FRANK LESLIE'S

POPULAR

MONTHLY.

VOL. XLIII.

JANUARY, 1897.

No. J.

THE ORDER OF THE KING'S DAUGHTERS AND SONS~ AND ITS WORK IN NEW YORK TENEMENTS.

By LOUISE SEYMOUR HOUGHTON.

'VHEN a newly formed organization makes able to judge of the sig-ns of the times, perceived strong and rapid growth in any community, it is that they were not singular in this desire for certainly because it is pivoted in an idea which unity and fellowship, decided to offer themselves was already working in the minds of the com- as a nucleus for snch a fellowship, and organized munity, The history of the International Order themselves into" a sisterhood of service." \Vith of the King's Daughters and Sons can be ex- that prophetic impulse which always builds betplained only in this way: Founded in a little ter than it knows, they called themselves "the coterie of ten women, increasing so rapidly in Central Council," and elected from among them-

numbers as to be forced in s e I v e s such officers a 8

its second year to establish would serve a large organi-

a periodical as the only zation, little noting how

practicable m e diu m of vast was to become that

communication between circumference of w hi c h·

its members; putting a gir- they were the centre.

dIe round the earth in less The Central Council of

than five years, with "cir- what? The question of

cles" in Canada, Europe, name was not an easy one

Turkey, Palestine, India, to answer. Not long before

China, Japan Australia that time Edward Everett

, ,

New Zealand, as well as Hale had written a mar-

in nearly every State and velous little book called

Territory in the U nion . a " Ten Times One are Ten, "

little later constrained' to which had had remarkable

ope Ii its doors to men vogue, and in its own way

knocking importunately for had gone far to meet the

admission to what had at des ire for fellowship in

first bee n contemplated effort which was ferment-

1 MRS. MARGARET BOTI'O~IE. • d N t

on y as an Order of women; ing in people's min s. 0

PRBSIDBST or THE KIXU'S DAroflTKR8 AND SONS. f

B;D organization with a story long before, too, one 0

hke this must have been wanted, not by a few these women had organized a group of school persons only, but by humanity-by the time. girls into a little society, which she had called

It is barely eleven years ago---to be exact, it the King's Daughters. The name appealed to was on the thirteenth day of January, 1886-that them all as suggesting just that band of felthe Order· was founded. Nine women (the lowship which they were seeking, loose and .:.. tenth happened to be absent) who had often flexible, yet inevitable as the household band, yet talked together about the need among earnest with a high sacredness. They adopted the name worn en, active in Christian work, of" a new for their new organization, and from Dr. Half"s spirit of unity and fellowship in faith, hope and hook the idea o(self-multiplying" tens," which, love," and who, being wise and experienr-od, though since abandoned, furnished the best pos

T

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1'1I_f.· ORI)/ ... 'R OF THE KD1G'8 DAUGHTERS AXD 80.\:<::.

I

L

MRS. 18.\BEI,T,A CHARI.ER DAVIS.

sible framework for the rapid development of the Order. From Dr. Hale's little book they also adopted as the motto of the Order, a quatrain which precisely embodied its ideals-faith, hope, love, and the out war d expression of all three, Seroice :

" Look up and not down, Look forward and not back, Look out and not in,

And lend a hand."

Council of Women. Mrs. Dickinson is a strong platform speaker, as is also the Corresponding Secretary of the Order )Irs. Isabella Charles Davis. ::\Irs. Davis has a marked gift for organization, and the two secretaries travel every year many thousands of ~iles in tho interests of the Order, building up or strengthening local, county and State organizations.

From the very beginning the Order formulated its cardinal points in the two words, serrice and liberty. Its first published circular laid emphasis upon "the solemn obligation of every Daughter of the King to serve, and the freedom of every soul as to the form of service it should choose." These words, service and liberty, marvelously responded to the spirit of the time. Equally harmonious with this speech, though, even to its founders, not so obviously, was the announced purpose of the Order "to hasten the Kingdom of God in the hearts of the children of men," or, 3S the constitution afterward formulated it, "to develop spiritual life and to stimulate Christian activities." It was with amazement that they learned how wide and how popular was the response to this purpose, and found, to quote from one of their publications, that" the love which was needed to create the desire was much more universal than they

supposed;" so that what they had to do was not so much to arouse an impulse to good work as to guide it.

Xo light task this! and requiring an organization and machinery of which they had little dreamed. With the question "What shall we do?" coming to them from all over the country they-found themselves forced to open an office, employ a staff of

helpers, create a literature, found a. periodical, and, as fast as might be, to subdivide and deepen the work by the appointment of Provincial, State

From another of Dr. Hale's books

they borrowed their watchword, "In MR. HCOB A. RU8.

His Name," the initial letters of which are always engraved upon the little silver Maltese cross, which was subsequently adopted as the badge of the Order.

The members of the newly formed Central Council were Women already known and trusted in a somewhat large circle; without this, even such faith and prophetic foresight as was theirs would hardly have impelled them thus to offer themselves' its the nucleus of a great movement. l\Irs. Theodore Irving was at the head of a well-known girls' school. Mrs. Courtland de Peyster Field's influence had been widely exerted upon young women of social position for the promotion of the higher spiritual life. l\Irs. Margaret Bottome, who was chosen to be President of the Central Council, and is still President of the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons, had long shown conspicuous ability in Biblical exposition, and hy her parlor readings had drawn many societv women to undertake serious Bible study. ~il·S. :'IIary Lowe Dickinson, who was chosen Secretary, and still is the General Secl'ctarv of the Order and the editor of its periodical, The 8ill',.r' ('I'O.,.~, had been a college professor and author, and prominent in the cause of the higher womanhood. She is now the President of the National

:MRS. MARY LOWE D1CKINSOlli.

"'filE OSl.Y (lOOD TIME WE HAVE."

and County Secretaries. Very soon it was found impossible to «eep the circles to a membership of ten, as had been at first intended; a more flexible unit was needed. Then Chapters had to be created to include still larger numbers united in a common work, and finally the City I'nion, which codrdinates the activities of an entire community. This is the latest development of the organization, and as yet it has found its chief success in the small cities and larger towns. The Central Council, by the mere increase of its committee work, was forced to add to its own membership, and at present it consists of thirteen members. Among the later additions are Mrs. Seth Low, wife of the President of Col u m b i a Cniversity, and Mrs. David H. Greer, wife of the rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, Kew York.

Never probably has there been a more truly catholic bOdy than this Order. There is absolutely ?o barto membership In sex, age, nntion_

ality, color or creed, the constitutional condition of membership being that the applicant shall "hold herself or himself responsible to the King, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." At an early day the need of explaining this statement was brought home to the Order, and a leaflet was issued declaring that the Order "declined to make of itt; Central Council a board

of examiners into the theological views of its . ~J members .' ,

It was never the purpose of the Order to open new fields of work, but rather to turn new workers into work already in progress, especially in their own churches, and to foster in them

a habit of recognizing the work that lies unnoticed around them. In this the sue c e s s has bee n great; the n u m b e r of "Do ye n ext e thynge " c i r c I e s is legion. Almost as the

J.lRRARY AFTERNOON.

numerous are "Pastors' Aid" ci rdes, who hold thenlsel\'cs ready tor any litt\c service the pas-

to! mt\~ tequir e - ",\,erc atc ci!c\es tha. t

6

THE ORDER OF THE kING' S DA UGHTERS AND SONS.

circles all over this State. The Silver Cross Home for Epileptics in l\Iaryland, founded and entirely supported by a circle in that State, is the pioneer institution in the South for this class of unfortunates. The King's Daughters of a certain town have presented the town with an ambulance, and meet all its expenses. The Jennie Casseday Free Infirmary for Women, in Louisville, Ky., owes its existence to Jennie Cassaday, a bedridden girl, who, through her circle and the Order, founded and for years maintained this large and admirably equipped institution. The founder

has recently died in the Home. It will be forever maintained by members of the Order as a memorial of her who in her hidden life was such a power for good.

It was inevitable that the rapid growth of "the Order should lead to sentimentalism, but the constant endeavor of the Central Committee has been to promote sound and practical ideas of service and duty. They have so far succeeded that at the last report made to the Central Council by the General Secretary, Mrs. Dickinson could say: "The Order is fast redeeming itself from the too great exuberance of its youth, and is already recognized as a practical factor in Christian unity; and another year must make it a recognized factor in the stronger lines of philanthropic work."

A striking illustration of this statement mlgbv have been found in this city any time these SIX years past, in the Tenement-house Chapter of

BOUSATOXIC S{;}[MER HOUE.

sing in hospitals, circles that visit poorhouses and prisons, circles that work for the poor, for missions, for Indians, for local charities, for temperance. There arc a number of strong circles of men for rescue work. An enthusiastic King's Son is at the head of the Organized Charities of Chicago; an important part of the benevolent work of some States, North Carolina for example, is in the hands of circles; and there are cities in Canada where the City Union is practically in charge of all the benevolences of the city.

Some new fields have, however, almost of necessity been opened. "The International Commercial Travelers' Circle" covers several countries, and, though still young, exerts a strong and beneficent influence. The Home Study work of the Order is new in its volunteer element, the teachers being members of the Order, who serve without fee. The Piazza Circle work unites the Women in summer hotels in working for some benevolent purpose or in self-improvement.

Anum ber of im portaut charitable institutions are due to the Order, or are largely sl.~pported by certai~ C 1 r c 1 e s. Sum In e r Homes and Seaside Shelters for Children ri re among the favorite entcrprises. The Craig Col~ny for Epileptics rece.lVes a good portion of Its support fro rn

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THE ORDER OF THE KING'S DA UGHTERS AND SONS.

the Order. It deserves a detailed description, because of the importance of the tenementhouse problem, with which in certain respects it tries to cope. The Chapter was founded in 1890 by Mr. Jacob A. Riis, an ardent King's Son, and the well-known author of "How the Other Half Lives," "The Children of the Poor," and kindred works, which evince his profound acquaintance with all phases of tenement-house life.

The summer before the Chapter was founded the Health Board had made the experiment, since become an established institution, of commissioning a corps of young physicians as inspectors to watch over the health of the tenementhouse people. Mr. Riis had carefully observed the work of this" summer corps" of medical inspectors, and he became convinced that much of it was futile because the city had made and could make no provision by which they could carry out their own recommendations. Volunteer work, Mr. Riis saw, was the only way to meet the difficulty, and at one ol the devotional meetings of the Order held monthly in the Broadway Tabernacle he asked that a Committee for Tenementhouse Work should be fonned to offer aid to the Board of Health. A number of women responded to Mr. Riis's call, and a few days later ~Irs. Davis organized a Committee which in time became the Tenement - house Chapter of the King's Daughters and Sons, with headquarters at 77 Madison Street, near Chatham Square. Of this Chapter Mrs, George H. McGrew is Chairman and )Ir. Riis Honorary Chainnan, his duties not permitting him to attend meetings. The work he does for the Chapter outside of the meetings is, however, invaluable.

That first summer after the Committee (afterward the Chapter) Was formed the fifty doctors of the" Summer Corps" found oyer 16,000 sick persons too poor to employ a physician; manifestly, th~refore, too poor to buy medicine, ~trengthemng food, sick-room comforts or to go Into the country for "fresh air." Each one of

7

the doctors had in his pocket a few postal cards addressed to the Committee, and it may be guessed how the little missives came dropping in at headquarters with every mail. This is what the President of the Health Board said in his report given to the public at the close of the summer:

" It gives us pleasure to testify to the excellent work and aid which haa been rendered by 'The King' ~ Daughters.' Providing food, medicine and other necessary personal and household articles, trained nurses to care for the sick, and the thousand and one things which only women in the exercise of a practical sympathy can devise, they have worked hand in hand in the homes of the lowly poor with our inspectors for the relief of suffering humanity and to restore the sick. The inspector had but to indicate upon a postal

HALL OR RECEPTION-ROOM IN "SILVER CROSS SHELTBR."

card provided by the Order what was most needed in any individual case to have it promptly supplied, not as a diffusive, ill-judged charity, but as the kindly helping hand in time of need." Similar testimonials have been given every year since that time.

The resources for this service were threefold.

First the Order so far as individuals or circles heea:ne intere~d to help. The very first ye~r they sent flowers bv the thousand bouquets, delicacies for the sick, infants' outfits, bedding, money in larger or smaller sums, a special dona,: tion for the salary of a trained nurse, seve-.ral

. bled to mothers of 81C k

baby carnages (to e oan .

. d nartlal su p-

babies) and best of all the use an r

, ,,. t tbe Hudson for

port of a house on the bsur..S 0

. "be work bas becorn. e

a Fresh-AIr Horne. A,.S l... ~ "~butin.g

. :\\\'O.uet ot con~ ..

more widely known the "1l

i

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8

THE ORDER OF THE KING'S· DAUGHTERS AND 80.':".

circles or individual members of the Order has greatly increased. Many members of the Or~er living in the country open their houses to recerve a few" fresh-air" children, or, what is still more important, delicnto girls and convalescent invalids. In several suburban towns members of the Order regularly entertain large parties of children for a day, several times in the summer. Occasionally the Chapter has a family to "colonize ;" in that case some member or circle of the Order is found to act the part of friend to them in their new horne. It makes all the difference between success and failure in removing families from the city to the country.

The Chapter's second source of income is the general public, who are quick to answer appeals for aid made through the newspapers, aIHI who often contribute when no appeal is made. The third source, not of income but of means to accomplish its ends, is found in the existing charitable institutions, public and private. For it was not so much the intention that the Chapter should add one more to the long list of charitable institutions of Xew York as that by studying the cases brought to their notice under circumstances peculiarly favorable for study, an (1 winning the confidence of the people, it should be the means of bringing those who needed help into relations with the institution which

seemed to he best calculated to help them, whatever the need might be. There is hardly an institution, hospital, dispensary, public or private, which has not cooperated most generously with the Chapter in its work.

Yet, numerous as are the charities of the city, it cannot be said that they perfectly cover the field of the people's need. There are some crevices between them, some over-large meshes of their inter-relations through which many poor people must fall. And here the Chapter finds its especial field, for by reason of the intimate relations found with the people at the sick bedside, and in the chamber of the dying, it gains that thorough acquaintance with character which permits such exceptional work. For example, no provident loan association can wisely lend money without security; but the Chapter can and frequently does, simply because the personal character of the borrower, which is thoroughly known, has weight. For the same reason the chapter can pension without pauperizing widows or aged perSOllR. The constant friendly supervision makes the transaction a safe one. Even the landlords recognize the validity of the judgment of persons in such dose personal relations with their tenants, and not infrequently by remitting -a month's rent, cooperate in the effort. of the Chapter to tide a family over a hard place.

TH£ Boys' R£ADlNG-ROOlll.

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THE ORDER OF THE KING'S DAUGHTERS ANJ) SONS.

It is people whose needs in time of sickness or trouble there is no charity to meet that the Chapter reckons as its p e c u l i a r charge, "The King's Daughters' own cases, " a 11 d u P 0 11 these it expends more abundant labor. Such a case was the old couple who had once seen prosperous days, who after sixty years of married life had nothing before the m but the separate wards of the almshouse, A timely illness brought first the "s u m mer doctor," and at his request the King's Daughters' nurse; the Chapter found a circle in Washington to pension the old couple, arid their few remaining years were spent together. There was the aged poet, once a celebrity in his way, who could not dig and was too proud to beg, and was actually starving when the health inspector found him. Such was the bitterness of his pride that he would even yet have starved had not one of the Chapter members with considerate tact gone to him day after day with a basket of flowers, underneath which, when she had gone, he found the needed food.

Again, it was a family so desperately bad that churches and charities alike had washed their hands of them, and only the public institutions, at the inevitable cost of thousands of dollars to the community, remained for the father, mother and four children. It took months of patient study and wise treatment to win them to temperance and self-support, but it was done at last at a CO!'1tso far as money goes--of twenty dollars! And stilI, again, it was the hardworking father of a family, reduced by long illness to exhaust the little capital his huckster's trade required, whom, after nursing back to health, the Chapter set up with an unsecured loan of ten dollars, and thus restored to prosperity.

All these forms of service are the direct outgrowth of the aid proffered to the Board of Health, but they are not its only outgrowth. The majority of families thus brought to the Chapter's notice need moral and social uplift, and the Chapter House soon becomes the centre 01 a social work, with kindergarten, clubs, classes

9

c-. -

G1RUS' CU;B MURICAL DRILl,.

and the usual features of such a centre. It would be hard to say which branch of this work seems to be most full of promise-the little kindergarten with its thirty children and the homes that are reached through them; the backyard which the children have named The King's Garden, the only playground within a square mile, in which two hundred of the thousands of children of that district spend blissful hours; the boys' club, where the Young Guard learn patriotism and decent play; the girls' club, with its singing and sewing classes and its gleeful " game night;" the mothers' club, which gives to fifty h~rd-worked mothers "the only good time we have :" the little girls' Saturday morn-

, di

ing sewing class; the Saturday afternoon expe 1-

tions to the Museum of Natural History; the children's free Iibrary, in which 1,337 children, too irresponsible for 'even the free public libraries draw books without check and never lose

, , ..

one' the Christmas trees and the Thanksg1Vlllg

,

dinners, eaten in their own melUor~bl~ first "party"-that is, the first meal eaten sittarrg to-

gether at table manv of these families have ever '. i d d known-or the evening entertainments provl e

now and then through the winter. Eaeh has its place and meets a need.

The Superintendent's room in the Chapter House is the place to which <\verybod~' co_Yn~s

1 B tt r ~tln 1. t IS

who wants help or counse. e e .~ .'

. \ i the llClghbor-

the place to which the peoTl eo. h 1

hood known to the Chaptey bring their n~.g ~~r~ who need either. Far it bas come to tolsd' at

- "h" ell the r er 0

the "fellowship of serV1~ 'W 1 d' ned to

~ -~ 'ill s 'Was 08l1';

the King's Daughters ar:J.. '--1 on

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10

THE ORDER OF THE KING'S DAUGHTERS AND SONS.

foster has extended into the tenement-house district and the Chapter and its friends in the teneme;ts are united in helping others. The poor mother who came to the club trundling her empty baby carriage to give the Chapter to lend to some mother whose baby was not dead i the widow forced to send her boy to an orphan asylum, who brought the straw hat he would not need" as a thank offering i" the woman who kept her jubilant but hungry children waiting while she cooked her sick neighhor's Thanksgiving dinner before cooking her own; the woman who, when the nurse is otherwise occupied, can always be called on to watch by a sick-bed; the old grandfather who is ready to " mind" his neighbor's children while she comes to the club; the sad-hearted mother who offered her dead daughter's bed for any poor girl who needed a home; the widow living on a dollar and a half a week earned by her son as cash boy, who, at the request of the Chapter, took a homeless family to board over Sunday and kept them until Thursday" that the ladies might have time to turn themselves;" the woman who secured a service place in a seaside charity and proffered her "influence" to get a bed there for any sick child under the nurse's care; even the hoodlum boys who used to hustle the children on library afternoon, who, at the janitor's suggestion, transferred themselves into "The King's Daughters' monitors" and kept order at the door (sometimes, it must be confessed, with more zeal than gentleness)--these are only a few members of the ever-enlarging fellowship of service which centres in the Tenement-house Chapter.

There is a significance in this Icllowship that

is full of hope for this present time when the tenement-house problem is so big with evil portent. It shows the wav to establish that community of interest whicl; alone can rob the situation of its danger. It shows that there is a way for the" classes" to come into the lives of the " masses" other than by gifts, other than by going to live with them. The Chapter House is not a settlement. Xo member of the Chapter, nor any of its salaried officers except the janitor, has ever spent a night there. The experience of the Chapter shows that to enter into the lives of those whose lives are hard, it is not necessary, nor is it enough, to sleep in the same district, to breathe the same bad air, to suffer for awhile a few of the lighter inconveniences which they continually suffer. It is to be wholly at their service, heart and soul engaged to meet their need; it is to feel their troubles always until a remedy for them has been found; it is to be never wearied with their ignorance or their obstinacy, recognizing the untoward circumstances that have made them so; it is to be quick to pierce through that husk of ignorance and obstinacy and find the real person, the real need, that lie within, and with a yearning heart reach forth to meet them. Such a service which draws him who serves and him who is served into a fellowship that closes up the chasms between the prosperous and the unfortunate-the chasms in which lie hidden such dangers to society. This is the fellowship which-I will not say the Tenementhouse Chapter has established with the tenement-house district-hut which here and there in the district has become a reality that is full of hope.

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., SHELTER OF THE SILVER CROSS," MIOHTSV!J.LE REACH, W!L~IINGTON, N. C.

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