Part 3 (2/2)
It had to do with civic self-respect and social ht ideals”
Because the issue was clearly moral, this anization to further the cause It is a tribute to his church that he met with only minor criticism He carried his people with him because he enabled theion and politics Of course he yman should reenuinely adree with him Several of his bitterest political critics, such as, for exaen, a ward politician, were not lacking in keen appreciation of his position And on other civic issues where heto Herbert Bigelow, the minister of The People's Church and a former city councilht places never saw hih the Cincinnati Community Chest is not in politics, it has definitely influenced the course of good government because of the character of the people who carry on the work of the nuencies were organized into a Council, and Frank Nelson's vision, enthusiasether the diverse religious and racial groups engaged in social service throughout the city Through this Council, multiple activities were coordinated, and Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant welfare agencies were kindled with new spirit and pohich resulted in greater efficiency and an increased opportunity for reaching larger numbers of people As a consequence, the majority of the social welfare enterprises were able to make a united financial appeal, and since 1919 have continued together without a break in the ranks Charles P Taft says of the Cincinnati Community Chest:
The executive direction and social vision of C M Bookman, and the spiritual leadershi+p of Reverend Frank H Nelson have given to the caanizations of volunteers a most distinctive quality It is not that we raise each year an ah we do that; but it sees that all the ether and that their spirits are welded together in a great cause, the education of the whole city to the highest standards of health, character, and welfare[10]
The welding together was again the work of many civic-minded men and women, and Frank Nelson was the fire which fused the different parts into a unity ”He made the Community Chest a platform upon which every man could stand,” says C M Bookman, the Executive Secretary His work in the for of funds for the first three years, was of untold value As the Council achieved coherence and a consciousness of its identity, he went on to the larger work of conveying to the city the idea that in this cause the people of Cincinnati could be supreious prejudices It was his ability to interpret the spiritual basis of this work that made it a coifts to have a downright significance
”It is,” he said, ”God's way of ood in spite of thehly in the work of the social agencies that the financial drives became a crusade, an adventure in human relationshi+ps He took off his coat, so to speak, and plunged into the drives as one of the solicitors The calls assigned hieneral run as well as the difficult cases He canvassed people of e donors As the calling was done by two ether, he often found himself teamed with a man whose occupation contrasted sharply with his own, once being paired with a distiller! In the personal interviews his was not the nant if so to their means On one occasion he called with Mr Williae corporation but who refused to give co as an excuse the fact that the directors were away Mr Nelson's feelings blazed forth and he blurted out, ”You run this corporation, and you can do as you please,” and with that he strode out of the rooift of 50000
Shaain, at headquarters one day Maurice Pollak was holding forth in vivid language on the subject of people who refused to contribute, and he did not notice Mr Nelson co in behind him When he suddenly stopped in some embarrass just what I feel but can't express so well” As he was a man of intense fervor, it is probable that he was better at interpreting the inner significance of the cause than in soliciting contributions In 1922 he was elected the General Chairman of the drive, and from 1916 to 1939 was a director of the Chest
As the years went by, Mr Nelson beca of an ”institution” in Cincinnati, and his popularity made him ”fashi+onable” to the superficial- decidedly spontaneous in the acclaireeted by over one thousand canvassers at a careat audience rose when he stood to speak, and applauded with genuine emotion this Christian minister who represented Cincinnati as they wanted it to be Always sensitive to the reactions of a throng, he poured forth such utterance as reat n Their consciences were quickened by his graphic portrayal of their desires for righteousness and decency and fair opportunity
He was always one of the speakers held in reserve for the crucial last days of the cae daily luncheons held in the Hotel Gibson for the canvassers he was at his best The following sentences from a newspaper report of one such address are typical:
You knohat this Coreat city, how it has been, as the old seer said long ago, the river of life, flowing through the streets of the city, keeping it clean, refreshi+ng it, strengthening it, heartening it, so that the tree of life, bearing all row upon its brink and spread forth its branches to shelter and give new vigor and hope to the inhabitants of the city That river of life which we call social service is more vital, more important and more needed for the steady ood life of the whole community than the Ohio River is, believe thened by his great love for people and his belief in them, he enabled Cincinnati to see beyond the horizon, to dream dreams; and by his uncommon labor some of these dreams becaious viewpoint, and in so doing coiously indifferent He saw the practical value of spiritual things and the spiritual value of practical things When, for example, he addressed the National Conference for Social Workers at Denver in 1925 and propounded the thehast, and then enthralled Heto work for unless it was for eternity; that their business was concerned with souls, and that the souls of the feeble-minded were as much heirs of immortality as those of others ht to condement It was a bold speech to such an audience, and held their rapt attention; it was perhaps thebecause it had been preceded by the scholarly and very formal address of the president of the conference It was this occasion that produced a choice story which Mr Nelson loved to tell on hi twoon the speeches One of them remarked, ”The first man was over my head, and the second just pluround for all, but he also enabled the churches to see it as their work, calling the social service organizations ”sub-co for the churches the work that the churches want done and would have to do themselves if it were not for the Chest”
Frank Nelson's influence on the civic and political life of Cincinnati cannot be measured, but its poas evident and was revealed tih the contacts he had with civic leaders A Roman Catholic priest said thatthe certain projects If some considered him officious, they could not have known his hus When he addressed public gatherings, one could gauge his power by watching the audience; as the sincerity of the , even cynical faces ”broke up,” and the light shed by his stirring eloquence often brought tears
A the many tributes paid at the tiiven by the Reverend Jesse Halsey, the beloved former minister of the Seventh Presbyterian Church, who culled the phrase ”An Unnally descriptive of the man by reason of the many civic causes to which he was spiritual advisor, and thus a father-in-God to diverse groups scattered over the seven hills and in the ”bottoms” He actively furthered many humanitarian causes: the Juvenile Protective association, the Anti-Tuberculosis League, the Branch Hospital, the Coencies, the Helen S Trounstine Foundation, the Hospital Social Service, St
Michael's Convalescent Ho list of social enterprises ceases to be aof activities and becomes a roll of drums[11] His whole life seems to exemplify the words of the philosopher Bacon: ”The nobler a soul is, the more objects of compassion it hath” His spirit breathed out upon reatness, drawing froe to endure He protested i the alleged immorality of city folk co evidence out of his pastoral experience to prove his conviction saying, ”Heroes of these days are the poor people who live in our big cities”
One of the heroines of Cincinnati, though not one of the poor, was Helen S Trounstine, a re wo Mr Nelson the first president of the Juvenile Protective association She was a pioneer in social service work, but her career was tragically cut short when she died at the early age of twenty-six At her memorial service held in Christ Church Parish House January 21, 1917, Mr Nelson made the principal address and some of his words indirectly reveal anization of the Juvenile Protective association; I first met her then I had never known her before and I said to myself: ”Here is another person with an enthusiaset out of it, but because I wanted to help little children (I built this parish house for the young people,my people support it for their sake), and she knew it, with infinite patience and constant huradually she landed me in the Presidency of the Juvenile Protective association, utterly ignorant of what I was to do or as to be done And with the same humor and patience she went ahead and did the work and made me and the board responsible for it--made us stand behind her, until at last ere ashamed that our consciences were so dull and poor that we had not seen it long ago And then we set out to do so to the opinion of Miss Edith Cahly acquainted with his social work, though not a ” resulted in legislation for the Court of Douardian for unfortunate children His relationshi+p with the Juvenile Protective association is but another instance of the ways in which he not only ministered to the city and awoke its conscience, but also helped to foster understanding between church people and social workers Possibly in no other city are there such close ties between churches and social agencies, and this relationshi+p was Frank Nelson's achieves of the Monday Evening Club; the conference of Charities and Philanthropies found a welcome center in his parish house
Thus he wove a pattern for social service that came to fruition in ive such work permanence and effectiveness
Frank Nelson was a chivalrous individual who labored for what he thought was right; he championed numerous causes when many people werewith his character that he took a pronounced part in the creation of understanding and the re Protestants, Catholics, and Jews Years before the National Conference of Jews and Christians was organized, he practiced the principles of the inter-faithin Music Hall held to protest the persecution of Jewish people in Europe, he wrote his friend, Dr J
Louis Ransohoff: ”I realize how dreadfully you must feel, and I would like to tell you that no matter how badly you feel as a Jew, I feel worse as a Christian because in the beginning Jeere persecuted in the name of Christ” On ogue for his friend, Rabbi James G heller In one such instance he spoke on his concept of the spiritual life, considering the great thing inout that the journey is superior to the road in the realization of man's destiny His candor won him the respect and admiration of many in all faiths, for they knew that he honored their opinions No more dramatic incident illustrates his spirit than the one occurring in the inter-faithat the Rockdale Temple Annex when he confessed his faith Dr heller says there had been a great palaver of generalities by the two preceding speakers, and Mr
Nelson co the audience if they wanted him to speak as he saw the truth, and they roared back, ”Yes!”
Thereupon he launched forth with the ringing declaration, ”Let us be honest! I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ!” He then proceeded to say that he would like all Jews to become Christians just as he knew the Jews and Roiance to their faiths
With one or two exceptions, not a soul in that great audience resented his frankness His ood-will rather than of one who merely talked about it
Some ree of har the faiths, and that his expressions of pleasure at finding such unanimity thus raised doubts as to its reality However, in his broad spirit and totally Christ-fashi+oned personality, he himself was at home with men of all faiths In 1939, Mr
Willian, chose for the year's theion and Democracy” So excellent a ”sermon” did he preach on nuly told his friend that he must stay out of his parish!+
On the rare occasions when Jews change their religion, they usually do so because of hter of a leading Jewish citizen married a Gentile, and since her rabbi would not perfor as they did his faith and works In a large sense he was rabbi and minister to all sorts and conditions of people Dean Friedlander of the University Medical School, as he lay dying, said to a friend, ”I have told , but it is different when it coain, another friend in his trouble found such sane religious counsel that, although a devout ue, he declared, ”It took a Christian ree or argue with his best friends, alwaysthat ”works without faith” are not sufficient Thus all who knew him welcomed him, and in their need turned to hi
Mr Nelson was one of the three founders of the Council of Protestant Churches No sed through second-hand stores for furniture for the first office