members. 1t also
makes its home in Mulberry Street.
lhls tamily's income is SIS per week,
or S2.l4 for each member. The fund
Is asked to send away for a vacation
boy of nine years who is described
as "anamic"
Shall he 60, or should the fund dis
continue it's work for these plutocrats
with swollen incomes Of $2,14 per week
Fer person?
The third family consists of five
members who dwell in palace on Mott
Street. Their total income for food.
clothing, lodging and all the necessities
and Injuries of life (including vaca-
tlons), is SIS per WEEKS per person.
The fourth family lives ir Brooklyn
and counts seven in its personnel
What living its members do they must
do on gross income of S19 per week,
at the rate of $2.7l each.
The fifth family has seven members
who exc out some sort of existence on
Sl5 per week for the lot. The sixth has
the largest income Of the seven-but
also the largest number of mouths to
feed and bodies to clothe and house
there are nine who must live on the
$50 which comes most weeks.
The seventh family may be more
fortunate than the others or less So
The fact is left to the imagination in
the statement concerning income: "No
definite one-father fish pedler" But
the number of mouths to be fed out
OF the precarious income is very
definite eight"
We leave it to you, Mr.. Reader, do
you think The Tribune Fund ought to
close up for the season, or do you
think you will join the long list of
those who names appear below as evil
dence that they believe that wages are
not yet too high to make honest, we'll
directed philanthropic work unneces-
sary?
CONTRIBUTIONS To TtIr rprp1r,rr