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"Jesus Will Save an
Irishman."
(Washington)
FOLKLORE
FORM A
STATE, Washington.
NAME OF WORKER, J. F. Ariza.
ADDRESS, Federal Writers' Project, Seattle, Wn.
DATE, December 22, 1938.
SUBJECT, "Jesus Will Save an Irishman."
1. Name and address of informant, Colonel John W. Foulkes, Volunteers of
America, Seattle.
2. Date and time of interview, December 19, 1938, 2:30 P.M.
3. Place of interview, at his office, Volunteers of America Seattle
headquarters.
4. Name and address of person, if any, who put you in touch with
informant,.....
5. Name and address of person, if any, accompanying you, no one.
6. Description of room, house, surroundings, etc., dingy office of the
Volunteers salvaged clothing store.
FORM B
Personal History of Informant
STATE, Washington.
NAME OF WORKER, J. F. Ariza, Seattle, Wn.
ADDRESS, Federal Writers' Project, Seattle, Wn.
DATE, December 22, 1938.
SUBJECT, "Jesus Will Save an Irishman."
NAME AND ADDRESS OF INFORMANT, Colonel John W. Foulkes, Volunteers of
America, Seattle, Wn.
1. Ancestry, unknown
2. Place and date of birth, unknown; he is about 72.
3. Family, unknown
4. Places lived in, with dates, alluded to many places he had lived as
mission worker.
5. Education, with dates, unknown
6. Occupations and accomplishments, with dates, unknown
7. Special skills and interests, unknown
8. Community and religious activities, is a Volunteers worker
9. Description of informant, man of small stature, with very poor
eyesight; wears dark glasses. Vainglorious, shallow and religion thin as a
single coat of paint.
10. Other points gained in interview, Felt he was doing Federal Writers'
Project a very great service by condescending to talk; made crack half a
dozen times, "Well, you got a white-collar job and you got to make good,
so I'll help you out."
J. F. Ariza,
Seattle, Wn.
People are getting more Godless and cynical. Atheism is openly discussed
and has many adherents. Forty years ago when I first came to Seattle our
Volunteers of America hall was across the street from Billy the Mugg's
saloon, one of the toughest places in the entire country. It was tough, no
mistake. But, despite the supposedly rough element we had to deal with,
there was more religion in people's hearts than there is today.
Twenty-dollar street collections were common. Our meetings were always
packed and we made many conversions. We were never disturbed except by the
drunk. We expect that. But there were no sneering atheists around, their
baleful eyes on us. Our landlord, the man who owned our hall, was a
Chinaman, Wah Chong Che-- a Chinaman with a pure white heart who many
so-called Christians could well emulate. When rent day arrived and the
money was not forthcoming, Che never came around dunning us for it. Never!
"Pay bime-bye. Ah-light." Are there any white landlords like him?
About 1903, occasionally we had an Indian couple, fiery Baptist
missionaries who had worked among tribesmen in the North, hold service for
us. They were good talkers. One evening when me were holding a street
meeting the Indian woman was preaching, telling the big gathering of
Jesus' love for man. "Come to Jesus!" she importuned. "Jesus will save
you! Jesus will save the blackest sinner-- the drunkard, the thief, the
home wrecker, the profligate, the murderer. He will save anyone--anyone--
even an Irishman!" she shouted in a final burst of fervor.
She was unable to resume for five minutes. The crowd howled, numbers among
them singling out big men with unmistakably Irish features, in an effort
to taunt them. But it failed. They laughed as uproariously as their
would-be tormentors.
Text from: Library of
Congress, Manuscript Division, WPA Federal Writers' Project Collection
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