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closed, with the exception of four weeks when the
smallpox got into the house and it was quaran
tined.”
A Marvelous Attendance.
“Was the mission well attended from the begin
ning?” was a natural question to follow the fore
going.
“Since the opening,” asserted Mr. Crittenton,
“the attendance has probably reached nearly
200,000, and it is calculated that about 40,000 have
confessed Christ as their Savior—all glory to
Jesus.
Children of the Mother Mission.
“The Mother Mission now has between sixty
and seventy children. In other homes for girls, scat
tered from Maine to California,” said the speaker
with pardonable pride, “about five thousand girls
and one thousand babies and children are now un
der the care of the National Florence Crittenton
Mission. Our God has raised up to do the work
some of the most godly, consecrated men and wom
en in the country, and it has become international,
for there are now Florence Crittenton homes in
Marseilles, France, Tokio, Japan, Shanghai, China,
and the City of Mexico.
Financial Condition of the N. F. 0. M.
“The Florence Crittenton Mission has over
SIOO,OOO endowment fund and over $400,000 in
vested in real estate (houses and lands for the F.
C. Homes), and deeded in such a manner that it
cannot be used, ever, for anything else but to
help our erring daughters. The National Florence
Crittenton Mission has received several legacies,
the largest, thus far, being from Mr. Hayes, a
noble Christian man who died in New York about
eight years ago, leaving $150,000, which is and has
been invested at six per cent on mortgage, thus
making the amount $220,000. ‘Blessed are the
dead who die in the Lord,’ ” added Mr. Crittenton,
when making this statement, “that they may rest
from their labors, and their works do follow
them.”
“How long have you been in your present work,
Mr. Crittenton?”
The Extent of the Work.
“For sixteen years,” was the reply. “I have
been almost continuously in evangelistic work dur
ing that time; going from city to city all over the
United States and even around the world. Tens of
thousands have accepted Jesus as their Savior. The
Florence Crittenton homes have been opened for
girls; hundreds of circles have been formed which
are doing the same work without the expense of
buildings, matrons, etc.; yet these ‘circles’ work
with the nearest homes sending girls to them, so
liciting subscriptions, clothing, etc., for these homes
and also making monthly reports to headquarters.”
Mr. Crittenton and His Work.
Bare facts and figures, be they ever so convinc
ing, are powerless to convey to the average mind
the value of such work as that which Mr. Critten
ton has outlined for The Golden Age. Then, too
nis own statement says but little of the individual
part he has played in this wonderful work. Being
a business man of experience who had accumulated
a fortune he gave not only fully and freely of it,
but also of himself—his best efforts being thrown
into the work.
The Name of the Missions.
Recognizing these facts, the promoters of the
first home suggested the name of “Florence” in
honor of the dear, dead baby whose loss brought
spiritual awakening to the devoted father. For
some years this name was used, but it was open
to many misinterpretations, being a surname, and
so it was decided to incorporate the word “Critten
ton,” and to use the child’s full name to designate
this marvelous memorial to her memory. Both
Houses of Congress have endorsed the work and
have recognized the effectiveness of this movement
and charters have been twice granted to the insti
tutions bearing the Florence Crittenton name. The
great men of the country, regardless of creed or po
litical affiliation, have united in giving helpful
The Golden Age for October 18, 1906.
words of praise as well as donations of value to
these different missions.
The Ever-Open Door.
Mr. Crittenton has been personally active in
supervising the business management of the mis
sions which bear his name, but “the helping hand
is not uselessly hampered with red tape, but can be
extended at any hour of the day or night.” It is
but necessary for the hopeless, helpless woman to
touch the bell of a Florence Crittenton home, be
she within reach of its friendly portals, when the
door will at once open to her touch and a new way
and a new life lie before her if she will.
Methods of the Missions.
But more than a temporary home is offered. The
young women who are induced to enter these homes,
or who enter them of their own accord, are taught
many useful methods of earning an honest living.
Not only are they shown the error of sin but they
are given an opportunity to lead honest lives in the
future. Technical instruction in many arts is giv
en, permanent homes are found for them whenever
possible and many are happily married to men who
know their histories, but who forgive sin, which is
so often the result of circumstance rather than of
intentional evil.
Regeneration Through Motherhood.
Necessarily, many of the young women who come
under the influence of the N. F. C. M. are mothers,
often having their babies clasped to their breasts.
There are never separated one from the other. It
is believed that the influence of a little child can
and does do much toward the regeneration of the
mother. Many hardened souls have been brought
to the light through the touch of a baby’s cling
ing fingers.
♦
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THE CAR “GOOD NEWS"
In these homes each mother is given adequate
clothes for her child; she is expected to care for
these and is taught to do so intelligently. The
children, too, are well guarded and to quote from
one of Mr. Crittenton’s able assistants’ Kate Wal
ter Barrett, M.D., “If we cannot have that trinity
which God intended—husband, wife, child—we can
have that other trinity—mother, child, home—that
has in it a mighty potency for good.”
Car “Good News.”
As may be judged by Mr. Crittenton’s devotion
to his little daughter Florence, he is a man who
loves his home, and naturally, he felt deeply lonely
during his constant journeyings. Some few years
ago he decided to have a car for his use and that
of his party, for he is always accompanied by ca
pable and consecrated assistants. This car he
calls “The Car of Good News,” and he has equip
ped it as a home for himself from which he carries
the “good news of the Gospel” to the “uttermost
ends of the earth.” Wherever this car goes it is
cheerfully carried by the railroad companies who
thus aid in the great work, and wherever this car
stops it finds a welcome from all classes. A friend
to the lowliest, a comrade to his own kind, a devout
Christian gentleman who learned the Truth through
the “narrow aisles of pain,” and who would give
the Great Message to all the world, Mr. Charles N.
Crittenton has made for himself a place in the
generation in which he lives—a place which must
live on after the mortal man has passed to his re
ward—taking with him, as he must, the prayers and
the blessings of the myriads he has “brought into
the fold.”
Items of General Interest.
Mr. Upton Sinclair, author of “The Jungle,” is
a candidate for the United States Congress on the
Socialist ticket.
A monument has been erected at Larison’s Cor
ners, N. J., to the great-great-great grandfather of
John D. Rockefeller.
Rev. Sam P. Jones, the leading evangelist of his
kind in America, died suddenly on October 15th,
on a train near Little Rock, Arkansas.
It is stated that Mr. William Jennings Bryan
cleared, by his articles written during his trip
abroad, $25,000 above all expenses of himself and
family.
When a traveler in China desires a passport, the
palm of his hand is covered with fine oil paint,
and an impression is taken on thin paper. This
paper, officially signed, constitutes his passport.
It is now officially announced that only 50 per
sons lost their lives as a result of the San Francis
co earthquake. This number includes those killed
by the fire, falling walls, impure food distributed
and the seven persons shot by the police.
Chicago teachers have a relief society. The mem
bers pay in $2 a year, and in case of illness draw
$lO a week for four weeks. This is a safe prop
osition for the society and is a great insurance for
the teachers. A cent a day for the school year, or
4 cents a week the year through, provides S4O in
ease of an illness that lasts for a month.
A recent invention is an automatic swimming de
vice which has just been shown by M. Constantini,
of Paris. This machine is run by a gasoline motor
cleverly adapted to use under water and is to be
used by life-saving stations as well as b ypersons
learning to swim. The same inventor is responsi
ble for the automombile skates, also run by a gaso
line motor.
The recent appointment by the German Emperor
of a Jewish banker to the position of a director
in the colonial office, was the cause of considerable
surprise and comment by the German people. So
high an office is not usually given to a business man
in Germany, but in America or England a similar
appointment would have caused but little, if any,
comment.
It is both refreshing and inspiring to learn that
in a New England town there recently died an old
woman who had lived in the one house during her
lifetime which covered the better part of a century.
It is almost needless to say that this woman had
become a part of the village life to which she had
lent an active, kindly, Christian hand during all
the years of her life.
It is always pleasing to our national pride to note
the award of honors to our distinguished country
men. Such an aw’ard may be mentioned in the
recent unveiling at Budapest, Hungary, of a hand
some statue of George Washington. The occasion
was a notable one, there being services in all the
churches, and a delegation of 500 Hungarian-Amer
icans were present at the ceremonies.
America is soon to have as a guest the distin
guished English scientist, Sir William Perkin. To
this gentleman is due the honor of discovering coal
tar, that valuable medical agency, and the aniline
dyes now in such general use. The fiftieth anniversary
of this discovery was celebrated recently in Eng
land, yet Sir William is now only 68 years old.
His discovery was made accidentally while, as a
boy, merely 18 years old, he was at work in a chem
ical laboratory trying to produce quinine syntheti
cally. This feat has never yet been accomplished,
but the effort led to a discovery which revolution
ized the dyeing industry all over the world.