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John Joseph Kelso (31 March 1864 – 30 September 1935)〔(The Canadian Encyclopedia – J.J. Kelso )〕 was a newspaper reporter and social crusader who immigrated to Canada from Ireland with his family in 1874 when he was ten years old. They suffered hardships of hunger and cold in their early years in Toronto and, throughout his life, this motivated Kelso's compassion towards the poor and unfortunate. While a reporter for the World and the Globe, Kelso founded the Toronto Humane Society in 1887 for the prevention of cruelty to children and animals, the Fresh Air Fund and the Santa Claus Fund in 1888 to provide excursions and cheer for poor women and children, and the Children's Aid Society (Canada) in 1891.〔 ==Childhood and youth== Born in Dundalk, Ireland, midway between Belfast and Dublin. His father, George, made penniless through a fire in his starch manufacturing business, had decided to try his fortunes in Canada. His wife, Anna, and their six girls and three boys followed him to Toronto. The family immigrated to Canada when John was ten years old. In the fall of that year they suffered from hunger and cold resulting in J.J. helping his family's desperate situation by finding odd jobs and to pick up what bits of firewood he could find. At age 11, he skipped school and got a job at James Bain's bookstore on King Street East. The ensuing years found him sometimes at John Street Public School or Ryerson Public School, sometimes a messenger for the Dominion Telegraph Company and sometimes a cash boy in Timothy Eaton's dry goods store. At age 20, with a spotty school record, he enrolled at Jarvis Collegiate and, with the help of private tuition, graduated in one year. But he drew his skill as a writer and speaker from the many nights when, as a growing boy, huddled beside a coal oil lamp for light and warmth, he studied the bible and Shakespeare. As a journalist, he saw first-hand the misery of the street children of his day – youngsters often only five or six years old selling newspapers or begging for money so their parents could pay for drink. He was indignant that these children were being educated for a life of crime and that nobody seemed to care. In 1887, he wrote an article in his paper about this and the need for an organisation that would prevent cruelty to children as well to the workhorses that pulled the wagons and streetcars on which the city was dependent for its livelihood. Encouraged by the positive response, he founded the Toronto Humane Society to address these issues. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「J. J. Kelso」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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