THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
APRIL 18, 1907.
TALKIXU FOR TRACK.
All that anybody can do at this
week's peace congress is talk. Hut talk
is necessary at this stage of the pro
ceeding, and it must be admitted the
list of notables in attendance is such
as to generate peace, talk by their in
fluence. Anions them are two mem
bers of the cabinet, Root and Straus
any number of prominent college presi
dents, such congressmen as Bartholdt
and McCall, such eminent citizens as
W. J. Bryan, Judge Gray and Samuel
Gompers, and men from abroad such
as Ambassador Bryce, W. T. Stead,
and the governor generil of all Canada.
Earl Grey. The congress will not talk
peace so much as it will discuss arbi
tration, disarmament and publicity. Be
neath .this will run a strain of finance,
mention of the starving millions in
China while China is Just beginning to
take her people out of useful labor to
make soldiers and gunsmiths of them;
of the starving Russians who could be
saved with a few of the millions
squandered in the Manchurian war;
even, perhaps, of the report that Eng
land, is growing lukewarm in the cause
of peace since discovering that every
Drendnaught she builds compels other
nations to order more Dreadnaughts at
British navy yards
(Copyright in the United States and
Great Britain by Curtis Brown.)
LONDON, April 4. Consuelo Van
derbilt, Duchess of Marlborough, now
practically has completed plans for a
unique charity on a big scale. She has
done it so quietly that the facts are
made known here for the first, time.
The duchess hasn't joined the director
ate of tho church army as some Amer
ican papers have been saying, nor la
ehe going, to work in its ranks, nor to
devote her time and money to it. bne
has, , it is . true, given her. help , to the
iipnartment" for sev-
eral years, but so have many other
aristocratic women of England. No,
the charity on which she has Just em
barked is her own. She is the supreme
head in planning, in management.
This new benevolent enterprise of tne
duchess' takes the form of a home in
London for women and children of a
special and previously almost neglected
class.. . -rney tare .tne .wrmr.'.ana emiaren
of imprisoned criminals innocent sui
ferers for the misdeeds of husbands and
fathers and -to make a home - for them;
or at least some of them, the Duchess
of Marlborough has just taken a twenty-one
years' lease of a roomy building
in Endsleigh. street, St. Pancras. Tnis
is being reconstructed entirely by her
orders, and negotiations are in progress
for the use of two buildings on either
Fide. When all these have been opened
and time has proved their usefulness,
the duchess, out of her American mil
lions, may put up special buildings or
add to her leases the adjoining houses
on the same block. For with her thia
is not a new charitable occupation tf
the Lenten season, nor the passing and
forced duty of a great lady of the land
but a life work in carrying out which
she hopes to solve one of London's
many social problems.
Readers, of course, are familiar with
the family troubles of the Duke and
Duchess of Marlborough. The duchess
has the friendship of Queen Alexandra.
By marriage her aunt is the marchion
ess of Lansdowne, wife of the former
foreign minister. She is the acknowl
edged leader among women in political
society. Lady Lansdowne also is a
great friend of the queen, and may
become mistress of the robes at court
The queen and Lady Lansdowne deeply
sympathise with the duchess. Thev
have cheered her up and advised ner
on more than one occasion.
Soon after the estrangement between
the Marlboroughs the queen suggested
. that the duchess devote her time to
hard work in order to get her mind
off her troubles. Her mother, Mrs. O.
II. P. Belmont, was with the duchesn
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Major Woodruff explains that - too
much sunlight is the cause for such
losses of nerve as wrought about the
sudden resignations of Chief En
gineers Steven - and Valluco fro in the
Panama canal. work. The Americana,
he says, go to Panama and work in
the sun with their wonted vigr lrcm
morning to night, not heeding the
hint of the noonday siesta so universal
in the tropics. Soon there is a gen
eral collapse which might have been
averted by a closer adaptation to the
ways of the tropics. His rule is, keep
out cf the sun. In his book on the ef
fect, of climate on character C. D.
Pflaum indirectly confirms this view.
Too much warmth reduces activity,
creates an aversion to ..thinking,
causes weakness under external influ
ence, and little disposition to con
sider a matter carefully before making
a decision. "Most fruitful for the pro
gress, the energy and fruitfulness of
the psychic life," he says, "Is a mod
erately warm temperature, a tempera
ture of which we are not especially
conscious save by expressly directing
our attention to it; one, finally, that
comes near to our organism's own
temperature.
at the time, and together they went to
the church army and had a talk with
its leader, the Rev. Wilson Carlile. The
duchess wanted occupation which woaid
not bring her before the public. Mr.
Carlile took her to No. 6 Banner street,
St. Lukes, where, in the midst of the
city slums, the army has its little
branch deVoted to the aid of prisoners'
wives and families. The work is car
ried on in a modest way without pub
licity, by Mrs. Hodder, wife of Captain
Hodder, the man in charge of the fire
wood department of the church army.
The duchess was asked to help, and
help she did. : She went feverishly into
the work. She bought 200 blankets,
1,000 yards of cotton to be made into
sheets and underclothing, boots and
shoes everything, in fact, that Mrs
Hodder said was needed. And she be
gan visiting the wives of the jailbirds
Rickety stairs in noisome slums she
climbed by the score. Dark. . evil
omening tuna -'Hl-looking alleys and
tumbledown rookeries kntnr her,
Then Mrs. Belmont stepped, in .and
muppeu uer. . it . was aangerous work
There was not only fear of infection
but fear that she would give way
pnysicany under the heavy self-im
posed tasks. There was no thought on
the courageous little woman's part of
attack, perhaps murder, by some
arunicen ruffian in that crime-infested
district.
It was . Christmas time, and though
her strenuous work was, stopped the
Duchess continued being the Good
Angel. She ordered a basket of pro
visions real Christmas fare to be
sent to every family on the army's roll
whose father was in prison.
It will be remembered that the duch
ess' children, the Marquis of Bland
ford and Lord Ivor Churchill, were
taKen away from her by the Duke
After Christmas this blow completely
overwhelmed her. Occupation for her
mind had been taken from her by
Mrs. Keimont s insistence for her wel
fare.
Her relatives and her friends were in
despair. Again QueenAlexandra came
to aid the stricken young American
Her Majesty sent for Mr. Carlile. "The
Duchess Is interested in your work
among (he prisoners' families," she
said, "so why not turn it over to her
entirely? She is not strong enough to
aid as a helper or visitor. But give
ner this little charity of yours as a
nucleus to greater things and she will
be too busy directing the affairs and
managing them to think of her trou
bles."
Mr. Carlile Immediately followed Her
Majesty's suggestion. In his fran
Mcally energetic way he rushed to
Sunderland House. The Duchess wns
at luncheon with Mr. and Mrs. Bel
mont. Mr. Carlile Joined them, ne
Imparted same of his enthusiasm even
to Mr. Belmont.
The Duchess doubted if she alone
eould successfully mimge such a char
Ity.
Mr. Carlile wa Impr-tnin, brusqec,
I cannot help that." he said. "It i
turned over absolutely to you. Do with
it whit, you will. I have nothing more
to with !t. I will help yu, e
course, jr you want advice. But it I
your from now on to do with It a
you like."
The Queen sent privately for the
DuchrM. The two talked for an hour
or more tn Buckingham plaee not aa
hUrnly-'Ueet ladle but aji vcmen.
Nest day the Purheaa of Marl
bortuKh fnorl with her mother down
ta N. 8 Rlnner "treet, and teok over
the Church Anny'a Itttlo nucleus tin
her own. her very own charily. There
fallowed many il4 of bard offlee
work. And It nan en on of thee d
that tho new project f ih Durh-.
now being carried out, was born.
In Banner street is a big white
washed building the Houseless Poor
asylum. This was started in 1819 and
the original work is still carried on,
but by the Church Army, whichhas its
kindling-wood brigade's headquarters
there. Mrs. Hodder, six .years ago,
personally started befriending the fam
ilies of men in jail. The work grew
to such proportions that she called the
attention of the Church Army to it.
Four rooms in a building across the
street were rented and Mrs. Hodders
pet charity established there. It is
this little " eginning which the Duchess
of Marlborough has taken over. To
day's roll contains the names of more
than a hundred families.
Consuelo would have been the Lady
Bountiful indeed but for the staying
hand of her lieutenant, Mrs. Hodder.
The very poor remain contentedly in
the gutter for all time if given abun
dant food and clothing in return for
nothing. Slowly the. Duchess learned
the science of real charity, learned how
to reclaim the lowest of the low. In
a week she was not the fine lady, but
the superintendent of the Prisoners'
Families Aid society, with Mrs. Hodder
as her assistant superintendent. Daily
she attended the office and on Friday
mornings she held the weekly levee.
On that day all the mothers and their
children on the roll have to attend and
report. At the daily session only new
cases or emergencies are looked after.
It was after the first week that the
Duchess astonished her lieutenant by
outlining her plans. She announced
that the society would continue in
Banner street only until she was able
to get new and proper quarters. Firstly
she explained, there should be a build
ing devoted to children. Here the
little ones should live until their
father's sentence, ended and the family
could be united once more. Here they
should be taught to work, to reauV
ana write ana to pi ay.
The next item of the Duchess plan
was a maternity home, properly and
thoroughly equipped as a real home
rather than a cold, whitewashed ma
ternity hospital.
Lastly she declared she would have
a woman s home. Here prrsoners
wives were to be housed, at least those
whose health or condition needed
something better than the wretched
accommodation of a single dingy mom
or filthy hovel. And here there should
be an employment bureau and skilled
women to teach these prisoners" wives
sewing, domestic economy, ironing, ar
tificial flower making and such like
fitmpre inerusmcs:
For. many a day the Duchess, Mrs,
Belmont and Mrs. Hodder drove
round in the Duchess's motor car,
visiting addresses of suitable build
ings given them by real estate agents.
None suited until Endsleigh street was
reached. There are situated some,
large houses almost under the shadow
of the old gray church of St. Pancras,
No. 16 was vacant. It contains four
teen large rooms, and is four stories
in height, in addition to a commodious
basement- The two houses on each
side are at present occupied though
one is "to be let." So the Duchess
closed the deal for No. 16, buying the
lease, which has twenty-one years to
run. The tenants of one of the other
houses want $1,000 before they agree
to move, and with other little snags
in sight. Consuelo has handed the
matter over to an agent, and will go
ahead with the one house.
The four big rooms now rented in
Banner street will be continued until
such time as the Duchess decides to
move everything to Endsleigh street
But her office, the headquarters of
her new charity, will be moved at once
to No. 16, and there also will be es
tablished the employment bureau. On
the register of names to be kept there
will be placed the occupation best
suited to each woman. The Duchess
will then advertise in the daily pa
pers or her little office staff will an
swer advertisements. Many of the
women, if they can do noting else,
will go into domestic service, know
ing full well that their children are
comfortable and well cared for at the
children's home.
The entire responsibility, expense
and management will bo in the hands
of the Duchess. She may ask the at!
of helpers from the Church Amy, ft'om
the dainty dames of high society or
she may be satisfied with the simple
help of the women to whom she now
has become tho guardian uud minis
tering angel.
The other day I visited Banner
street. It Is long and narrow. It Is
a mixed street of mammoth modern
factories and ancient tumbledown
tenement houses. No 6 because of its
whitewash, is unmistakable. I fil
tered the desk crowded little office
The flmt thing that caught my eye
was a "buay number telephone lint
written In ink and mated on the wall
next the telephone.
The figure "569 Mayfalr" etood out
from among the core of more plelx Inn
numbers f batchers, baker and
candlestick mtkern. And opposite
thoae figure, HandwWhed In bt t . . n
butcher and baker, wa tho n.ime
"Puchem of Mai thorough,
A youth in clean tut threadbare ult
nulled at I questioned bint.
Titers! Wothersllio!i!ers,HJ
Mrs.' Yinslow's Soothing Syrup
has been used for over SIXTY YEARS by MIL
LIONS of MOTHERS for their CHILDREN
while TEETHING, with PERFECT SUCCESS.
It SOOTHES the CHILD, SOFTENS the CUMS,
ALLAYS alT PAIN ; CURES WIND COLIC, and
la the best remedy for DIARRIKEA. . Sold by
Druggists in every part of the world. Be sure
and ask for "Mrs. Winslow'a Soothing Syrup,"
and tahcno other kind. Tw'enty-fivsc e-l.-
"Yes," he said, "that's one of the
busiest numbers. Sometimes It's be
ing called a dozen times a day."
Mrs. Hodder, the Duchess lieu
tenant, and the woman who originated
the work for prisoners' families, came
to me then and told me the details
of the system and of the Duchess
work.
Immediate though measured relief is
afforded all applicants. The first re
quisite is generally paying up the back
rent and the few shillings for the cur
rent rent.
On one occasion when the duchess
herself went to settle the rent ne
found the woman and her six little ones x
already on the sidewalk among their
few poor sticks of furniture. .juwre
were other piles of household goods
strewn around, for the whole house was
being evicted. Police had to be called,
because the fathers of two of the fam
ilies were drunk and fighting hart!.
These two loafers saw the duchess pay
ing money for her poop lone protoge..
They staggered over and demanded
money for themselves. Fortunately the
police saw the situation in time and
rescued the duchess, wnom, nowfcver,
they did not recognize.
As soon as the rent is paid ana cne
little home, however humble, saved to
the mother, she is detailed for work
in Banner street. - She sews plain sew
ing of rough mattress covers or sheets
or coarse clothing. If she is a good
seamstress, or develops into one, finer
sewing is given her. If unable to use
a needle she sorts paper and rags. But
at whatever task she is put she is
given her dinner and tea and full union
wages. Some of the women earn as
much as $5 in the week. -
This rag-sorting work promise's to de
velop into a big industry. The duchess
his appealed to all her friends and
through them to practically all the bet
t r class to send waste paper and con
tents of their rag bags to Banner
street. The paper is sorted" intoqual
ities for the paper mills and the rags
into cottons, wools and silks for sale to
rag merchants. .
At the Friday gatherings the children
one by one, pass her chair. Some she
takes on her lap. Others stop in front
of her while she talks to them and ex
amines them and their condition. She
picks up each foot of each child fo .ee
for herself the condition of the boots
and shoes. If they are in bad condi
tion an aid takes the child and. rum
mages in a cupboard, filled, with old
footwear and fits the child as best she
can. Because of the duchess's special
care for the feet of the little ones, Mrs.
Hodder has named the cupboard "The
Duchess's Cupboard," and it bear! this
name in neat white letters.
It was a. red-letter day in Banner
street when the duchess' two sons
were given back to her. She announce,
the eventful news herself. Those who
were with her that day. say she was
almost a young girl again. She sang
and laughed and romped with he?
juvenile 'proteges. She was as gay as
previously she had been sad and wist
ful. Next day Banner street welcomed the
little Marquis of Blandford and Lord
Ivor Churchill, his younger brother.
The duchess brought them in her tiio
tor car. The boys at first were much
bored, but soon got interested and
worked for a good hour shoulder to
shoulder with their mother and '-n-joyed
acting as her aids and in fit ting
shoes and boots to the feet of the noor
little children. Before leaving the boys
presented each of the children with n
cake and a bag of candy, and for this
reason, if no other, the visit of thes?
little Anglo-American aristocrats will
be remembered In dingy St. Luke's.
The absence of the duchess in,'. he
Riviera during Lent was gieally f.-lt.
Mrs. Hodder carried on the work, hut
there were anxious inquiries daily 'or
the duchess. Repot t were sent to ner
to the vill.i on the sunny slime of tie
Mediterranean and instructions, with
cheeks Inel wd, came weekly from her.,
She knows the women and children by
name and her letters bore many a per
sonal meatiage.
In the midt of her ubt nee there
came suddenly lo Banner ,treef, n. Her
friendly representative, no lesx n i r
Konuge than the princess of WaLs.
Her luyal l;ighne:;s wsi p.ee,T,p'r,,"'l
by the Countess of Alrlie. The ptrhicej
came late In the day, however, ond In
stead of tho duchess" hundred or nt t
women, found but a rtoj.-n. Six- -'i
hand nnd talked with eaeh of them.
On) bright-faced womnn. t buryl.ir's
wife, vt fiked how n.iii) hi! irti:
had. "Sefii," was b p ipi. " n
more than I," .ild the jilue a
!.u;;:h.
Tt'e wttin.n and children . nj iv.d Hie
VlfU of KttKl.ltid'H prlttei-n. bur vh
wa not quite it PiitUfactory Kuttitut ,
after nil. for tho AuieiKan d u !- .
