Evening star., 1928-10-10

love, and the keepers OF the gate are
Father and Mother Dow.
The Rev. George w. Dow-beyond
the gate he is known universally as
Father Dow--is the missionary of the
church to the insane, the feeble-mind-
ed, the criminals, the outcaSts of So
ciety, the poor and the sick
1t is difficult to understand how one
man can carry on his shoulders a
burden OF such magnitude as falls upon
Father Dow. His parish consists of
the hospitals, the jails, the insane
aSylums the reform schools and various
other institutions for the unfortunate.
He holds weekly services in IL insti-
tutienS, such as Gallinger Hospital, st.
EliZabeth's Hospital, tuberculosis Hos
. pital, the Home for the Blind, the Home
for the Aged the National Training
School for Boys, the National Training
School for Girls, the Home for the
Feeble-Minded, the jails and Walter
Reed Hospital. But this probably is the
smallest part OF his actual work. 1t
extends to persons of all creeds, colors
and classes. It involves such diverse
tasks as getting men jobs, finding homes
for children, watching over paroled
prisoners, obtaining counsel for men
who have run afoul of the law, bringing
families together and obtaining food
ana etotBlng Iof CAe poor.
Work Is Endless.
His work is endless. Scores of FAM
Tiles have come to look upon him as
their unfailing friend in time of trouble.
Nearly every case brings in its wake
more cases. A visit to administer COM
munion TO a dying woman in a hos
pital leads to the task of finding distant
relatives to care for helpless children
aH1ch nf ioil
A man hardly could pass through the
experiences which have fallen to his
lot without showing the imprint on his
face. One can see in his eyes the bur-
den Of great sorrow. He is a gentle,
hurried, taciturn man who has little to
say concerning his work, for two rea-
sons-first, because most of it is too
sad and intimate to talk about, and
secondly because he hasn't time.
1t is doubtful if Father Dow would be
able to carry on in the front line
trenches of Christian service if it were
not for his constant ompanion-Mother
Dow. If ever there was a remarkable
women In the service of any church it
is Mother Dow, who works approx
mately "a hours a day without a cent
OF recempense. She provides the essen
tial feminine touch to the work of the
city missions. Her tasks range from
arranging family budgets to spanking
bad little boys with her slipper, from
providing little girls with dolls to bring
ing comfort to the dying She is at
her desk all day long-and seldom a
night goes by that she is not called from
her bed to attend to some urgent case.
1t Is hard, grinding, cruel Work-but
Mrs. Dow says that q single family
brought together or a single boy
Snatched from the hands Of the law
and made to go straight more than re-
pays her. She has high degree of that
mysterious feminine intuition that en-
ables her to proceed Immediately to the
basic causes Of trouble. She spends little
time in the garden. Her life is passed
In the place of shadows. Mother Dow's
parish consists especially of the Police,
Criminal and Juvenile Courts. There she
finds work enough to keep her busy
even IL there were no other calls on her
attention. Hardly day passes that she
Is not to be found about the courtrooms
The City Mission does not watch for
cases. It doesn't have time. They come
In too fast anyway. There are of course,
Two sides to every case. Sometimes the
circumstances may look black, but Mrs.
Dow knows what lies underneath-and
she has way with her in her dealings
with judges. probation officers and police
captains. A great number of her cases
deal with boys who have gone wrong
She sees to 1t that they have proper
counsel, she argues for them in the
district attorneys Office and with pro-
baton officers, and once they are ont
of mess she follows them up and sees
that they keep their promises. She also
lakes care OF many cases of husbands
whose incarceration would leave their
families destitute and often secures for
them either suspended sentences or
En0TfGT terms 4.
done she looks after the families and
sees that they are provided for in some
way. - '''''e
Mother Dow Is true friend of the
ar1enoless. She goes into places where
1eW women would care to follow
ano sne Is universally loved among the
outcaSts: Often her work carries her
1lCo oAStant cities to look after Wash
1neton poys who have been in her GUS
Cooy before and who have gotten into
more trouble far from home.
No Trouble Too Great
NO trouble Is too great or too trifling
70 engage Mrs. Dow's sympathetic at
tentlon. There is not moment during
the gay when she is not listening to
somebody's troubles and sorrows Nat
erally she has absorbed a lot of
fundamental sociology during all these
years OF dealing with social organisms,
Sucn as families gone wrong. One
mlgnt refer to her as nurse of society.
Nnlle Or. Dow is a physician to society.
and 1t can hardly be said that the
purse Is not the most important factor
N social healing.
A reporter watched Mother Dow's
method OF procedure for a half hour
ehe other afternoon. There was wait
Ing list. for her attention. paroIed
prisoner and two unkempt men. Gath
cred about her desk were a man, a
woman and little boy. This family
had not had smooth sailing in the past.
There we're four other children. The
difficulties had been both temperamental
and financial. But Mrs. Dow had man.
aged to bring them together and they
were living happily.
Then had come one of those acci-
dents which forever are happening.
One of the little girls had swallowed q
pin the night before and 1t had lodged
in q bronchial tube. Mrs. Dow had
been called out Of bed and had gotten
khe child to the hospital. There was
the certain prospect of more bills
perhaps rather heavy bills-and the re-
united family already was considerably
In debt
Mother Dow was trying to show the
man how he could support his wife and
five children on $3.50 month. 1t was
a rather difficult problem in arithmetic,
che problem of making out of and
3 But Mrs. Dow managed somehow to
solve 1t to the satisfaction of the father
ard mother The little boy was romp-
ing around the room, his fingers itching
for mischief
Remember my slipper, Billy" Mrs.
Dow reminded him.
II seems that during her efforts to
.AyinR about reconciliation Of the fam
\ -
" she 0ass Aaa 1eHas as necessary 70