Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-06-03


Z q yearly subscription. or "comin
across at a drive. Most Of us neve
~ The faces of the persons to whom
Il ~ give help. Generally some one els
IA social service worker. or. a. clergy
( nan, or hospital visitor-does tn
discovering Of the. need. and the look
1Ag up Of the records of the needy one
70 Gee. if he is also worthy, and thel
we are asked to give the necessar.
funds, which some one else kindly un
destakes to dispense for US.
When persons apply to us first hand
We are so well trained that we refei
them to agencies that in the cours
Of time will look them up and investi.
gate their past and present. and 4
everything that they have said proves
true and they are actually withou
proper persons to support them. ant
are sick and unable to find a suitabl,
shelter-well. then, either they ar,
eat to an institution that grapple
just such cases as theirs, or q specia
case 10 made Of their needs and they
are supported by a fund collected fol
the purpose. and We to whom they
Aays arst appealed have the satisfae.
tisn Of knowing that some one is look
inG after them somewhere.
NM OALL that round about trans
w action-siving! But It is no more
the real gift, in all its fullness, thar
buying stocks in bucket shop is g
real purchase Of securities. And ]
think the reason 80 many "givers' OF
this sort are bored or grumpy or de-
pressed about giving Is because they
and organizations and charitable
brokers' Of the real sensation Of giving.
Then. too, II they ever do manage
to come face to face with the person
who sneeds their gift they worry. them
selves and their protege with all sorts
q Irrelevant questions to which the
victim II he is anything Of a man will
feel Ike retorting: "None Of your
bueiness!' and turning on his heel:
y0r, after all, the good things that
have come to most os Us out Of the
Everywhere into the Here have not
rome because we deserved t5em o. werr,
impeccably vorthy-they Just es nee
The Giver Of all good thinco .fron,
Whom we have received orr good tltass
puts US on our honor to brace up and
ba worthy of our priceless gifts. but
without any words or witnessed prom.
isea And that great faith In US puts
most Of US on our mettle to try to be
worthy in desire at least.
LIVERY now and then. however, one
~ meets with an old fashioned eiver.
what call a pioneer giver. because
in the old days when most persons were
pioneers In this country they took
strangers in and gave them what they
needed with no questions asked-as
they still do In the pioneer ranches far
- the west of us. know at least
one such in these parts. and the other
day was touched and heartenei up
at the same time by little story OF
his giving which shows up both the
pleasure involved in it and the pain.
One day late last summer there came
down the country road past his door
step man bent nearly double carrying
u great bundle. When he reached the
doorstep he paused. and spoke to the
owner of the house gently and then
dropped his bundle on the porch floor.
He proceeded to unroll it, and un-
covered some we'll woven rag rugs OF
rather charming and cheerful colors.
The owner sat serenely by, smoking,
while the man spread out his wares,
then casually. as though 1t did not
much matter when they began or when
they stopped, the two fell TO talking,
first of the rugs, then of the business
Of their sale along the road. and then
OF how far one could journey in day
on such an errand.
In the course OF time it came out tina,
the man had no very set direction.
He had crossed the river and walked
up the right bank and turned In along
the first promising hill road back into
the country, and stopped at the first
settlement Of houses to begin his sales
He meant to sell all his rugs as h'
went, and when they we're gone to fine
work OF some sort that a weaver who
had never worked except at his weav.
ing could do without his loom. III
had been turned out ~ his home thai
day-it was his wife's house and sh'
4, was 'tired Of seeing him muss about
and sn he had come away. He hat
the look If having been possibly I
drinking man. aml with 1t having per
haps. been queer in his head at times
but he was perfectly himself as he sat
there on the porch step and smoke,
with the owner and driftingly told these
brief fragments Of his tale. The poin
to the owner. who had an eye for tn
Z physical side Of humans, was that n
was no longer young and that he wa
plainly tired already from his tramI
and that his prospects "f getting
job that would give him a home wer
very slight.
TT so happened that In big loft Il
i one Of the owners buildings n"arb
there was loom which was stored ther
for lack If nse and presently the tw
men strolled over to the building an
mounted some dusty steps and in III
mellow dusk "f the loft surveyed IA
loom together and then took stock z
the big unused room and Of tn" odd
and ends Of furnitur" stored there
Then without NOR" than n dozen word
between them il was somehow settle
that the weaver should stop on thor
and work Mt the loom il he chose an
peddle the rugs round about the coun
tryside as he liked. and make wht
there was to make by the experiment
getting his meals with the owner
workmcn for what he could afford
nay for them il money came in. II
didn't, then he conld pay in rugs no
md then. The matter was adjnSt'
thus to avoid any appearance Of char
y ity or any restlrssness Of obligatic
on the old mans part.
And so it was settled. In the cour
of the day the loft was made a worl
shop and a home. And workshop AZ
home 1t remained through the la
summer and autumn and the winter al
the spring. The weaver made rug aft
rug and, getting lifts here and ther
y travelled with his wares all through q
cOuntryside selling them at n reasonah
profit. On his return he handed ov
one half OF his net profits to his hos
Sometimes those profits were as Inu
~ might cover what he cost. sometim
too ilttle to count. Very little
business was said between them a