New-York tribune., 1922-08-10
The Tribune Fresh Air Fund
Flne kids,' Declare Hosts of A, ,754 Lads and
Lassies Who Are Seeing Glorious United
States for First Time

come!" '"' Wei
That's the report of the volunteer
escort who travelled to Putnam. Conn.
yesterday with crowd of seventy-two
lads and lassies who are to get Fresh
Air vacations there as guests II, as
many Putnam homes And the chair
man of the funds committee Of ar
rangements there says they are all
lovely" homes. Fine kids" in "lovely"
hQmes-what could be nicer than that
for the next fortnight?
Some fine welcomed" exults the es
cort. But" says the gloom who ia al
ways taking the JOY out of life, "wait
till the fortnight is up and see if
those same welcomers won't be de-
lighted to get rid of your fine kids"
That doesn't sound SO unreasonable
either, does it, when you stop to think
that the "fne kids" were ali absolute
strangers to their hosts, all little tene-
ment dwellers who haven't had many
opportunities to learn how to deport
themselves in polite society But the
laugh will be on the joy killer Just the
same. Here's the other side of the pic
ture, or. rather, the other end of the
vacation.
Some time ago just about the same
number of Fresh Airs" went up to
Clifton Springs, N. Y.,sfor vacations.
Then they left for home oFx day.
How? The chairman of the Funds
committee tells briefly:
"The Fresh Air kiddies left town
amid heaps of enthusiasm this morn
ing. Clifton people feel that our VEN
ture was a wonderful success! We
sent each boy home with new suit,
new shoes, stockings and hat"
In Morrisville, Vt, the folks have
about as many more "Fresh Airs"
These are in the midst of their fort
nights. But at the beginning, middle
or end of the vacations the feeling is
the same; only the wording in which
it is expressed differs. The Morrisvile
chairman puts it like this:
Cali the children are exceedingly at
tractive, and all the hosts are delighted
with their little guests. l never did
anything before that l enjoyed as much
as have the Fresh Air work"
And from Canandaigua, N. Y, the
same story:
"our quota of Fresh Air children
arrived August in fine shape. They
are a wonderful bunch of kiddies and
wish we could have had more. An
other year we will. I have seen sew
eral of them to-day and they are very
happy in their new surroundings.
1--WE are planning to take them on a
big picnic around our lake and 1 know
they will enjoy that"
And from Patterson, N. Y, nearer
home:
"The children that you sent to US
have been very, very satisfactory.
Everyone is delighted with their visit
to US and we wish to thank you for
your careful selection.
"We are grateful for the opportu-
nifty that you gave US to help the chill
dren and are hoping to have them
again next year"
But we couldn't begin to repeat all
the good reports here. Know why
Because to-day the Fund has in the
country and making good with coun-
try hosts-well, how many boys and
girls do you think? The figures ought
to go on line all by Themselves
Four thousand seven hundred and
fifty-four lads and lasses.
That's the largest total of young
sters the Tribune Fund ever had on
it's hands and heart at one time. Is it
not pleasant picture to contemplate
That many children of the poor played
away llOii tHcAI OlIIy SIleeIo ycSIe1
day, that many slept away from their
stuffy roms last night, that many had
had their eyes opened to the fact that
the United States is a glorious place,
once one gets outside of the slums.
Think particularly what that last
statement means. What kind of a
place can child, born and brought up
in the tenement districts, with no
chance to get away from them, conceive
this great land to be?
More children are waiting for the
same sort of chance these 4,754 girls
and boys are getting, thousands of
them. They ask by hundreds day after
day:
"When en- we go to the country"
When en- they, Mister Reader and
Missus Reader? You are the folks
who have to give the answer. Have
you the heart to make it Never"
If you say, Right away" you have
to do it with a check.
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