LIFT UP THE HANDS THAT HANG DOWN. 33

 How small a proportion of what is given every
month in careless or injudicious charity, or wasted
in frivolous and unsatisfying pleasures, would sup-
port a whole family here, and, best of all, give them
the first fair start toward independent, useful citi-
zenship I
 But something even better often springs from
such wise investments. It is not simply finding food
and shelter for the miserable; but, without some kind
hand stretched out to save by securing a self-sup-
porting position, many a family-buffeted and tossed
about, gleaning a precarious living in the hardest pos-
sible way-has through want and discouragement sunk
into a listless apathetic state, which leaves them an
easy prey to the yery worst temptations. Who will
be obliged to pay the taxes which vice and crime im-
pose on a community? Is it not a better economy
to aid the poor and suffering to gain a foothold on a
spot where, by industry, they can support themselves,
and through such industry be redeemed, if helped in
time, from a life of want and wretchedness, that may
tempt to sin, that sooner or later will destroy both
body and soul?
 By raising up and repairing the doors of some of the
half-destroyed houses in the waste places which war
has left in Florida-by mending broken windows and
neatly curtaining them-no longer allowing the blinds
to swing on one hinge at the mercy of every wind
that blows-how soon might one see a neat white-
washed cottage peeping out from under the well-
trimmed orange or shade trees I Why, a smart active