Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-04-28
THREE OLD MEN "GiVE TILL IT HURTS" SACRIFICING s4 OF
 HEIR MONTHLY s.
m0MEf INMATES BUY, roo
Mother Of 20 Sends Two Sons to Serv. lee-paraIyzed knitter Works
 Tor "Jnfortunates
By HUGH L. NOOG,

" N4eh lhe grand tOta' Ot nNct nIUi' than s3,000,000,0o0 of Liberty Bond sales is cast up sometime after Ma -' DO one bond among them probably Y wlll represent SO much sacrifinr co nnch scrimping much real 'Di' ing till it hurts" ss three $50 fC'.e sold in the St. Louis Poor House
 Those three bonds, to be paid f1e Q. s1 week, Will represent many litUe luxuries given up-a bag of candy here, a pocket knife for whiting there by three old men alone in the world but still partners in the great Ameri- can nation aud ready and willing .o dc their humble bit to help bring Tic. 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 lnfirmaly, the large institu- tion topping hill on Arsenal strees, 1n sight of Potters Field. t j.. /, '.. s.t ':
 A dollar probably looms larger 'fn that structure than anywhere else In the large city. Even nickafs and dimes are treasured there. t....,
 Crane has for leng time been mes. senger at the institution and receit es $5 every 30 days for his services. When Dr. Charles E. Baur, superin: tendent, placarded the reception room of the lnfirmary with Third LibeIty Loan posters--more in a 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 a $50 one for $1 week he was over joyed
 T am an American" lie said, "and would like to help my country. I be- lieve l 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 attendant at the telephone, about it. Helmholt gets S5 month for his serv- ices and he very shortly convinced himself that he, too could afford to buy a bend. He signed up for $50 one on the S1a-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 $l0 a month. He is an in- mate of the lnfirmary and soon fig ured that he could well afford $50 bond if his two $5 friends could-and besides, the government needed the money. So he, too, became bond owner at $1 q week.
 Mrs. Clara l<ersting, 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. patch work crazy" quilt which she hopes to sell in order to buy thrift stamps and, perhaps, a Liberty Bond.
 Another woman, mother of 20 chil dren, is one of the busiest knitters jn 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 i' buying thrift stamps and hopes to buy bond, too.
 Mrs. Harry Lee Wyatt of Park lsnd place probably has the most noTe assignment within the gift of ttf American Red Cross. She has aaer detailed to instruct classes iu kn'ttlna among the inmates of the City 17cs pital, City Infirmary and Insane AsE lum.
 She declares that the work is 1tiile taken up enthusiastically by these m fortunates. III the Sanitariun tke >c cupation of knitting IS said ny 9tflG9't of the institution to have hao marked soothing effect upon tre nj Y of the workers. Their first 1oncc I upon awakening in the morning '' about their knitting materials. Mrs. Wyatt has regular visitlns day at each institution. The St. Louli chapter of the Red Csoss supplies th' 1 materials sf;and the finished garment ...,,a,t to mon |, servieA- or to- wa.