Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-11
AS one WOMAN SEES IT
Philadelphia May Be Set In Her Ways
but Why Not Consider Her Ways
and Be Wise When You Want
Something From Her?
by SARAH ID. LOWRIE
7 HAVE heard a good many i'm

| r'rthln lnlngS from Church Budget Drives TO
Sesqui Centennial Committees nre slow in
! getting established as enthusasms, let alone
| life habits
inc other day a man complained in my
| nearing that he got about four times as much
money in the course Of the year for charity
! from ITS supporters than they would pledge
themselves TO at the beginning of the year.
they hate to write their names down to
hNcd sum or pledge the future in any way,
| was the gist Of his complaint.
And IN the Welfare Federation team con-
! claves this fact was commented upon again
! and again with wonder and chagrin:
They say they will give, but they do not
wish to say how much just now, or all at
| once. or in this general way, or to any one
| except the person through whom they have
! always made their Donations etc, etc.
A Nd not only the philanthropic agents
4 will report this characteristic OF Phila-
de'phia. hut wholesale and retail merchants:
men wantIngt to borrow from the banks ana
| traders in other cities who deal with Pha-
| dclphians. In New York any woman shop
| ping has only to remark in a hat shop or
brir-a brac or specially shop or place where
~" prices are not fixed prices that she Is
Philadclphian, and goods will be shown and
prices will be quoted with an idea to her
cautious conservatism. She will not be
CHncctcd TO buy thing that is passing
tad nor nay large price for n thing that Is
| marked ur because it belongs TO the cnthu-
siasm of the moment.
4 well known furniture and curo COL
lcctor told mo that he had stored in his
locked rooms over hero things hc would not
oven show TO his Philadelphia patrons.
because his price for them was based on
their present market value rather than on
their intrinsic worth. The rage for Chinese
ChpnCndalc or for yellow maple or painted
wood or hickory or for pc-crnst tables or
gate legged tables or for Hcppclwhitc or for
sheraton. like the past RACES for Empire or
ntin tipn lTb I'm
turc. add TO or take away from thc real
value of n genuine original for the time
h"ng. And in New York or Chicago or
Cleveland or San Francisco this rage price
il tl'c thing tho dealers count unOn TO make
IN their hig nrofts hut Philndclnhin is loss
affected by the --latest cries" in original
furniture. II will pay for good real thing
good price, but not n fancy price.
CTRANGERS wandering up from our few
~ hotels through our narrow umtrimmed
Ntrccts and past our rctiCCnt houses are
divided between nstonishmcnt and dis
approval NJ our Indifference TO the effect we
are producing ON tho passerbv
and the teachers end other professional
mon who como 10 work and live in PhiladCl-
pha Hrc. sometimes nut 10 it tn understand
whv then success M their calingS makes
50 litt'c splash. and whv. npNrt from draw
ing their salaries. SO littlC special recognition
comes their wnv almost no nlauditS and
Of tho matter is that philadclnhiH has this
in common with England in that she exnc"ts
cv"rv ono 10 do his duty apparently. and tho
higher IN hc l. in the nlanc Of cndcavor.
t. g.. clergyman or teacher or maker
Of ouinions. tho moro disintcrcstcd she takes
il f"" granted h" is and the less on the look
ont rnr "wc'l doncS.''
Now. If all this be true Of PhiladeIphia
WHY >h"u'd ON" 60 NJ influencing the town
{" dn this "r that with tho same methods and
r rt HnnrOnrn
PitehUrgh or Cincinnati or San Francisco
or t'"v"'m"d.o or Rochester or New York?
All tho tim" tho Fcdcrnt ion camnaign was
0clivc. or long ago when the first Y. w. C.
y. campaign was on. or n year or so ago
'wHCn ~" churches began their budget system
campaign. ! kept wondering whv Philadc-
rhin was not regarded ms person with
ma"kCd characteristics that had to be con-
,idrrcd and could be- relied upon TO react In
certain ways to certain approaches
TT NOI had Il rich and conservative and
generous in hcr- own way relative from
whom Won wished II certain gift for some
object dear to your heart. an object possible
TO max" interesting TO her. and if by long
CNn"ricur" You were aware Of certain likes
aud di>lIk"s that she had. aud certain prin-
rUlcS by which she had guided her life you
would mot try 10 change all those things in
her whit" You wcrc hcgrIillng her to give to
your pet brnCvOlenCC. or attempt to try
manner or approach that an entire stranger
had pronounced effective. Nor would you
trust III" matter Of approach to an entire
stranger to her. nor would YOU try to make
an imprrsonaI thing out Of something that
Sh" bad long liked tu have personal. nor
| >r"ld her beforehand for all the giving she
! had ialiCd in. nor would You give her to
! understand that tho farr that her name was
! missing f"om the list Of donors proved she
/ was an carly Victorian and miles in the rear
| Of Cleveland
! All those things might well be true of her
! nnd change Of any Kind could scarcely help
| being change for the better, but if you are
! after her money that is one job; if you are
! nft"r her conversion that is quite another
! thing,
| CONVERSION cannot bc accomplished by
- drive. even n SklIlfully worked up
! drlN" Wih II thermometer on Broad street
! and III" pHI"r> preparing the way and the
/ teams coming after. That rich relative has
got to b" convinced by seeing the thing work
! not one s"a>ou hut n half dozen seasons
| NOT under forcing house of an artificial
! enthusiasm. but under the growing convic-
ZION "f long progress Of little to big.
! Olhrr rich relatives in other towns may
! dance cu jIN {" II catching modern tune Just
, loruU~" il j. - tame and MODERN but this
| oI0" likes to remember better than to antici-
pate. She h. N"ry exact and quick about
paying her monthly bills and foarfully wOr-
rod about mHhiug yearly ones. She dstrusts
ry.ir"mcnt and. unlike the Ncw York capt.
I rali-l~. ST" thinks 1t i good business 10
r"rrcnrh when things look pcrious. rather
! lhnO expand ~ IL to prove how safe they
! arc.
II it i, true. n> Bishop Rhiucandcr
| remarked to n number Of churrhwomcn the
other day. that Church pC0pc paid more
than tW"" ~ much money into the church
treasury than they were willing to pledge
b"iu "hHnd. II Iu"kS rs though that pccIl-
lIarlly WAS n characteristic to be dealt with
hN long and >hiIiul education in the art Of
| giving, but that Cducation should not be
| confused with the present system Of collect
! ing tho needed funds for the coming year
V'h" one wilt take generation the other
n little over year.
A Nd in "ondurting that cducation it would
L1 he we'll 10 consider what all is implicd
by giving. Without the personal element
in the trnu~f"r, il II mere tax. \ rcli-
giouN or uhI'anthropi" tax and religious