Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-25
HOW
By DR.. Frank Crane

~ GUILD you enjoy your dinner at one of
1 of our beautiful hotels if, instead of
cleaning nappery, soft-footed servants,
subdued lights, and fairy music, you out
of the window a woman looking through the
garbage can for refuse meat, or heard the
whimper of a baby dying for want Of milk?
Of course not And the reason you do
enjoy your lobster Newburg and smoke your
monogra ahmed cigarette in contentment is
not that the aforementioned woman and
child do not exist, but merely that you can
not see nor hear them.
You are not hard-hearted You are kind
Tears spring to your eyes at the recital OF
suffering. This is age Of pity, and no
class has more heart than the sports and tho
furred and jeweled ladies who live in ex-
travaga
The trouble assistance. You don't know
where the poor are. If you started to find
them you would be deyoured by crafty ras-
Gals who are experts in abusing sympathy
All you can do is to give check to some
charitable institution occasionally. This has
it's bad side. 1t prevents you from getting
the real benefit of a generous action, which
benefit consists in personal contact and in
terest. The poor need you more than your
money. And you need them.
And here, it seems to me, is the opportuni
ty of the newspaper. 1t reaches all classes.
The rich read it in the luxurious club, and
the poor read it by the kitchen stove.
The newspaper brings buyer and seller to-
gether; why should it not bring the fortunate
and the unfortunate, the strong and the
weak, the well-to-do and the hungry to-
gether?
Well, suppose the newspaper announced:
1--WE have the addresses Of hundred chill
dren who need clothes, a hundred babies who
can get wholesome nourishment, hun
dred girls who are facing starvation, a hum
dred mothers too weak to work, and a hum
dred men who are in actual distress and are
worthy to be helped Anybody with kind
heart who wants to help little may send
us his her name and we viii put him or
her into communication with one who will
appreciate aid. All these cases are vouched
for by responsible charitable organizations;
we receive no applications at this office"
All this is suggested by true story heard
the other day. Several men were lunching
at Broadway hotel. One of them was a
man acquainted with submerged humanity.
During the meal he said:
isn't it odd that we can enjoy porter
house steak here, while there are babies In
this city that are starving to death because
they can get no milk"
Then one of the company, just a man
who is known as "a good sport" spoke up
and said: "You give me the name of one
baby like that and I'll send it quart Of
milk every day for year"
And every other man at the table said:
"Me, too"
We do care. We are not cruel. But we
are very busy. Besides, We are confused by
the complexities Of social system. We
are ignorant. And not little lazy
and selfish.
But if some one could show us exactly
and clearly how to reach out our hand and
help there are precious few Of us who would
not do it.
If you knew positively there was one hu.
man being, at such and such street and
number, you could relieve from pain of body
or anguish of mind, wouldn't you be glad
to do it?
And why is not the newspaper the natural
means by which the warm hand Of the good
fellow can be put into the hand of the hu-
man being who has stumbled?
All this without clap-trap and advertising
of names
P. S.-There is that which Is better than
helping your fellow creatures because you
are Christian or a Jew, a Mason, or any
such thing; it is to help them because you
are human.
For it is better to be human than to be-
long TO the hottest and most exclusive broth
erhood.
Copyright, 1924.D