New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-08
The Tribune Fresh Air Fund

Revised figures show last week the
Fresh Air Fund sent 1914 children to
the country, and during the preceding
week 1885 more.
All Of these children were to spend
Two weeks in their vacation places.
Hence the Fund had in the country yes
terday as its guests 1850 boys and
girls.
The Fund believes that these figures
represent great relief and mighty
gam tor the tenement population Of
New York
Speaking by the book, the total Of
1888 should be reduced by four. One
child sent to Cortland, n Y, last Tues
day showed signs of developing humps
and was returned to the city TO fore
stall contagion in the family of her
hostess. Two others sent to Bingham
ton on the same day had in some way
eluded the lynx eye of the Funds ex-
amlner and were found to have I'M
clean heads. They were returned to
New York to be cleaned up.
Country Was "Too Big
And Anna and Marguerite came home
Saturday night. They wanted to come
When asked why by the escort. who
met them on arrival in Hoboken, thew
replied:
We didn't like it there"
Nhy not? Wasn't it nice place ."
O-o-oh, yes; lovely place.'
,NMSeren't you with nice lady'?"
"Uh-uh; She was awful nice"
We'll, why didn't you like it there.
then ?" -
1T was too big, and there wasn't any
kids to play with"
But couldn't you play with each
other? Don't you play together when
you're home?"
Sure; but there's a lot O. kids
around our way"
II you are woman, and if you had
met Anna and Marguerite and escorted
them home, you'd have wept before the
episode was over.
Ihey were spry, bright-eyed little
tots as they came off the train and
trotted along to the ferryboxt but
thin and pallid! Almost thew could
have lodged between the drops Of a
thunder shower without getting wet.
Going uptown on Second Avenue
c.r toward their home in East For
tleth Street the escort. handed up three
.ares. The conductor looked down on
Anna and Marguerite and handed back
one fare, with the remark:
va don't hafta pay for 'em, mister
unless they're over five"
When the conductor had made his
way along the running board toward
the rear of the car the escort leaned
over and asked: "How old are you,
girls? ?" '0N'
Anna replied: "rm seven and Mar
guerite's nine"
But you'd have passed the same judg-
ment as the conductor, they were so
meager and understood.
Back to Crowded Home
And your heart would have bled at
the thought CT their wanting to come
back to East Fortieth Street as you
crossed First Avenue and walked down
what they acclaimed as sour block"
The New Republic in an article in its
current issue on Longer Vacations"
1rownlng on the idea, sometimes ex-
pressed, that New York is a good place
to spend vacation, says graphically
that in most parts at stinks,"
Certainly that block of East Fortieth
Street did-with the stencil of stables
refuse piles in the cutters and ram
shackle tenements OVERLOOKING with
superheated humanity. And into the
worst "old law" tenement on the block
trotted Anna and Marguerite.
It's one of those dark, tumble down
blocks where one sees half-starved cats
sinking along the housefronts at
night, where there is always in the
summer time clutter of humanity on
the sidewalks, where the street seems
always to be Uttered with rubbish. no
matter how recent the street -swe eper's
last visit, where the nose and the stom-
ach are revolted at the foulness of the
air.
But there was "a lot o. kids" there