The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-20
M B N, W o N E N
 A N D T HIN C s

amount he turns loose is the measure
 of his giving capacity.
 Around Christmas time there are so
 many worthy causes crying out for
 support that it is difficult to meet them ] all unless one be rich or spreads his gifts pretty thin. I have to make mine 1 go a long way. It's my only chance to help the things which make their ap ! peal to me.
 l have always felt if I ever came into
 fortune that I would help a girls home, and if I do it will have to be willed or wished upon me. for I am not trying to make one. l reckon the
 last part of the statement can be
 stricken out as irrelevant or superflu-
 ous, as the fact that I am in the news paper game is sufficient to shriek aloud that I am not a seeker after gold.
 I am, however, content with what get, and did not state the above by way | of complaint, but simply to let my friends know that my earning capacity is not great enough to meet in an open handed manner all of the solicitations
 which are made upon me to contribute
 to this or that cause. however worthy
 they may be. Each one must judge for himself the amount of his gifts.
 No one has chided me for not con tributing to their pet charity, but I am setting all this down because I believe there are others in the same fix that am. For my part, however, do not let | it embarrass me if I happen to be the
 member of church, club, or society where others contributions make mine look small. l believe that any man who | tries to be a public-spirited citizen will
 be appreciated even though his gifts be 1 overshadowed by those richer than he. | It wasn't in my thought when I sat down to let all this out, for I merely wished to say that ever since I became of age and knew city life I have seen | the great need of place for young women who are striving to earn their own living to have a place with some of the home surroundings, and I have al- ways thought if money had come to me in any large sums that I would have | made provision for an establishment on
 the order of the Eva Conner home.
 I was interested from the moment heard of the enterprise, and my inter- est was quickened when the handsome gift of the wife of our distinguished townsman, the Hon. B. B. Conner, was announced after her death. It brought back to me many memories of Barbour | flush of her young married life, and it | is precious to know that her memory will be kept sweet in the years to come | by hundreds of worthy yocng women who have passed through the home
 named in her honor.
 | I was invited to be present at the
 home, but unfortunately was called out
 of the city, and so when I was asked
 to come to meet the bishops at the re-
 ception given to them on Saturday aft ] portunity, and right glad I am that did~so, for l found the home to be ev-
 erything one could wish for the pur-
 pose for which it is used It is a real 1 homelike place, without any of the ear-
 marks of a public institution.
 1 As l walked down Eighth avenue, my
 thoughts went back more than 25 years ago, when 1t was one of the choice resi-
 dence streets of the city, and some of
 Birmingham's loveliest belles made i their debut in them. The Eva Conner
 home for years was the residence of the
 late William A. Walker, scion of one
 of the oldest families in Jefferson coun- i ty and a leader at the bar, not only in Birmingham but in the state. His home was the center of the best social life,
 as his career exemplified the best there
 was in the public life of his home town. After passing down the receiving line l was taken in charge by Dr. George
 Stuart, who acted as my guide, show ing me all over the home, and then talk
 ing me down to the annex which con-
 sists of four brick flats in the rear on |
 nished throughout in good taste The
 reception rooms. the bedrooms, the dor mitory. the cafe. the sewing room are all attractive, and just as they should be. I even went through the kitchen,
 and found it as clean as the one adver-
 tised so extensively in "Spotless Town The French have a saying: "Chercez la femme" That is look for the wom-
 an in case of any crime; but I say whenever you want to find out any 1 good thing, be sure to inquire what
 good women are backing it. The late
 Mrs. Comer's gift was the nucleus
 around which the good women of the
 Methodist churches in this district built.
 Ii is the property of the city mission | board, Birmingham district, North Ala bama conference. The salaries of the
 workers, repairs on the building and i general upkeep of the home are paid by the Methodist churches and Woman's l Missionary societies of Birmingham. l.
 Trained workers arein charge to give protection, love. sympathy and encour- agement to the girls in their battle of life and make a real home for them. ] This is the ideal of Mrs. J. c. Field. | who stands in the place of mother to
 them while they are earning their bread in the business world IL is home for 1 girls coming to Birmingham seeking
 employment.- Most of the girls are un- skilled and for this reason must work for small salaries. Board and room are
 furnished at minimum rate, commen-