Skip to main content

Full text of "Four years in the underbrush; adventures as a working woman in New York"

See other formats 


Google 



This is a digital copy of a book that was preserved for generations on library shelves before it was carefully scanned by Google as part of a project 

to make the world's books discoverable online. 

It has survived long enough for the copyright to expire and the book to enter the public domain. A public domain book is one that was never subject 

to copyright or whose legal copyright term has expired. Whether a book is in the public domain may vary country to country. Public domain books 

are our gateways to the past, representing a wealth of history, culture and knowledge that's often difficult to discover. 

Marks, notations and other maiginalia present in the original volume will appear in this file - a reminder of this book's long journey from the 

publisher to a library and finally to you. 

Usage guidelines 

Google is proud to partner with libraries to digitize public domain materials and make them widely accessible. Public domain books belong to the 
public and we are merely their custodians. Nevertheless, this work is expensive, so in order to keep providing tliis resource, we liave taken steps to 
prevent abuse by commercial parties, including placing technical restrictions on automated querying. 
We also ask that you: 

+ Make non-commercial use of the files We designed Google Book Search for use by individuals, and we request that you use these files for 
personal, non-commercial purposes. 

+ Refrain fivm automated querying Do not send automated queries of any sort to Google's system: If you are conducting research on machine 
translation, optical character recognition or other areas where access to a large amount of text is helpful, please contact us. We encourage the 
use of public domain materials for these purposes and may be able to help. 

+ Maintain attributionTht GoogXt "watermark" you see on each file is essential for in forming people about this project and helping them find 
additional materials through Google Book Search. Please do not remove it. 

+ Keep it legal Whatever your use, remember that you are responsible for ensuring that what you are doing is legal. Do not assume that just 
because we believe a book is in the public domain for users in the United States, that the work is also in the public domain for users in other 
countries. Whether a book is still in copyright varies from country to country, and we can't offer guidance on whether any specific use of 
any specific book is allowed. Please do not assume that a book's appearance in Google Book Search means it can be used in any manner 
anywhere in the world. Copyright infringement liabili^ can be quite severe. 

About Google Book Search 

Google's mission is to organize the world's information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers 
discover the world's books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web 

at |http: //books .google .com/I 



r" 




^^■Q 




FOUR YEARS 
IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



FODB YEARS 
IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



FOUR YEARS 
N THE UNDERBRUSH 



ADVENTDBES AS A WOBEING WOMAN 
IN NEW YOBE 




NEW YORK 
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 



PnbUibsa OctctNT. ini 



300005 



SISTER WEE WEB 



TiMPA« Flobiha 
Harch Sth, IMl 



CONTENTS 

runn faob 

I. Fob Pollt Pbbston's Sakb 3 

n. Mt Fibst Steps in the Undebbbttsh 11 

m. SuHT Thinos that Walk on Legs 24 

IV. Aqainst a Rush of the Herd 37 

Y. Human Cootibs 61 

VI. Good Huntino-Gbound 77 

Vn. Females of the Species 86 

Vm &r. Rose's Home fob Gibls 101 

S. SoDMAN Hall: Childben's Home . . . . * . . 114 

X Trusted with Biluons, Paid in Milus .... 129 

S. I Ah Sick in the Undebbbubh 143 

H. Jackals Fight to Keep fbom Fighting 157 

^ "More Deadlt than the Maim" 174 

^> Stahpinq-Gbound of the Monket-Pkoplb .... 185 

H. The Hbabt of the Jungle 201 

^- Burrowing In . 207 

^- ThbScoubge 225 

^^. JiwDoosI 235 

^K. Pahh of Jungle-Mothebs ^ . . , 7A& 

vu 



CONTENTS 

XX. A Pest HoomT 3g3 

XXI. Foacraa the Goon n> LiT I 

XXII. WOL^Ts AS Social T.Tt*nmii> 

XXtll. LiACE&a or the Hkbd 

XXIV. Tm Gall op 

XXV. Th» E.NB OF 1 



-4 

T Monn DoLLAM ... 381 



FOUR YEABS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



r 




FOR POLLY PRESTON'S SAKE 



The evening of November 8, 1916^ I walked out of the 
national Arts Club and into the underbrush of the greatest 

jle of civilization — I entered the world of the unskilled 
woman of New York City. Though a sudden 

ife, such an adventure had been in my mind for weeks. 

iBQ thinking over the plot of my fifth novel my conscience 

i demanded: 

'Why don't you go out and get first-hand experience 
irPoDy Preston? She is a child of yoiu- own brain. You 
Km her temperamentally as well as mentally and physi- 
illy. You should be able to judge how she would react 
i<lff pven conditions. Come, be a sport! Get out and 

what Polly will really be up against." 

the opportunity presented itself on the above- 
date my reason for accepting it was for the single 
of getting material for my novel — not because of 
Q* special interest in working people, either men or women, 
'i class. Indeed, it had always been my faith that they 
lb scrub floors or dig ditches are only fit to scrub floors [ 
'ifig ditches — humanity, like water, finds its own level. J 

The clock over the main entrance of the Grand Centra! 
litioo was on the stroke of twelve when 1 passed imder 
ion my way to the woman's waiting-room. Glancing 
ipund to select the most desirable of the unoccupied chairs, 
?«UeDtk>n was caught — a woman with a strong S\av\c am- 






6 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

There was not a sound — no clang of surface-car, no lu 
of automobile, no rumble of elevated, no muffled grow^ 
subway, not even the pad of a horse's hoofa on the vd 
asphalt. I was alone in the heart of a great sleeping 
— ^wonderful, mysterious, superb I 

The realization of the marvellous beauty of the 8 
was so unexpected and acute that it hurt. In the paia t 
was an exaltation that lifted me above the problema; 
every-day life. Struggling to realize myself aa Polly P 
ton I called to mind the lone five-dollar bill in my pu 
Then I sternly reminded rajf^lf that my only other woi 
possession was the scanty change of underwear folded all 
my tooth-brush and dressing-comb in the pocketa of 
coat. Contemplation of my poverty failing to lessen 
enjoyment of my surroundings, I focussed my thoughts 
my people— my sisters and my brothers and my coua 
How they would shake their heads could they know of 
wandering around New York at night and alone I 

"Thank God!" I heard them exclaim in chorua, "3 
dear mother didn't live to see it." 

Instead of being overwhelmed by a feeling of forf 
loneliness I felt myself grin. Not even one small pang 
setting at naught the conventions of my class ! A loi 
to stop the clock possessed me, to hold back dawn, to 
the people asleep, that I, like a disembodied spirit, n 
wander over the city and drink my fill of its enchanted b 
liness. With this wish fiUing my mind I stood staring 
Fifth Avenue — down in the dusk toward Wasiungton Squa 
up, up between the tali buildings that seemed almoB 
tunnel, to the faint luminousnesa which I knew marked 
banning of Central Park. 

Yet, Ktcited as my imagination was, it did not warn 
that the adventure begun so carelessly would extend 
four years instead of a few weeks — and those foxit jri 
the most eventful in all history — that the war then 






FOR POLLY PRESTON'S SAKE 




between a few nations in Europe would convulse the 

arid and threaten the very foundations of civilization. 

o premonition whispered to me of the host of khaki-clad 

men whose tramp, tramp, tramp along the wide 

ic would be echoed in millions of breaking hearts 

^^out the length and breadth of our country. Nor 

the return march of those same boys — yet were they 

^esame? — in battle-marred uniforms whose faces, though 

|2i^t with the joys of home-coming and the conscious 

knowledge that their strength had put an end to the world 

Bightmare, seemed strangely old and still. 

In the soft gray dawn touching with silver the still-life 
ftene about me there was no suggestion of Fifth Avenue 
bbtaze Tiith silk B&ga, its asphalt strewn with flowers, its 
lUnralk packed by millions of people come to honor the 
poBonages who would pass, as in review, before the 
guarding the public library — a marshal of France, a 
Bexal-in-chief of Italy, a king and his queen, and the future 
ier of a great empire — each sent by a grateful country 
Bn expression of gratitude and friendship to the people 
the United States. And more thrilling perhaps than 
f of these parades was that at the head of which marched 
^ President of our country, followed by thousands of 
len, soldiers who know neither nationaUty nor creed, 
the red cross whose banner symboUzes universal mother  

~hen last of all a horde of Jewish children swept along 

liistoric thoroughfare singing psalms of praise, rejoicing 

, oTcr the rebirth of the nation of their fathers— Jerusalem, 

Inested from Turkish rule, had after centuries again become 

%e capital of the Jewish race. 

Nor, standing there in that mild November morning, did 
I dream that within sound of the human voice almost under 
Iheeaves of the pubUc Ubrary, as it were, I would find 8upe> 
Hfan more rampant than among the negroes in the Dark 



FOOR YEARS IN THE UNDEaiBRUSH 






Cornw of my native State — a county untouched by 

road* and cut off fiom the rest of the world by turbuli 

ri^tSM, and in which the white children never have ma 

lluo Ume months public acbooling during a year and ne0 

I okfldmi nUMh less. No gnaidiali a&gel warned me of ti 

f' p)*KW of bfiwDta tlMtt ■W t)l4 i i a ft aitMmd the world, vofl 

j mvwoTir our great ettr.toMUBga&ke vith thefingeri 

<Mttt tbnaa who dmlt ia palana and Uiey who hi 

Ik tamuMt Inati. No laiVKiaB of tlw oxmng of 

"Mt imKitMoa in* plaaMl IB B7 ■>«>. Bar, more I 

tnii fUta. the kaocfc^ itet at ov an* ixEidential i 

*^w ttK« and nai a , <i>al tm filaaa^ wmid east ' 

w «mmM tnr KB I 
i«mU<r «■ 



SngoTi 

hndd* 

fialiA 




I i niim hiij— ,|M iBj ^ 









YOR 



pOLX,,^ PRESTON'S SAKE 



V T<A C ■^' ^^~*^own as "the guts" of the organiza- 

t r in ft g^^^mask factory. I folded circulars in 

'^^^ tine. P^*^*" • stamped envelopes for yet another 

' aa&ziDff' ^'^'^'"ked in the Social Service Depart- 

f "RpUevue S^spital, was a clerk in the offices of 

' ^-fiQ Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 

lo Uceti&s inspector for the same society, and Qnally 

' tbe Store Beautiful — perhaps the largest 



i m»i beautil"! store in the world 

WfKkiaE shoul'i®'' to shoulder and uving among my fel- 

m workers on coy wages, I became in reality one of the 

^ known as I^bor. I shared its misery during the 

bttoiths preceding the entrance of our country into the 

j^jij ■^^ — caused by the continued low wages after the 

HKinous increase in price of every necessity of life; and 

■offered along with my fellows the nerve-racking period 

n OQT pl^a for an increase of wage hung in the balance. 

HD finally the general increase was obtained I, with all 

tg inhabitants of the underbrush, drew a breath of relief. 

leo the trend of wages continued upward— judged by 

I reports in the daily press by leaps and bounds, but by 

who bad strutted to keep body and soul together on 

or seven dollars a week, or less — the feeling of relief 

ipeoed. 

With the coming of national prohibition the atmosphere 
the tenement districts of New York became almost that 
fitentanent. Many women— hundreds of them — told 



-dy children have shoes, now that the saloon don't get 

oe hrst pull at my husband's pay envelope. It's grand !" 

(Bat that atmosphere of near-contentment did not con- 

ImB long after the close of the war. During my last year in 

iderbrush, the working world — including office-workers 

become as one huge caldron simmering, simmering, 

EWiih BU£picion, fear, and hate. One of the chief 



10 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

causes, in New York City, at least, is the housing condititn 
While the homes of the rich in the Golden Zone remain Ul 
tenanted the year round, the tenements are so eoormoua 
congested that decent family life is next to impossible. Ch 
dren and young people are forced to spend their Iwsa 
time out^de their homes. One result of which is the r^ 
increase in crime — the so-called "crime wave." 

Because I am convinced that these conditions in Amerio 
are brought about chiefly by lack of understanding, I sha 
write in the chapters that follow my experience during □ 
four years spent as a working woman in New York Cil 
And I shall earnestly try to show conditions as they act 
ally exist. The bits of conversations given will be tab 
directly from my diary, and are as nearly verbatim as 
could write when each incident was fresh in my mind. 

How long I stood at the corner of Fifth Avenue M 
Forty-second Street, on that November morning, whi< 
now seems both so near and so far away, it is impossible fi 
me to say. The spell that gripped me was broken by 
sound like a whisper of a roar that increased until, with, 
clanking crash, an elevated train came to a halt at 11^ 
AvKiue and Forty-second Street. 

Turning down Fifth Avenue I set out in search of AB 
Tompkins. Across Bryant Park a single lighted wind( 
near the top of a tall building flared out. In the east t 
waning moon hung a silver crescent against the purple-bia 
curtain of fathomless space. 



CHAPTER II 



MY FIRST BTEre IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

,JJ0TB from Alice Tompkins had been among the batch 

handed me the night before as I left the National 

■Club. She was in New York, and particularly wished 

me, as soon as convenient. 

she given up her teacher's poation in the school 

defective children?" I wondered, on my way to look 

up. "And why was she stopping in such an out-of- 

-way corner of the lower West Side?" 

Though I loitered over the three miles and more of streets 

ttaa not quite seven o'clock when I rang the bell at the 

for working girls which I found at the number given 

Alice's note. The stare of indignant protest hurled at 

by the woman who opened the door ! 

;"No," she snapped, without giving me time to speak, 

haven't got a vacancy. Everything's filled up," And 

would have banged the door shut had I not put my foot 

opening. 

Tm calling on a guest," I hastened to say, and taking 
ABoe's note I offered it as proof. 

Oh I I mistook you for one of them laundry-workers," 
fe told me apologetically. "They're always ringing me 
p this time mornings, though it do seem like they'd a-found 
Why now we sia't goin' to take 'em in however often they 
Vat." 

"Then you have vacancies?" I asked in surprise as she 
id the way to the reception-room of the home. 
"Sure! Plenty of them for the kind of g?rla we want. 
^ price was you expectin' to pay?" 



12 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

She accepted, with a gracious smile, my promise to c 
on her in case I decided to come there to live. While w 
ing for Alice my eyea wandered speculatively about 
bleak little room, and I wondered how much she was pi 
ing. 

"Four dollars a week for my room and two meals a d^ 
she told me, replying to one of my first questions. "T 
is one reason I wrote instead of waiting to call on you. 
thought you might know of a better place?" ' 

"You don't suppose you could find a place for Ifl 
money?" Her discontent nettled me, for I had more thi 
half made up my mind to come there to live. ' 

"For less money I" Alice shrugged her shoulders. "; 
means paying four dollars a week for my room. The met 
are simply uneatable." Then she explained her present 
New York. Being disappointed in the teacher's posil 
obtained immediately on leaving college she had ^vt 
up and hastened to New York, confident that she would! 
able to get just the place she wished. 

"It's the wrong season. All the agencies tell me 
haven't a thing in my line." Then she added, with a ___ 
of determination in both her tone and manner: "I'm id 
going back to Washington City — having people say td 
I can't hold down a job. I answered an advertisement 
Sunday's paper and got a place with Jones Brothers 
ing envelopes and folding circulars." 

My interest became personal. Polly Preston would 
able to direct envelopes and fold circulars. 

"What do they pay you?" 

Alice shook her head. 

"When the manager heard that I had been 
twenty-five dollars a week, he said he was ashamed to 
me what they paid. He asked what was the least I wi 
come for. I don't see how any one can possibly liva' 
Jess than twelve dollars a week in New York. Do 



MY FIRST STEPS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 13 

Ue'U give you more than that," was my confident aa- 
I ?irauce. ' ' He knows you're a college woman. He wouldn't 
I think of pajTDg you less than fifteen, maybe twenty- If 

I jou will let me pay for ray breakfast " 

"Don't you do it," Alice interrupted, grabbing me by 
Ifte arm. "The bread is stale and cold, the butter is un- 
llllable, the coffee is not coffee at all, and the milk is skimmed 
Instil it is a blue-green. You won't be able to eat a thing, 
lind they'll charge you thirty cents for it." 

While thirty cents did not, at that time, seem to me a 
it price to pay for a breakfast, stale bread and blue-green 
i was not tempting. Though my plans had never in- 
% second person, it now occurred to me that if Alice 
1 me she might be of real as^stance as well 
nt companion, 
bnderful ! " she exclaimed, on hearing my explanation. 
i can only stick it out through the Christmas rush 
t material for no end of stories. I've always wanted 
e just what the Christmas rush is like in a popular New 
k store." 

I about twenty-three and smalL like many 
0, she was continually standing on her dignity. 
ike many men and more women, the first of their 
) attain a college degree, she was perpetually bring- 
[ fact of having that d^free before her associates. 
9 the best example I have ever seen of beauty with- 
Iqrmmetry. Her dark hair was stringy, her face was 
g, her upper Up short, showing a glint of teeth, her brows 
9 Straight and dark, her laahes short and dark, her nose 
r dark complexion blotchy. She had but one 
9 feature — eyes, blue^ay in color and eloquently 
e of her eyes she must always be a notice- 
B woman. 

; her I walked across town to the Central 
lie Y. W. C. A., and after gettii^ a sat\siyin% 



14 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

breakfast for fifteen cents I asked the price of rooms, 
cheapest rate was sixty-five cents the night with two iii' 
room. Clutching my pocketbook I hurried out — the pi 
chasing power of five dollars might not be so great aa 
had appeared. 

A subway train set me down at the entrance of a 
department store whose advertisement for salesladies 
that morning's paper had attracted my attention, 
advertisement read "experience unnecessary" and I kne| 
the head of the firm to be one of the most widely knoWl 
philanthropists in the country. i 

In the employment department of this great store I 
stared at the voluminous application-blank given me 
fill out. My age, color, nationality, my mother's mai( 
name, my father's profession. Were my parents living 
dead. My own personal history for the past ten y< 
The names and addresses of two property-owners 
would vouch for me. 

"Ah I" I congratulated myself, on reading this last i1 
"The superintendent has his eye on you for a good 
tion at a fat salary." j 

On returning the paper with all the questions truthfuS 
answered the girl at the window informed me that th 
would drop me a card in a day or so telling me when 
come to work. A glow of satisfied pride swept over I 
Who said an unskilled woman had a hard time earning 
honest living in New York? Alice hadn't found it diffifl 
to get a job at a living wage. I was sure of one. Howei 
no use loafing. 

It was past ten o'clock when I applied at a mailK>] 
house advertising for addressers. 

"Any experience?" was the only question, asked by t 
kindly little manager. 

Who has not addressed envelopes? It proved to 
piece-work in a well-lighted, comfortably heated loft. , 
£ve o'clock that afternoon 1 haA fiiuskei oae ^(sjsa 



MY FIRST STEPS IX THE rXDERBRUSH 15 

BTelopes aod ihenhy earned ooe dollar and a qaarta — H 

:: three-line wcni:. On kariag Uw btdlding the probleni 

;:?re to spend the m^i fMCtd me. A tboogjit al the 

i -ipal lodging-bouae far woown agun oecuired to m^ 

ecalling that I was a worldn^ woman, not an iovesti- 

' and as PoDy I^eston would know Dcrthing about 

, Mcn a place, I pudied the mggestioD aside. Retamipg 

fa) the Y. W. C. A^ I meekly aifcfld far a bed in a sxty-^e- 

teiit room. 

My roommate was an oldidi young hdy vho confided 

in me that she had come Sroia • snafl town in the Middle 

Tst to take a positioo whh die 'iSetropottMn Open Con- 

jay. She had no aeqaunta&ee with the nnnneBr or 

1117 member of the eompany. Indeed I eould not karm 

she had an aeqnaintazice is Xew Yock Gty. Hv 

mfideiice was DoUiing Atxt dt nuhfime. Wl^ Ae ndgbt 

Kt get a leadmg riUe, ikfct harine atodied abroad, die 

isured me that efae had a bunch that Ae voold gel aa 

~'t CGportant part — iaz abcFve tbe dhonB. 

'{ .Ul the evening and far inio Ae ngglit, wfaen Ae WM 

Msiiigmg the latait netinKriie vaa nun in Be* ft hcB. 

^ k (aDed it Biwr iB ng ber vpper wgrtar Tlirii; apCBt 

9 in year as a rtoiknt in s ■■■■mliaj of BMe I kaev 

' Km experience the onlr tfcng to do «■• to let her fod 

3 n oooditioDS for hoTHlL 

. Tlie followmc d^ hf wnfing iIibiIIj fcoB c%|rt to ^ 

c [nanaged to addroi fiflea ftandnl e awimm . IW 

^ nqnnionshq) ol tfae kc anpHi vfca Amd A0 kaff 

lUe with me wh tfitcrtins. BdEoee ^ 417 «w ImIT 

^ M each of tbe fire ted o^ded to dl nOtt mA «f 

V voice hn paaon^ hirtniy aad veMM icr ■niitlm. 

-bgthehnwb^oMrlbeHiftwaBMflaatiHndtowrfliV 

liiog &am timetetinieataBfl|i^aBi«fat«|yeHid 

tasbeeordiyfand. Jfa^ ^^m/mtiUl 




^ i 



16 FOUR YEARS IN THE UXDERBRUSH 

make sure my four childres would be took care of I*d || 
myself to sleep and never wake up." 

"How about your husband?" was my horrified rejoinM 

"He's gone," she replied with a quavering little cbudd 
"When our fifth baby came he left" After a pause 
added: "Maybe he wouldn't have gone if he'd a-kuowd 
was goin' to die so soon." Another pause. Then 
fully: "Maybe he would — never no countin' on a man."-' 

The next day at eleven the little manager informed 
that having finished all the envelopes he would have 
further need of our services until time to send out the 
ppring catalogues. Having received a post-card from tl 
department store telling me to report ready for work i 
eight-thirty the following Monday morning, this abrnj 
ending of my first job caused me do r^ret. 

Deciding to devote the afternoon to looking for rorao 
I hurried back to the Y. W. C, A. and approached the 
man in charge of the Rooming Bureau. When she leanw 
that my liiait was two doUars and a half a week she ^UMI 
her head. She had not had a room as low as that id 
least two years. So late in the season and two rooms o 
the same floor? Impossible! Wben I reminded her* 
newspapers and magazine articles advising working v 
on the economic division of their wages her face crinklw 
into a smile. 

"Those people find out the wage of the average workiii| 
girl — some don't even take that trouble — then th«y i 
at their desks and divide it up for her. Sometimes th^ 
make real touching stories. I've oftenVondered how ie 
they are paid." She looked me over. "Perhaps you 
tell me? You are a writer." 

The attack was so unexpected that I actually atuttcOT 

When I asked why she had made such a guess she r^Jia 

indifferently: 

"Cnly a profesKonal social investigator or a writer cool 



ilY FIRST STEPS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 17 

1,10 igDorant and at the same time ao cock-sure. You are 
aodsl investigator. At least I never saw one whose 

BO clean this late in the week." 

ly making a full confession her interest was aroused. 

ehe was convinced that Alice and I purposed to live ] 

eanungs she turned her catalogue of rooms over to I 

Selecting twenty of what appeared to me to bo the J 

uet desirable addresses I set out. 

It was after three o'clock when the door at the last ad* 

IS on my list closed behind me. The cheapest room I 

>d BbSi was three dollars and a half a week. Its only 

indow opened on a shaft and there was no heat of any 

iBit In an effort to bolster up my flagging spirits I be- 

Bme defiantly independent. 

ffhy confine myself to the Y. W. C. A. list? I had 

used a number of attractive-looking houses with the sign 

hmished rooms" out. Why not investigate them? 

be and I were both old enough, had sufficient experience 

id judgment, to see if anything was amiss. 

Just off one of the most beautiful squares in New York 

eame upon an unusually attractive-looking bouse with 

fiiraished-room sign out. Even the sign itself was neater 

Dd more cheerful-appearing than any that had previously 

ttracted my attention. The door was opened by the land- 

|idy. It was a charming room — on the second floor with 

I huge bay window — that overlooked a well-kept back 

fnd. The bathroom was on the same floor, and in a little 

private hall just outside the door of the room there was a 

ps-store with two burners. 

On learning that the rent was three dollars the week, 
Lcluding gas for cooking, I opened my pocketbook to pay 
I Bf-ek advance. 
*>nily." 

,.!i-kly turning towaru the door from which direction 
jBCftll appeared to come, I as quickly remembetcA \3&a.\. 



18 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

my mother had been in her grave more than fourteen j-^ 
Without thought, moved entirely by instinct, I sUj 
by the woman and out of the room. Halting on the si 
between her and the door I explained that it seemed to 
wiser to consult Alice before definitely deciding. 

Out on the streets my cheeks tingled with shame. 
I a fool or a coward or both? There had been not! 
suspicious about the woman and certainly her house 
more attractive than any on the Y. W. list. Out thei 
the simlight it seemed the height of absurdity to ima 
that my mother had epolten to me. Deciding to telepl 
Alice and ask her to meet me at the house on her way i 
work I turned toward Third Avenue to look for the nea 
drug-store. 

Discovering that I was almost under the eaves of a h 
for deaconesses, it occurred to me that they might hai 
list of decent rooming-houses in that neighborhood, 
any rate, I reasoned, they would certainly be in a poM 
to reassure me about the house I had just left. 

While the little deaconess who ojwned the door was g 
over her list of rooms looking for a vacancy, I mentii 
having called at a house on that block, giving the nun 

"Oh, my dear!" she exclaimed. "You mustn't 
of going there. That house has been raided by the p« 
three times within the past month." 

When at last she found a rooming-house on her list 
marked "filled" she gave me the address. Within 
an hour I had taken and paid for exactly what Alice 
I had set our hearts on — two small clean rooms on the 
floor in the back of an old-fadiioned house in a fX3XVta 
and decent neighborhood. 

"Of course we shall have to keep our living exp« 
within what you are now paying," I told AUce that evei 
when she stopped in on her way from work. "Two 
Jars and a half each a week for rent and one dollar ai 



■" ^' 




MY FIRST STEPS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 19 



n:lIi each for our household budget. It would have been 
■~T if you could have moved to-night." 

I'd have come quick enough," Alice retorted. "You 
}IiI me not to dare to come before Tuesday." 
Certainly. You have paid until Tuesday noon. You 
not afford to give that home the price of five meals 
nd three nights' room-rent. We are out to learn the value 
f money, not how to spend it." 

"I don't beUeve we'll get very much to spend," Alice 
illied despondently. "Everything in New York seems 
expensive. Maybe the food they give us at the 

le is as good as " 

Stop it I If you knew the price of foodstuffs in the 
ush-cart markets you'd know that three dollars a week 
Bpll give two women all they can eat — provided they do 
Hwir own cooking and use common sense in buying." 
p "Will you do the buying for the first week?" Alice 
demanded. 

" No indeed. No weekly shifts for me — either as a buyer 
or as a cook. A month is the shortest period one should 
attempt when economy is to be considered. I have thought 
it all out. The one who does the buying cooks dinner and 
washes up the breakfast dishes. The other washes the 
di nn er dishes and cooks breakfast. How does that suit 
you ?" 

"I'm willing to do the work," Alice assured me. "But 
I beheve we'll starve to death if we don't put in more than 
a dollar and a half a week for focxl." 
"I was forgetting to tell you about my adventure,'' I 
:■!, hoping to give her a change of thought and thereby 
[i her croaking, "It was really exciting." I then de- 
ibed my experience at the unlisted rooming-house and 
' deaconess home. 

How comforting it is to know that the spirits of our 
i j\ed ones are always hovering around us, guarding us from 



20 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUS 

harm!" she commented solemnly. "After such a ( 
manifestation — What!" she cried, interrupting ha 
Hhe realized the significance of my smile. " Do you mean t 
say that you don't beUeve your mother could come to wa 
you?" 

"I know nothing about would or could, but I don't ( 
lieve she did. What you call a direct manifestation aeei 
to nie merely a vestigial faculty inherited from our renw 
ancestors — who, not yet having developed the orded 
conscious mind, existed by means of powers aJdn to i 
of animals. It may not be very flattering to think of mm! 
ancestors as the mining link, but I prefer it to the e 
riiu) that (he spirit of my mother has nothing better i 
ilo than to chase around sStei me." 

Fur a few minutes there was a profotmd silence. 
Alictt began to snap and unsnap the fastening of her g 
wliilo I pontinueti to polish my shoes. 

"Wn^l," m>' friend began with a sigh, "of course « 
QM bM a right to their own opinion. I don't believe i 
Uw talMtllg-tink theor>'. What's more, I do beUeve in I 
hwwiflBr Mhl that I iihall be able to come back and 1 
th» |>PO(U« I loxT?-" 

"IWt foigvi Uw parable of Lazarus and Dives," 
CAUtliMH^l hor, as I stored the bottle of shoe-polish on i 
RtwU itt iiv,v litvv Tmudjobe. "In that parable it is i 
Vnty {tlatn ihait tki thv broibn^ of Dives had not heeded Ui 
h>H«>lilii|i« k«f M^^!«« iuxl the |«Qpb^ they would p^ i 
hIIkhIIkii (o Ijumus rnsu tern the dead. My plana fs 
; (Itn iti><il wwiM ill) ih4 indiide uqr time or thought devote 
til iliK iiiit>iv4il uf my IkMods." 

Allt'n diHWi«il bw «liiik anuw to mioe and kx&ed eaga^ 

" if>|l Mi(>;' *)w iw^ml hwMmwT^r. "What do you pUi 

tn tlttf WtiHl ^ (W vwjr Jtott tlMc ii\Hi plan to do whe 

LMU Itoli Mtlml tlw vw«vto «r mmt" 



inr FIRST STEPS IN THE UKDERBRUSH 21 

^'Get Mr. Shakespeare and Lord Bacon in a comer and 
ike the old codgers tell me who really did write the plays." 
I Cnable to keep my face straight a moment longer I 
i across the hall and turned on the water in the bath- 
Returning to the room a few minutes later it was 
mt from the prim set of Alice's lips that she had de- 
i to overlook my levity. What had come over the 
-I wondered. Why had she suddenly become such a 

Won haven't asked me about my salary," she said, at- 
las though in reply to my questions. "This was pay- 
How much did you get?" My eagerness was not aa- 
"You will remember my telling you that you'd 
I good salarj'. How much?" 
jB^t dollars." 

lat?" The next instant it dawned on me that she 
"Oh, I see! Eight dollars a day. Do they 
wou forty-eight or fifty-six a week?" 

: was a pause, then she glanced up at me with a 
I twisted smile, 
ight dollars a week." Answering my continued 
8 stare she added: "All the other girls got seven — 
r their envelopes. Some of them have been working 
1 more than a year. Evidently," she said bitterly, 
t one dollar is a concession to my college degree." 
dng my seat on the foot of the bed I stared through 
ndow at the torch flaming on the top of the Metro- 
i tower. Eight hours a day, six days a week — they 
Inot even give Saturday afternoon. Eight dollars a 
: minus sixty cents car-fare — twelve cents the hour. 
I in a publishing house of international reputation ! 
At this thought I burst out laughing. Alice stared. 
"Those are the kind of publishers dear kind Mr. Heze- 
1 Butterworth used to caution me against," I explained. 



4 



22 FOUR YEARS IN THE tmOERBRUSH 

"It was just after the publication of my first novel- 
'best seller,' as you may recall. When I used to grow 
thusiastic about my publishers, Mr. Butterworth wo 
remind me: 'Don't forget, my dear, Judas Iscariot wa 
publisher.'" 

But even the silliness of this hoary joke did not mi 
AUce forget her disappointment. Watching her as she i 
^ent and woebegone in the meagre light of the bare lit 
room I congratulated myself on having induced her to ji 
me. What a mine of material she would furnish n 
Polly Preston working in New York at twelve cents an ho 
half-fed, going without clothes, perhaps walking ten mi 
a day to save car-fare. With such a background there coi 
be no doubt about my making an intensely emotional stol 
Of course, I reasoned to myself, out of the abundance 
my salary I would see to it that Alice did not actually sufl 

"What do you advise me to do?" Alice finally aski 
interrupting me in the midst of my ghoulish air-castle arc 
tecture. "Do you think I had better go back to work 
Monday or — or go home?" 

How I wished she had not asked me that question I 
is not easy to act the ghoul when the person you plan 
plunder sits up and holds out her hands to you. In tl 
instant I saw all the material— the very best material 
needed to build my History of Polly Preston go up, 
were, in thin smoke. With a sigh of genuine regret I 

"Go back to work," and my voice was emphatic. ' 
don't want to throw up the sponge and go back home yx 
first year out of college. Eight dollars a week will 
your actual living expenses. You needn't run bebil 
Besides," I added as a morsel of consolation, and with 
unholy sigh, "it won't be for long. As soon as I get sett 
in the department store I'll look around and get you a go 
opening." 

"But you don't know that you are going to get a de« 



db 



MY FIBST STEPS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 23 

P Alioe wailecL ''You may not get much more 
they pay me." 
'Doo't be silly/' I reproved, suppressing the irritation 
by being forced, as I considered it, to fill up with my 
hands such a rich mine of literary materiaL ''If you 
seen that application-blank you'd know that I am to 
pt a good — ^not wage— but a good salary, a good fat sal- 

or." 



I 



CHAPTER III 

BLIMY THINGS THAT WALK ON LEGS 

Monday morning I jammed myself into a subway 
bound for the responsible, high-salaried position which 
vanity assured me waited for me in the department st 
Arriving a few minutes after eight I found at least 
women and girls ah-eady waiting and fully as many : 
came later. On the opening of the employees' enti 
we were directed to one corner of the damp, imht 
basement and there kept standing for nearly two ho 
Finally a man and a woman made their appearance 
divided us into squads of five or six. 

The squad to which I was assigned was told to folio 
little girl with a pale face and very bowed legs. A 
about a half-hour spent in climbing up and down si 
and waiting outside closed doors we at last came to a '. 
in the loft in which we had left our hats and coats. B 
after a wait of another half-hour, a youngish man 1 
charge of us and conducting us to one corner of a I 
lunch-room informed us that he would teach us the card 
principles of salesmanship. This, so far as I was abli 
understand, comprised making out sale-shps and wei 
a perpetual smile and a black shirtwaist. 

"The company won't stand for a grouchy salesL 
I'm tellin' you," this teacher warned us at the end of 
lesson. "Ajid if you don't want to get fired you'll o 
to-morrow in a black shirtwaist. Skirts don't matta 
much, but you must wear a black waist. You can 
'em at the regular counter — dollar and a quarter, all ^ 



SLIMY THINGS THAT WALK ON LEGS 25 

Being paired with a woman whose name, she confided 
I me, was Mrs. McDavit, I was ordered to follow yet 
Bother little girl with a pale face and very bowed legs. 
Bning to a halt in the underwear department, the little 
ri turned us over to the aJale managej. He stationed us 
a long aisle-counter piled with garments ranging in price 
ran nineteen to ninety-seven cents. A MiB. Johnson, 
io was in charge of an adjoining counter, was to see to 
that we made no mistakes. 

When ordered, by the assistant aisle manager, to go with 
b. Johnson to lunch, my salesbook showed that I had 
lid three times as much as Mrs. McDavit and considerably 
4kR than Mrs. Johnson. 

• "You'll make a good saleslady," Mrs. Johnson encour- 
f^ed, "Maybe they'll make a permanent of you." 
UTiat am I now ? " 

: '^u're an extra. You'll get paid every night." 
How much?" I asked. 
Dollar a day." 
j^iopping in the middle of the floor I stared at the two 
Kxoen. "A dollar a day I Did you know you were to 
b paid only a dollar a day?" I demanded of Mrs. Mo- 
Init. 

"Tftln't much," she apologized, "but my daughter 
boks it better than takin' in wash." 
"My son has chaise of a stationary engine and Mondays 
Dd Saturdays are his long shifts," Mrs. Johnson explained. 
I can work without his knowing it. He's studying for 
be ministry and me earning two dollars a week makes it 
Iner for him." 

I lo the lunch-room maintained by the firm for its employ- 
from a long list of what appeared to be low-priced 
s I ordered vegetable soup, a baked apple, and bread 
butter. The enticingly misnamed soup proved to 
if water thickened with flour and colored wilH tQiiia.Vs 



26 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



catsup. After investigating the lumps of uncooked floffl 
at the bottom of the bowl I put it aside and devoted myad 
to the lumpy little apple and the bread and butter. ThS 
last consisted of two thin slices of white bread betweei 
wliich was the thinnest coating of butter I bad, at thll 
time, ever seen. Later I learned that it was put on with 
brush dipped in melted margarine. 

Shortly after three o'clock the aisle manager ordered n 
to report to the superintendent. That dignitary pom 
pously ordered me to report the following morning &IK 
take charge of the counter at which Mrs. McDavit and 3 
were stationed. 

"We've decided to keep you on regular," he informed inft 

"How much am I to be paid?" I asked. 

"Six a week," was his complacent reply. 

"No wonder your advertisement is always in the papers." 

He came down in his chair with a bang. 

"Wo have girls who have worked here months, years,' 
he retorted angrily. "They are content on sbt dollars i 
week, glad to get it. You are only a greenhorn." 

"But not green enough to work for six dollars a we 
and tuniuig I left his office. 

So ended my dream of a highly paid responable poo- 
tion. 

Employees not being allowed to use the elevator during 
busy huum, I was forced to tramp up three flights of stain. 
On reaching the counter I swung out the silly little seat 
atta«h(!d to one of the table-legs and sat down. 

"Got up. Get up," Mrs. Johnson urged in a whisper U 
Bhe hurried toward me. 

"Won't they even let you sit down?" I demanded, 
Btrugghng to my aching feet. 

"They won't say nothing to you but if the aisle manager 
Boen you he'll put you on their black list." 

I looked the two women over. Mrs. Johnson's whiM 



^M SLIMY THINGS THAT WALK ON LEGS 27^H 

^Be was haggard until it looked pinched. Mrs. McDavit i 

l^H lost much of her ruddy color and dark circles had I 

■^TOied under her eyes. ' 

I'ou are both dead tired. Both ready to drop," I 
^i them. "Your feet ache bo badly that you feel like 
- 'iag them off." 
If my back didn't ache I don't believe I'd mind my feet 
aiuch," Mrs. Johnson admitted. "When I was young 
zrj. didn't go t-o business as they do now, so I didn't get 
L-i training. Maybe if I had it wouldn't come so hard to 
me now." 

"It's harder than washin'. I've found that out," Mrs. 
McDavit said. After a moment she added diffidently; 
"II you was a married woman you'd know how hard it is 
Id vairk. at a thing that made your children ashamed of 

It was not long after this Httle exchange of confidences 
llut an elderly man, whom I had noticed earlier in the 
iflemoon loitering near our counter, approached and spoke 
tome. 

"These axe not of very good quality?" he questioned, 
fingering the underwear. 

"They are unusually good value," I truthfully replied. 
"Good for the price." 

"Not such as a lady like yourself would prefer?'* 

"We cannot always choose," I answered, recalling my 
One change of undergarments. 

"You would Uke those better," he said, indicating the 
fitplay of rilk underwear at the regular counter. | 

".\ny woman would," I admitted indifferently, as I 
tamed to wmt on a customer. 

A few minutes later Mrs, Johnson asked my bust mea- 

Te. She explained that a customer at the regular counter 

« buying silk underwear for a lady about my size. Glanc- 
acroBB I saw the eiderly man talking with the tesAKe 



30 FOUR yE,\HS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



■1 

t was 4 



I 



I 



I stepped up on the sidewalk and faced him. It \ 
a corner and under the full glare of an electric Ught. j 

"You go to hell," I told him, I 

Had he come one step nearer I would have done my b-«d 
to have sent him to hell. The ferule of a steel-framed iL::^ 
brella is a dangerous weapon in the hands of an infiuiatM 
woman. 

The next morning on being awakened by the alarm-clocj 
I bounded out of bed only to sink back with a half-smotBl 
ered wail of pain. The muscles of my feet, my anl'lr^ 
and my legs up to the small of my back felt like red-hC* 
cords suddenly drafvn taut through my raw flesh. Eve^JB 
inch of me below my waist ached horribly. InvoluntacJ 
tears sprang to my eyes. It took more than ten minuta™ 
for me to get a grip on myself. Then carefully and piuO|« 
fully I raised myself to a sitting position and finally stoa^ 
on my aching feet. -^ 

The MetropoUtan clock chimed for the first time thafl 
day as I halted at a subway entrance and bought a new»4 
paper. Having determined to get work that would enablM 
me to sit down until my feet and limbs stopped aching, lUJ^ 
heart throbbed with pleasure on finding an advertisemeii 
for addressers. Knowing the importance of being amoi 
the early arrivals, I hurried to the place indicated. 

"We pay one dollar a thousand," the assistant manaf 
a young girl, informed me. , "And please be careful i 
the file." 

It needed only a glance at the return address on the e 
velopes to assure me that we were working for one of t 
most widely known woman's magazines in the world, 
of having found a good job even at one dollar a thousand j 
glanced around me. The loft was in a large comer biuli 
ing and might have been well lighted as well as comfort 
heated had the windows been washed. At first I i 
them for ground glass. 



SLIMY THINGS THAT WALK ON LEGS 31 

There were only fourteen women besides myself, though 
. I^g by the chairs and tables accommodations had been 
-■sided for fully two hundred. Having seen the number 
■vomen turned away by the mail-order house, this scarcity 
workers caused me considerable surprise. 
Drawing a card from the file I stared at it in astonieh- 
nf. Instead of a distinctly wTitten name and address 
'ilack ink on a white card this thing was in two shades 
purple, the name and address stamped in purple on 

 iiin glazed purple paper which was stretched on a purple 
rvlboard frame. A woman across the table noticing my 
rprise explained that it was stencil-work. 

Kecoming thoroughly engrossed by my effort to make 

 the cards, 1 was startled when some one announced that 
was past eleven o'clock. Two hours and a half had 

]3£sed and I had addressed twenty-seven envelopes. With 
« pang of horror I realized that I could not distinguish the 
features of women less than ten feet away. 

"Is this Blank's Magazinef" I demanded of the as- 
Bstant manager. When she replied in the affirmative my 
indignation, goaded by fear of having permanently injured 
my eyes, frothed over. "All of my life — ^before I was born 
Blank's Magazine has been proclaiming its interest in wo- 
men — its efforts to help working women. Here you not 
onij' imderpay them but give work to destroy their eyes. 
Take your file." 

Snatching my hat and coat I hurried from the building 
without waiting to put them on. Fortunately the cold air 
of the street brought me to my senses. Stepping again 
from the buUding — this time clothed in my right mind as 
wpU as my hat and coat — I took the newspaper from my 

^ket for the purpose of consulting the help-wanted 

lunm. 

The sheet was a blurred mass of indistinct figures and 

ce. I could not make out a word. ThorougHy alaimsA. 



J 



I 



I 



32 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

I hurried back to my room. There deciding to wait 
after the lunch-hour before consulting an oculist, I drofl 
down on the bed and buried my head in the pillow, del 
mined not to give way to tears. The arrival of the expi 
man with Alice's tnmk aroused me. It was nearly 
o'clock and my sight had become normal. 

That evening when Alice came from work she found 
little table set for our first meal and our dinner read] 
take up. 

"You'll have to get out the knife you brought fi 
home," I explained after her first gust of enthusiasm 1 
subsided. "Sixty cents seemed about all we could 
this week for kitchen and dining-room furnishings." 

"Sixty cents!" she cried. "I was just thinking tl] 
forks and spoons the real thing — things you brought fi 
home." 

"Two and a half cents each," was my reply as I set 
pan of rice in the centre of the table. "For the pra 
we'll have to serve ourselves directly from the cool 
utensils." 

"It will save dish- washing," she approved, as she too 
chop from the pie-plate on which it had been broiled. " 
where is the soup?" 

"Soup ! You don't mean that you expect both soup 
meat for the same dinner?" 

"Then why soup plates?" 

Squaring my shoulders I sat up very proud. 

"You can eat cereals out of a soup-plate, you can <b 
soup, when we have it, out of a soup-platc. Indeed you 
do a lot of things with a soup-plate that would be utt 
impossible with either a breakfast or a dinner plate." 

"So you can," agreed Alice. "And it saves di^-wi 
ing." 

While she washed up our dinner things I made an 
count-book of the paper in which our purchases had fa 



^mr THINGS THAT WALK ON LEGS 33 
From it, under date of Novonber 14, 1916. I 



, . . .10 


2chops 

HIb butler 


JO 










;;;:::::::::::::: Z 


Icereal 

Ibmd 




&;::.:: «> 


M 




aba nee. 

s^t 

4b>iiiutaa 

8appJ« 








1 1 


.05 

JOS 

1.42 



12.02 

lit was bought at a push-cart market, but all the 
bles at standard ^ops. In one particular we 
tertunate. Being Southerners we preferred rice to 
potatoes. 

following morning we were both out before the 
politan clock announced eight- — Alice to walk to 
Bros, while I hurried to look for a new job. Answer- 
vertisements I called at sk places before ten o'clock, 
h place the apphcants far outnumbered the positions 
filled. For one clerical position there were twenty- 
pUcants, an office wishing two addressers turned away 
■eeven. At a candy factory I found the entrance so 
id by women, all answering the advertisement, that 
ce assured me it would be useless to wait my turn, 
■neying farther up-town I made my seventh call. 
Fed to be one of the largest publishing houses in the 
y and they advertised for both addressers and folders. 
ce must have expressed disappointment on learning 
1 manager that he had already taken on all he 

, As I started toward the door he called me back. 

t woman over there," he said, indicating a vacant 
i telephoned for. One of her children \iai cQiac 



34 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



home from school sick. If she doesn't come back in 
morning and you are on tune I'll give you her seat. Be I 
to be here before eight o'clock." 

Seven-thirty the next morning found me at the J 
lishing house and true to his word the manager gave m^ 
vacant chair. Although monotonous, folding, like add] 
ing is not unpleasant work. Busy fingers did not prei 
those women from talking and I soon heard a lot of go 
about several of my neighbors. The young woman afl 
the table from me was the wife of a chauffeur. As 
worked, she used her handkerchief from time to timi 
absorb tears that rolled over her baby-doll cheeks. 

Her husband, so the whisper ran around, was in : 
with his employer. This woman, according to his 
not only gave the chauffeur handsome presents, but I 
long conversations with him over the telephone the 
thing in the morning and the last thing at night, 
sides, she took him to the theatre with her and had 
lunch and dine with her at obscure road-bouses when 
went alone for long drives into the country. 

"How many children have you?" I asked the wee 
woman. 

She tossed her head scornfully and assured me and a 
ear-shot that she hadn't any and never had intendet 
have any, thank God ! Not she, to lose her shape fi 
child ! Later on I remarked to an older woman who 
next to me that I didn't see why the chauffeur's wife shi 
be so broken up— she called her husband a scoundrel 
they had no children. 

"A married woman hadn't ought to have to wo 
my neighbor reproved me. "Unless her husband is 
or misfortunate." 

Evidently her opinion was shared by all my neight 
This woman in perfect health, under thirty and whii 
actually shedding tears because she had to work, had 



SLDfY THINGS TIL\T WALK ON LEGS 86 

j.ihy. Not that she was poorer or her condition in 
^sy hardcT tlian their own, but for the single rcnson 
^heae a. manied woman had a right to be supported. 
- tnw^tng this idea o^'er in my mind my attention wan 
ted by a i^ple of pleased exclamations. 
-leaiee c^ gentleman bad entereil the loft from the 
:or and was passing along the aisle between the work- 
The carnation in his buttonhole was not more spot- 
white than his hair and whiskers. From time to 
when he would recognize a worker he would pauBO, 
hands, and exchange a few remarks. At the end of 
table he greeted the woman in charge of the folders 
, told her that he was glad to see her back and hoped 
would remain until the work was finished. When 
to his question she assured him that everything, 
ig the deUvery of the bottled milk, was being done 
the workers' comfort, he bowed to us all and passed on, 
Tlie last glimpse I had of him was among the men w(}rk' 
U the far end of the loft. He had stooped to pick up 
crutch of a lame man, an old addresser who, I wan told, 
I more than two thousand envelopes a day. 
Daring the three days and a half that I worked for that 
I never heard so much as a whispered complaint 
itiost conditions. The toft in which we worked wa.s well 
bted and ventilated. Though the weather woh bitterly 
Id it was always comfortably heated. The chairs were 
mfortable and the tables of a comfortable height. Though 
and ink and other supplies were never wasted, the 
iricers were generously supplied. 

Dn Saturday at one o'clock I was paid eight dollars, 
leemed a huge amoimt compared to the six dollars I 
^^ have received bad I continued at the department 

.ving planned to have Polly spend her life address- 
er folding circulars, Monday monunt IcmxA j 



^■wving 
Hdopes 



36 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

me again on the tramp, looking for a job. At three plaq 
I turned away without making my application known! 
having learned from experience that no business occupjin 
a few Bmall rooms has need of twoscore or more workaS 
The fourth place advertised for girla to count coupo^ 
The woman manager expressed regret at having filled it 
last vacancy. Then she added: 

"If you apply on the street floor, maybe Mr. Spend 
will take you on. Tell bim that Mrs. Linwood sent yoJ 

The street floor, to my eyes, had the appearance 
sort of general store — practically every article one ( 
wish for was to be seen and attractively arranged, 
finding Mr. Spencer I delivered Mrs. Linwood's meSsagei 

"If you are willing to begin at seven dollars a weei 
can place you at once," he told me. 

Recalling that it was a dollar more than offered by 
department store and, being in walking distance, wot 
require no car-fare, I promptly accepted. 

"Been to lunch?" Mr. Spencer inquired. "Better 
now. Taie your full hour. When you get back report 
me." 

Halting on the other side of the street I looked up at 
sign across the front of the building. What had appei 
to me to be a general store was the chief premium stal 
of a widely known company that claimed to do businea 
a profit-sharing basis. Reading the advertisements of 
firm I had always set them down as a set of crooks cat«l 
to the American craving to get something for nothing. 

So I had engaged to work for crooks ! 



CHAPTER rV 

AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 

'i On my return from lunch Mr. Spencer escorted me to 
I counter marked "Men's Department" and introduced 
t to the head of stock, Nora Joyce, a neat young girl 
1 serious blue eyes. After introducing me to the other 
b in the department Nora gave me the stand next to her 
1 and ect about explaining the work to me. 
r Ttere were one hundred and fifty different kinds of arti- 
s behind that counter, all for masculine use. The value 
4 each article was reckoned in certificates instead of dol- 
B and cents. It takes five coupons to make a certificate 
i there are half-coupons and quarter-coupons. 
I It was all very confusing at first. Noting the dexterity 
\ which the girls counted the httle slips of paper, the 
B with which they recognized each kind by its color, and 
Eated their value, seemed to me nothing short of mar- 
is. While Nora was at lunch and while I was immersed 
uple package of coupons, struggling to impress their 
I value on my eyes and mind, I suddenly realized 
me one on the other side of the counter was speaking 
Glancing up, my eyes encountered those of my first 
ler. 

If you can spare the time," she said, with an accent on 
fre, "I would like a box of men's hose— black." She 
an unusually handsome young woman and stunningly 
Kffled. 

Od my asking what size she wished she stared at me as 
bugh I had made an impertinent inquiry. 
They are for my husband," she haughtily informed me, 
ifcoUy expecting that to settle the matter. S^e covii 



i 



38 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

not tell me the size of her husband's shoe, the size of 
glove, what he weighed, nor his height. After many qa 
tions she finally divulged that he was not much short 
than she and that he was quite thin. 

The price of that box of socks was seven hundred 
fifty coupons. Imagine my feelings when that first 
tomer of mine handed me one hundred coupons and 
balance in quarter-coupons. And all the while I count 
them she stood first on one foot, then on the other, sigl 
heavily, and in other ways made me aware of her , 
impatience. Before I was half through she stalked 
to the manager's office and demanded to know how ] 
longer she was to be kept waiting for her purchase. 

A few minutes after she took her departure Mr. Spew 
came across from his office with a little bench. It ^ 
the sixth of its kind behind our counter, and he placed' 
at my station. 

"The management likes the girls to sit down when 
waiting on customers," he explained to me. "Sit down 
oft«n as you can." 

That evening at dinner, when describing my new po 
tion to Alice, I mentioned the incident of the little bcni 
and added : 

"Crooks or honest folk, they are mighty pleasant to 
with." 

It was later that same night that the tragedy hoved 
over our quiet rooming-house first made itself heard, 
must have been asleep for some time when I was sudde 
awakened by a shriek. Listening breathlessly I ala 
imagined that I had dreamed. A second shriek endinif 
a moan ! Jumping out of bed I ran across the room d 
looking out the window listened. The torch on the 
of the Metropolitan tower made the back yards of that 
tire block as bright as day. Everything was quiet. T 
was not a living creature to be seen. 



I 



AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 39 

^Bt^ing on my cloak I stepped into the hall. A youi^ 
g was coming up the stairs. 
Did you hear a womau scream?" I asked. 
Just as I came in the front door," ho told me. "I'm 
^iDst sure it came from this floor." 
A woman whom I had never seen opened the door next 
be. 

"I'm the widow of a policeman," she informed the young 
and me. "I advise you not to go running around a 
laming-house at night when you think you hear some- 
ly scream. I heard nobody scream and I'm a light 
iigier. It was your loud talking before my door that 
ted me up." 

be looked the man on the stairs over so fiercely that he 

lened to give an account of himself — he was a reporter 

& morning paper and seldom got in before three in the 

loming. On the shght foundation of that conversation 

; policeman's widow appointed herself chaperon-in-chief 

.\Uce and me. Her name was Wilkins, and we soon 

imed that she was a trimmer of men's stiff hats. 

Our circle of acquaintances broadened so rapidly that 

hiD a few daj-s it included everybody rooming on the 

floor. The first of the three front rooms was occupied 

& man who kept a restaurant; next him lived a Uttle 

Bmau who was organist in a near-by church ; while in the 

sd hved a slender young woman, unusually pretty, who 

u a milliner. In the front skyUght room, companion to 

lone occupied by the reporter, lived a man who, accord- 

[to Molly, the negro maid, had a walking-stick and a 

t at shoes to match every pair of trousers, 

i Wter making a survey, as it were, of the inhabitants of 

^ floor, Mrs. Wilkins announced to Alice and me that 

I vas convinced that the shrieks had come from the 

ist. 

lid you ever see one of 'era at it ? " she asked one evecaa^ 



40 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



when Alice and I were in her room being instructed in d 
art of stiff-hat trimming. "It's the hardest work e\'€r 
seen — playin' an organ. They pound with their finge 
stomp with their feet, and butt with their head — all at 
same time. It's enough to give anybody nightman 
playin' an organ." 

At the premium station as time wore on I learned 
full significance of the dreaded Christmas rush. Ei 
morning before the store opened the sidewalk was banl 
with people. As soon as the doors were unlocked tl 
pushed in, trampling everything before them like a 
of cattle. It seemed to me that at least one-half of 
always made straight for our counter. 

There were whole dajB when I scarcely raised my 
from the coupons I counted. Person after person 
served without my so much as glancing at their faces, 
bad become a machine. My sole aim was to serve 
ers as fast as possible, and so lessen the crowd that 
the space in front of our counter. 

And the team-work of the girls behind that counter I 
never have seen it equalled. Never an impatient word 
an angry glance. Whenever a desired article was 
the reach of the girl serving a customer some other 
would reach it for her. If a customer contested the 
of his coupons — and they were continually doing 
next saleswoman was always ready to change cusi 
and verify or correct the count. 

Don't imagine that the low money value of the 
cates and coupons prevented such Incidents. During 
five weeks I served behind that counter there were 
of persons, men and women, and most of them well 
who disputed hotly over a half, or even a quarter, 
One such individual threatened to have me arrested 
did not "produce" a quarter-coupon which he claim) 
iiave given me. He was buying a pipe the value of 



AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 

ir&s two hundred certificates. In the soiled, crumpled 
mass of paper which he handed me he claimed was the 
exact number required. My count revealed only five hun- 
dred coupons, with one thousand nine hundred and ninety- 
sine quarterHioupons. I've often wondered what punish- 
neot a judge would mete out to a woman accused of 
grpothecating a half of a mill. 

Of the seven saleswomen in our department — not count- 
Bg myself — there were five Roman Catholics, one Protes- 
Ut, and one Jewess. Church questions were not infre- 
pttDtly touched on in our conversation. One point on 
rhich they all agreed was that clergymen of all de- 
lominationa were beet described by a shrug of the 
boulders. 

One day feeling Nora's elbow on my ribs I glanced up 
rum the coupons in my hand. 

"That's my clergyman," she whispered. "Wait on 'im, 
ime." 

He proved to be pleasanter than I had expected after 
leaiiDg all the girls behind the counter declaim against men 
i bis cloth. He did become irritated when I refused to 
trealc a box of silk socks for him. When I explained that 
i was against the rules to deliver goods until after the 
RNipons had been counted, he turned his back on me. He 
ns so much better than some other customers who had 
idlea to my lot that I remonstrated with Nora for refus- 
ig to serve him. 

"Oh, I know 'em!" she replied impatiently, "See how 
leek and fat and selfish he is ! Last week one of 'em came 
t our flat and worried mother until she gave him the 
Ofley ehe'd beat saving for more than six months to get 
ffielf a pair of thick shoes." 

"Much he cared what she was saving for," the little 
trees chipped in. "My father keeps a butcher-shop, and 
• mother sees a rabbi coming she hides cvetyXloiai 



jMrer i 



42 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

except the toughest cuts. They only take the best, 
want 'em for nothing." 

"Ministers are like everybody else," the Protestant, 
announced. "They've got to feather their own nests.' 

"What woidd your minister say to that?" I aaked in 

"My ministerl" she scoffed. "He don't know me I 
Adam's cat. He never speaks to nobody off Fifth Aven 

For years I had heard persons, men and women, ded 
against the incomprehensible devotion of "shop-girls' 
chocolate Eclairs and gum-drops. Indeed only a few ( 
before quitting the National Arts Club I overheard a fa 
priced music teacher declare that she lost all patience 
"shop-girls" when she saw them lunching on a choco 
Eclair instead of a bowl of oatmeal and milk, or of 
nourishing soup." My five weeks behind the eou 
furnished me with a proved solution to the problran. 

The first time I tried lunching on a bowl of oatmeal 
milk I began to experience a most uncomfortable sensa 
under my apron before three o'clock. By five that M 
tion had become a sharp griping pain. The day foUol 
I tried soup. In the middle of the afternoon when 1 
learned how I was suffering, she went scurrying an 
among the girls in various departments and returned 
three gum-drops, which she made me eat. 

After that when I had ten cents or less to spend for h 
I invested in a chocolate Eclair and gum-drops. Witi 
a doubt such a diet does produce pale faces and a 
position to tuberculosis. Experience taught me tha 
staves off the griping agony produced by hunger 
standing on one's feet longer than any other food U 
had in New York City for the same money. When & 
wage is seven dollars a week, or less, ten cents a day i 
she can spend for lunch. 

At that time mothers on the lower East Side were 
as a protest against the high price of milk and potal 



AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 43 

[On the grocery floor of one of the Ureest department stons, 
bU foodstufis were osoaUy to be had st toek-bottom 
ontoDS were priced to me at tlur^r-oiDe eents the 
id, wliite potatoes at tveD^-eeren, azid butts at ninety- 
Three smaQ bananas were ofloed and bou^t at 
ity cente — a Saturday-ci^t bargain. 
Of oduise Alice and I couM afford none at tbeee hixazies. 
discovered black-eyed peas at t«n oeots a pound, 
that a pound was enough for four dinners, we vied wi& 
other in proclaiming our fondness for bladc-c?ed peas, 
discover^' was our mutoal reliab of peanut butter. 
led it morning, noon, and night. As a substitute 
it we never found its equal 

this time, on several occaaoos, I had beeo aroused 
itition of that piax:ing shriek. Because no ooe 
it I allowed Mrs. Wilkins and .\lice to balf- 
[e me that it was a cat. Three times I got out of 
id looking out my window tried to discover in the 
itly lighted back yards the cat which could so ex- 
itate a human being in agony. 
it ten days before Christmas the entire population 
top floor, along with a good many roomers in other 
of the house, was aroused. The shrieks and groans 
from the room of the youi^ milliner. After pound- 
vain on the milliner's door the organist ran down- 
and returned followed by the landlady with her 
of pass-keys. After they entered the room we saw 
kurant-kceper hurry out. Later he returned with 
le of whiskey. While all this took place Alice, the 
lan, and I had been kept in our rooms under 
stem guardianship of the policeman's widow. 
"'You don't know what you'll get mixed up in in a roomin'- 
le," she warmed us. "For all you can tell all who goes 
lat room will be hauled into court as witnesses — maybe 
in ;ail." 



44 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



The next morning the little organist came to ask Al 
and me to use our influence with Mre. Brown, the landla 
to prevent her from forcing the rtiilliner to leave the hoa 

"Mrs. Howard was in a sort of stupor last night wl 
we got in her room," the organist told us, referring to I 
milliner. "She seemed to be suffering intensely, and did 
come round until she had taken a stiff drink of whiskey a 
I had rubbed her side. She only wants to stay until aft 
Christmas; then she won't be so rushed with work and cai 
look around for another room, but Mrs. Brown say^ she m 
drunk last night, and must get out." I 

Later, on my way to work, I stopped at the door 
Mrs. Brown's room for the purpose of speaking to 
about the milliner. Answering my knock she came to 
door, her face wreathed in smiles. Without giving 
time to open my lips, she exclaimed : 

"I've just received a letter from Mrs. Houghton-5mil 
she told me, mentioning the name of one of the most proi 
nent women in New York. " Slie wants me to save hw 
hour this afternoon," Seeing that I did not tmderstu 
she added: "Mrs. Houghton-Smith has me read her vHx 
tions before every one of her visits to Washington." 

"Vibrations?" I questioned stupidly. 

"Didn't you know that I discovered the vibration 
ory?" she demanded, "Yes, indeed. And when I 
came to New York I held my circles in the drawing-i 
of the most exclusive people in the city. I'd be doiui 
now if my son wasn't such a fool." 

She then informed me that Mrs. Houghton-Smith 
such a firm believer in vibrations that she had tried to 
duce her, Mrs. Brown, to go to Washington and get 
dent Wilson's vibrations. This Mrs. Brown refused to 
because, being of American Revolutionary stock, she 
it would not be well for any person to be in a poeition 
control a President of the United States. 



AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 45 

It all sounded like pure nonsense to me, but that after- 
OD on retumiiig from work there was a Umousine stand- 
l before the door. It was a noticeably handsome car. 
M chauffeur and footman were in livery. Judging by 
e brilliant tights in Mrs. Brown's rooms I was sure she 
id company. 

Three evenings later Alice burst into my room while I 
u cooking our dinner. 

"What on earth has Bemstorf been doing here?" she de- 
nuded. "I met liim coming down the front steps." 
"Yon mean the German ambassador?" I questioned, 
"Exactly who I do mean. If ever I saw him I met him 
the steps. He got in the taxi that was waiting at the 
(uib, and turned up Fourth Avenue." 
"Vibrations must be powerful," I remarked, "to attract 
ich busy people as Mrs. Houghton-Smith and Count 
Emstorf." 

Explaining, I told Alice of my conversation with Mrs. 
kmrn about vibrations. To both of us it seemed a huge 
but when later the two incidents were reported to 

JMm. Wilkins, she shook her head. 

Mrs, Brown was a fortune-teller," she assured us. "But 
went under another name — something I-talian, or 

•iiciieh. My husband knew her when she kept her car- 
i^e and horses, and used to go out with swells." 
On my way to work the following morning Mrs, Brown 
Kflaid me on the stairs. She caught me by the sleeve 
od drew my ear down to the level of her lips. 
"I've found it," she whispered jubilantly. 
"Oh! I'm so glad!" I assured her, remembering that 
h one safe way to treat lunatics was to agree with all 

iiey said. 

' '.e been concentrating on it for months," she went 
'  Mrs. Houghton-Smith is the only person whose cur- 

.c,ji, I have allowed to touch my own. I wou\da'\. \\aNft 



46 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

taken even that risk if I hadn't needed her help, Sb 
to take it to the President, you know." 

Being a silent listener I learned that Mrs. Brown's : 
covery was nothing more nor less than a way to stop 
war. Beyond the bare statement that it had someti 
to do with Mexico, and that only President Wilson w 
be able to turn the trick, she would tell me nothing, 
the midst of her talk she struck the banister sharply 
her fist, and exclaimed: 

"Just to think it might all have come to nothing I 1 
villain Bemstorf came here last night. He asked for 
by my otlier name, and the maid has orders never to 
such callers in. He made her bring up his card — said 1 
Houghton-Smith had given him my address. Had I 
him our currents would have come into such conflict l 
I might never have discovered the way to end the war 

Saturday before Christmas the crush in the prtxD 
station was so great that several times the doora were d 
to keep more customers from crowding in. There was i 
a break in the crowd before our counter. More than 
Mr. Spencer wedged his way through the packed huma 
to tell us to keep our seats while waiting on custou 
Then he turned to the waiting throng and called out: 

"You people must have patience. I won't have my | 
killing themselves." 

When six o'clock came, though he had the doors cli 
promptly, there was such a crowd inside that it wafl 
past seven before the station could be cleared. Evai 
he had to forbid the salespeople waiting on any more 
tomers, and ordered us out from behind the counters. 

On reaching my room I found AUce and Mrs. WH 
waiting for me with my dinner nice and hot. On tr; 
to explain my delay I found that I could not pronounce 
words needed by my mind to express my thoughts, 
tuitively, it would seem, Alice recognized what was 
matter. 



AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 



47 



"Wwt!" she cried, springing up. "Don't try to say a 
lord. Get her undressed, Mrs. Wilkins. I'll be r^t 

" She dashed into her room and came racing back with 

t white pellets and a glass of cold water. As soon as I 
lowed the pellet-e they put me to bed, and I imagine 
Hat as soon as my head touched the pillow I fell asleep. 
f On waking the next day I found Mrs. Wilkins standing * 
over me with a bowl of hot milk. It was after two o'clock, 
hery time I opened my eyes during that afternoon either 
Wilkins or Alice insisted on my eating something, 
Mch they always had ready. 

later Alice explained that she had suffered from a similar 

hakdown from overstudy during a collie exam. The 

ID white pellets were left over from that attack. 

Two nights later the whole house was aroused by the 

's shrieks. We learned that she had been suffer- 

ahnost nightly, but because of timely care given by 

I restaurant-keeper and the organist, her attacks had 

B checked before becoming acute. Now it so happened 

It the restaurant man had been called out of town, and 

b little organist, fatigued by rehearsing her choir for ] 

Qirietmas, had not been aroused in time. 

fifcalling Mrs. Brown's threat to turn the girl out if she 

jain disturbed her roomers, Alice and I stopped in to see 

ie landlady on our way to work. We explained that the 

iliner only wished to remain until the Christmas rush in 

9 trade was over. After that she would be able to re- 

BBi to her home in Vermont or find another room. The 

bndlady was so stubborn that Alice was finally forced to 

Ik her trump card. 

' "My mother has ordered me to come home for Christmas 
Hatt me a railroad ticket. I am leaving to-morrow im- 
lediatdy on leaving work. If you have really promised 
[re. Howard's room to aaother person, I'U ask Kei \,o Msa 1 




I 



fgt t^ BM ifciiilfi*! Rh tvvi wtiiv far tfae ownen.' 

"Tm Mid kr tfe FMi^Mt ^ added. 

•np^ MMit ctf tfce Mill III bMg »id at (faepraid 
■Nrtioa woe far OrislBMB fumia , tiien was not i 
«•& of ChntaM beUnd the eooHfan. Thedsjr 
tfw boGdsjr oae pd joyftilly ooofided to us all that 1 
mother had p roe aiwjd the fiunSy a tnrikxy £imer. 

"Tnrkejr!" Non ^^f**^**™** TheD die turned to 
"GrocerieB hare gMie up so that H takes all father ai 
can do to get the che^est aorts of food for the diildl 
Mother is a fine buver, but m never hare meat 
than once a day. Then it is oahr stew or fish. I used 
couldn't bear either, but youH eat anything wbai you 
real hungry' and dog-tired." 

Late that afternoon Mr. Spencer stopped at my end 
the counter. He had been watohiog me, he said, and 
llkwl the way I worked. If I wished to come back aft 
C^riMtmjui ho would be glad to give me a permanent pa 
Uon. Though I had never intended to remain longer thi 
(Jio boliflay rufih, his manner was so pleasant, so sincett 
ftppiwlalive, that before I realized it I had promised 
report the day after Christmas. 




AGAINST A RUSH OF THE HERD 49 

Tb*t eveniDg, Christmas Eve, on returning from work I 
itmd a white sheet spread on the Soor of the hall, just 
the front door and by the side of the stairs. The 
i into which the sheet had fallen struck me as pecuhar, 
I paused on the stairs and stared down at it. My eyes 
udering farther made out the uniform of a policeman in 
dusk of the rear hall. 

That's Mrs. Howard," the voice of the little organist 
Wd me as she developed from the shadow beyond the 
"She was taken sick while at work, this morn- 
-tiiey sent her home in a cab. When I got a doctor he 
ibe must go at once to a hospital. She died as the 
belcher-bearers were bringing her down the stairs. She 
It to remain here on the floor until the coroner comes." 
Heart trouble?" 1 asked. 

Yes. The doctor said it was brought on by overwork 
I underfeeding." The little organist's voice trembled, 
I ghe gulped down a sob as she added : ' ' /\iid on Christmas 
ii^tool" 

"And in a Christian country," I agreed. " In the richest 
^in the world." 

That Christmas was the first holiday I erer really appre- 
Remaining in bed the entire day I subsisted on a 
If of stale bread and two specked apples, both left-overs 
' the hat^trimmer, who had gone to spend a week with 
!r brother in Jersey. 

During the second week in January Mr. Spencer agam 
MDght up the question of my becoraJug a regular sales- 
tninan in the premium station. Nora thought he planned 
*make me head of stock at a near-by counter. Forced to 
n^e him a definite answer, I told him that conditions at 
home made it necessary for me to leave New York — I 
iW give up my job at the end of that week. On my 
ffing him good-by he assured me that he would always 
Wean opening for me whenever I chose to reluru. 



50 FOUR YEARS IN THE tlNDERBRUSH 

Alice and the hat-trimmer were the only persons wi 
knew that I had signed a contract with the Sea Foa 
Hotel, a large hotel at a well-known resort. I was to ser 
as waitress. 




^' 



CHAPTER V 

HUMAN COOTIES 

IThkv pUmiitig my adventure as Polly PreetoD, tlie 
d my proposed novel, the idea of including donie^ 
it aervioe did not occur to me. It was Alire who first 
nd me to consider such an experience. Telling why 
had 0Y^i up her position in the institution for defeo- 
IR efaildreo, she had exclaimed : 

"1 was engaged as a teacher — the people at college all 
ndostood I was to have a teacher's position. After they 
ptme there they treated me like a servant." 
Thinking over this incident, I wondered how it felt to 
be treated as a servant. Were well-bred people really so 
disagreeable to those who served them? How had the 
Bn-ants at home looked upon our household ? Was it pos- 
6k that they found fault with my mother's treatment of 
em? If so, in what particular had she failed? 
These thoughts called to mind words of the late Franklin 
i Sanborn when recounting to me his recollections of 
Lemsa M. Alcott. It was near the end of a perfect Octo- 
b day spent rambling about Concord with Mr. Sanborn 
my escort. After spending some time in the School of 
jlosophy we crossed to the Alcott house and, going up- 
fairs, took our seats near the window at which Miss Alcott 
Itvhen writing "Little Women." Mr. Sanborn hod been 
continuously for several minutes when suddenly he 
Opped and sat looking thoughtfully out of the window. 
Louisa was wonderful!" he exclaimed, beginning to 
: as suddenly as he had stopped. "Yes, she was won- 
^frfuL Even to the last she was as ready to cxpetvinwA 



J 



54 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"It must be grand!" she exclaimed. "To get 
good things to eat all the year round as they give ufl 
Coney in the summer. Sure, you'll get it at that hi 
That place is sweller than Coney. An' your tips will 
bigger, too." 

When I called her attention to the statement that wi 
reaaes serving in the side halls received sixteen dollan 
month while those serving in the m a in dining-room a 
got thirterai she urged me to "sign up" for a side hall j 
Side hall she assured me meant a piazza glassed in ( 
sun parlor. 

"Them's the places real swells like to eat in bo they 
see things whilst they're eatin'," she insisted. "TheyTl 
further from the kitchen and serving-room, but youll 
bigger tips. Better 'sign up' for the job in the Bide ha 

And she talked so much about the grand food sapj^ 
by the Coney Island hotel and the grander food that I 
sure to get at the Sea Foam that I used to dream aboul 
For, though Alice and I were not actually starving, we 1 
suppressed our craving for food to such an extent that pi 
ing a bake-shop or a restaurant caused an unpleasant i 
sation. I had gone off seventeen pounds in weight, i 
Alice was so thin that she didn't dare get on the scales. 

When buying my ticket I learned that the rates quoti 
by the prospectus had been out of date more than & 
years. On arriving at Belgrave House, the waitreM 
dormitory, I mentioned to the housekeeper as she 
istered me that I wished to buy one of the black and 
of the white uniforms, also mentioned in the prosped 
as being supphed at wholesale prices. She showed a 
siderable embarrassment. Waitresses, she explained, hi 
not liked the cut of the skirts, so there was not a full lins^ 
hand. 

Those skirts 1 They were of that period when the 
glass was the model of feminine grace and el^ance. 




HUMAN COOTIES 

b measure in stock was nineteen inches. That 
r-fow inches long and measured more than 
nida around the bottom. Having to go on duty within 
B houra, I was forced to get scnnething in the way of a 
am. Fortunately, on a pinch, I can cut and sew. 
ing a black and a white skirt — dimensions, nineteen by 
f4aaT mches by six yards — I set to work. 
Her ahortening the white skirt and making it wider at 
top and narrower at the bottom I rushed to the board- 
:, wbeK I bought a white and a black shirtwaist. 
t course, they cost me three times as much as thciy 
) sdling for in New York. 

tte wiutreeses' dinner was in progress when I presented 
•If in my unifonn. The assistant housekeeper of Bel- 
e being at the desk, she conducted me into the large, 
ly lighted dining-rocwn and found me a vacant chair 
table for eight. During the meal, when the waitress 
me cordially offered her help, I asked if she was sta- 
id in the main dining-room or the side-hall. After 
•tg she was in the main dining-room she shut up like a 
u Evec7 effort to leam where and what the side-hall 
met an unmistakable rebuff. Puzzled, and a Uttle bit 
sdf I at length said to the waitress who had offered me 



Toall be helping me a lot if you will tell me what to 

get ft good station." Then, including all at table, 
[ knew they were all listening, I added: "You see, this 
y first time in a hotel. I've always worked in a private 
ij. Please tell me what to do." 

PoDov along with us when we report for dinner, take 
r seat in the back of the dining-room, and wait till the 

1 waiter comra," she told me. 

Wbea the head waiter sees you sitting there he'll know 
le new and ^ve you a station," another waitress added. 
t follow along with us." 



4 



btai 
lackl 



56 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Following these directioos took me through a co' 
passageway connecting Belgrave with the Sea Ffl 
From this we entered a large kitchen which, on my 
entrance, seemed thronged with men — black and w 
From the kitchen we went down a long flight of unusu 
steep stairs to a basement passageway in which I got 
first glimpse of a time-clock. After punching her time 
waitress who had spoken to me at dinner signalled tat 
to follow her. 

"That is the side-hall dining-room," she told me, 
eating a large basement room, rudely equipped with 
and chairs, "It's where the office help, housekeepers, 
linen-room girls eat." We turned and were going back' 
the steep stairs when she asked: "Did you notice that 
assistant housekeeper of Belgrave is lame?" 

"She's so lame that she can hardly walk," I excUil 
"I had to notice it." 

" She served in the side-hall," the prl told me, still i 
ing half under her breath. "She fell down these 
with a loaded tray and was in the hospital for more t 
year. She's got her position for life. The Sea Foam 
to take care of her." 

From the kitchen we passed through a long ser 
room and from that we entered the Sea Foam dining-a 
It was a spacious one with rows of very broad window 
four sides, those on three sides giving a splendid via 
the ocean. The walls, woodwork, and the slender pi 
supporting the ceiling were white enamel. There w 
long strip of blue-gray velvet carpet extending from 
door the entire length of the room. The steam-radia 
which almost encircled the room, were so brilliantly j 
that I almost imagined them covered with gold-leaf. 

At dinner I was stationed at a table of six covers. 
guests, I soon learned, were the family of a multimiUi( 



HUMAN COOTIES 



1 

mess, and a 1 



'—wife, three small children, their French governess, . 

»med nurse. For the first three meals I worked under 
B supervision of Anna, a waitress who had been in the 
a Foam for more than six months. One of her first in- 
actions was: 

"Don't pay no attention to her," indicating the million-^ 
16*8 wife. "She'U work your head o£f and won't give you 

t much as a thank-you." 

Thfa family took their meals in two sections — the chil- 

ea with the governess and nurse, the mother alone. At 

e first dinner I served without the assistance of Anna 

e mistress of miUions wrote her order as follows: 

"Two portions of oysters on the half shell, two portions 

\ oUves, two portions of asparagus, two portions of the 

Pof lettuce without dressing, two portions of fried 
s, eight portions of the heart of celery, six portions 
lishes, two portions of apples, two portions crystal- 
ginger, two cups of hot chocolate, two portions of 
crackers, two portions of cheese, two portions of squabs, 
two portions of green peas, two portions of queen fritters, 
two portions of chocolate ice-cream, and two portions of 
cake." 

She ordered me to bring it all in on the same tray, as she 
did not wish to be kept waiting. When one recalls the 
wei^t of hotel china and the custom of covering each dish 
with one a size smaller, the physical impossibility of obey- 
ing this order will be understood. Following Anna's io- 
Btructions, I "paid no attention" to the millionaire's wife. 
It required three traya as heavy as I could lift to get her 
dinner in to her. 

Each time I returned from the kitchen I found her in 
the act of trying to complain to the assistant head waiter. 
She grumbled at me because I did not stand behind her 
chair and put the dishes before her as fast as she wanted 
Of course, she did not eat all she ordered. She 



60 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

what I bad imagined. In the first place I had alwaysj 
sumed that hotel waiters had the same food as the guei 
certainly what was left over. Such, I was assured by | 
head waiter and the steward, is the custom only in "chj 
joints." At the Sea Foam, if a waitress ate so much  
mouthful of food left by a guest she was discharges 
disgrace. I 

Our food — that is, the food prepared in the kitchei^ 
Belgrave House — was the worst I have ever tried to swal 
During my second week, the breakfast being more i 
able than usual, I complained to Mary, my room 
Mary was scrubwoman and maid of all work in the ] 
grave kitchen. I asked her why, if they were going to 8 
us scraps of meat over from the Sea Foam, it ' 
properly cooked? 

She assured me that the only food sent from the Im 
were the meals for the Belgrave housekeeper. In proo| 
this she took me down to the kitchen of the dormitory i 
showed me the box of sliced bacon from which what 1 1 
called "meat scraps" had been taken. It was the 9 
grade. I 

Mary explained that the cook had emptied half <tf j 
contents of a box mto a huge pan and put it over the I 
To keep it from burning he stirred it around from timi 
time, then ladled the mass into dishes and sent it into } 
dining-room. That bacon is a fair sample of the £^ 
served in the waitresses' dining-room while I worke(" 
the Sea Foam. 

What the consequences might have been had the i 
resses been supplied with sufficient amount of ; 
food may be questioned. As to what actually happ< 
there can be no doubt. "Dog tired" from overwork a 
lack of food, a large majority of the waitresses hurrie* 
the seashore immediately on leaving the dining-rooia U 
dinner. Often this was after nine o'clock at nig] 



HUMAN COOTIES 



61 



Their Sist trip was taken in search of food. Accom- 
panied by two of my fellow waitresses, I made such a trip 
Ihe nighl after my arrival. Twenty men, in groups of two 
or more, mvited us to eat with them. It is a question 
easily settled when a girl has money, but when she has no 
moDey and is hungry, what then? This is no abnormal 
&{>j)etite created by sea air. It is hard work and lack of 
food at our regular meals. i 

Another of my misapprehensions. I had fancied that the 
dutj' of a waiter or a waitress was to serve food, three meals ' 
» day. Time between meals I assumed they were free to 
We as they pleased. 
When on regiJar duty a waitress at the Sea Foam reports 
 breakfast not later than a quarter before seven. To 
' this I had to rise at five forty-five. In that hour I had 
I'j tal:e my bath, dress, make my bed, straighten up my 
iwm, eat my breakfast, punch the time-clock in the base- 
ment of the hotel, and get in the dining-room before tho 
time mentioned. If so much as a fraction of a second late 
the (ioor was bolted against me. 

Though breakfast was supposed to end at nine, a waitress 
sfliiom, almost never, got rid of her guests until a half- 
''"iir later. Then came the collection of used napkins and 
tehMotha and exchanging them for fresh ones. Next 
tw wasliing and polishing of silver and glass, the cleaning 
Md filling of sugar-bowls, water-bottles, salt-shakers, 
pfpper-shakers, vinegar-cruets, oil-bottle, and, last though 
^' CO means least, the arranging of cut flowers. After this 
»aa ill accomplished to the satisfaction of the head waiter 
<f his assistant the chairs, side-tables, radiators, and all the 
'wdwork in the dining-room had to be gone over with a 
P cloth. Then came the setting of the tables, leaving 
f teady for the next meal. It was seldom we got 
li this morning work before eleven, 
tween that time and twelve-fifty there ^&a iiXva.*^ 




I 



I 



64 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Beulah, whose season in Bermuda had been cut afaOTt l| 
the war, came to Sea Foam on a three weeks* contrad 
Through a waitress friend she received an offer of a pernu 
nent position in a hotel near New York City. Thouj^ 
was ten days before Easter and gave the head waiter azDjd 
time to fill her place, he not only refused to pay the 
due her but threatened to have her black-listed in boU 
employment bureaus. In order to reach her new podtioi 
Beulah was forced to borrow money to pay her rajlioai 
fare. 

Not wishing to write and borrow money of Alice to pa; 
my way back to New York, I determined to get myself die 
charged. How to accomplish this without doing anythiai 
rude or disorderly became my problem. When, a few d^ 
before Easter, the assistant housekeeper of theBelgravecon 
fided to me that the head waiter had confided to her his 
tention of pving me a year's contract, perhaps making 
a "captain," I gritted my teeth. Determined not to b» 
row of Alice, I was equally as determined not to remui 
the end of my contract. 

The day before Easter I was put on early watch for 
second time. As waitresses are supposed to take turn* M 
watch duty, believing that my opportunity for getting my* 
self discharged had come, I hurried to the head WMter. 
He listened to my complaint against his assistant and then 
explained that he had suggested my being put on watch 
because there were so many new waitresses who could no 
be trusted to "swing the job." 

"You've got a head on your shoulders," he informed me 
"The management has decided to keep you on after Easteri 
That's the reason I'm pushing you forward — to get y« 
promoted." 

Easter morning foxmd the head waiter and his 
80 nervous that they reminded me of ill-conditioned sheep 
dogs snapping and snarling at each and every member 



HUMAN COOTIES 

(heir flock. A few minutes after the dining-room door 
opened for breakfast, just when the earliest guests began 
to trickle in, the first of a veritable avalanche of potted 
plants and cut flowers were brought in. Certain guests, 
wishing their tables to be especially attractive, had ordered 
these flowers and plants added to the abundant supply 
alresdy provided by the hotel. 

So, after getting rid of our breakfast guests, in addition 
to our routine work we waitresses had to put those plants 
aod flowers on the tables indicated, and make them look as 
l«esentable as possible. This was far from an easy task, 
for in most cases the plants and flowers had been chosen 
because of their beauty and utterly regardless of the size 
or tie shape of the table to be decorated. It was twenty- 
dx minutes after twelve when I left that dining-room, and 
several waitresses were still struggling with their over- 
tbundance of cut flowers and potted plants. 

Having changed my uniform and swallowed a few mor- 
sels in the way of lunch, I was back in the dining-room at 
twelve thirty-seven. When the doors opened, the occu- 
pants of my three tables, instead of being among the early 
diseis as they had all promised, were all late. Anna, 
nhcee station was next mine, was unfortunate in the oppo- 
ate direction — bei guests, four at one table and two at the 
other, all arrived at the same time. 

Fen- the sake of helping Anna I took the order of the 
goests at her two-seater — a German-American and his 
American wife, the most perfect example of a rooster-pecked 
woDUua I have ever seen. On returning from the kitchen 
with the second course for this couple, I found all my guests 
in their seats. After serving the course on my tray I went 
to the assistant head waiter, explained to him that Anna 
needed assistance, and turned over to him the order of the 
C«inan-American. Then, returning to my station, I took 
tOe orders of my own peoph. 




I 

I 
I 



66 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

At that time, on a bench at the back of the dining-roc 
there were seated, waiting to be called on. nine extra wi 
reases who had been brought on from a near-by city tl 
morning. When instructing the regular waitresses tl 
morning the head waiter had ordered ua to report to hi 
self or his as.<;i5tant when any of us needed the help of th 
girls. Naturally I expected the assistant head waiter 
send one of them to finish serving the guests at Ann 
two-seater. 

On returning with my tray laden with the first course 
my dx guests I found Anna's station in an uproar. 1 
German- American, haWng seen me take the orders of i 
regular guests, had complained so loudly that the hi 
wiuter had to be called from the front of the dining-roffln 
straighten matters out. Catching sight of me on my 
turn from the kitchen, the hyphenated citizen again j 
sisted in his demand to have "that one with hair" fin 
serving his table. The head waiter, who was really a ■* 
good sort, firmly insisted that he must either accept 
services of the extra waitress or wait and take his turn t 

 Anna. 

H On my way back to the kitchen the assistant head wa 

H met me. He was on the carpet and I in the aisle next 

 waU. 

H "This is the last meal you'll serve for me," he caJ 

H across the double line of tables to me, throwing up his 

H in a nervous way he had. 

H "I accept my discharge," I replied, realizing in A 

H the opportunity for which I had been looking. 

H In the serving-room and kitchen I scattered the 

H broadcast, telling every one with whom I came in speak 

H distance that the assistant head waiter had discharged 

H The steward assured me that it was all a mistake. 1 

I assistant head waiter was under a great strain, he 

H p)amed, and very nervous. He tried lo get me to prcou 



HUMAN COOTIES 67 

not to notice the incident and to report as usual in the 
dining-room for supper. 

Two of my guests who overheard me tell Aima offered to 
t&ke the matter up with the manager of the hotel if the head 
waiter refused to keep me on. This frightened me stiff. 
Ten days more at the Sea Foam was more than I could look 
forward to with equanimity. There was genuine pathos in 
my voice when I begged them not to interfere. 

My description of my discharge so affected Mary, my 
roommate, that she insisted on taking me for an outing. 
In fact, nothing but my positive refusal to get into a wheel- 
chair prevented her from indulging in that extravagant 
attention. Truthfully assuring her that it would be much 
more enjoyable to sit and watch the crowd, we found com- 
tartable seats under a pavihon and there spent the after- 

Perhaps it was the weather, or maybe the reaction fol- 
ing the emotional elation caused by the incident of my 
'harge. Whatever the reason, I have never before or 
e experienced such a virulent attack of discouragement 
I did while watching that moving throng. Not for my- 
! alone, but for the human race. While watching the 
iple passing in front of us — two steady streams of walk- 
cfs with two packed luies of wheel-chairs between — I sud- 
denly reahzed them as an endless succession of pygmies. 

Not one of them nor all of them could stop the incom- 
ing nor the outgoing of the sea that over the beach had 
the look of dirty bilge-water as creeping in higlier and 
higher it slapped the sand. Nor could one of them nor 
all of them sweep aside the mist that like a dingy white 
curtain cut off our view of the ocean and rendered indis- 
" ct the end of the boardwalk. 
What were they trying to do, these pygmies ? For what 
re they struggling ? Here they were tramping futUely up 
id down the shore, working hard to digest l\ie ^qo4 ■^Vv'a 



68 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

which Uiey had just stuffed themselves — while in the ra 
of the hotels I knew there were ten times as many woridj 
even harder to get food to support life. 

What did it all mean — this endless, unceasing strugg 
between human cooties and human drudges? What did 
all amount to — the lives of these pygmies? Where hj 
they come from? Where were they going? What wt 
they trying to do ? 

Then, my thoughts turning inward, I demanded o£ m; 
self: 

"What are you trying to do? Granting that thi 
pygmies crawling along the beaches are human cooti 
and those working in the hotels are human drudges, wh 
then ? The cooties are no more to blame for our econoj 
system than the drudges. You've been a human coo 
and you know that you did not give any more thought 
the human drudges who slaved for your comfort than th< 
people do to you. Remember the time you stopped at t 
Ardale-Stratton ? Spent money like water." 

Thus reminded of my first visit to this resort, my mi 
slipped back more than ten years. I had come down fro 
New York City under the chaperonage of one of the mi 
distinguished women in the country. We planned to ] 
main two weeks. Before the end of that time she h 
been taken seriously iU, and, though her own relatives a: 
friends left her and returned to their homes, I remain) 
Bored by the monotony of hotel Ufe, with the knowledge 
spending too much money perpetually nagging at my 
sciousness, I dreaded to leave the old lady among strangi 
and attended only by her maid. Our visit stretched fit 
two weeks to five months. Day after day I had loaf 
along the beach, watching the water — the threatenii 
the greedy, the sullen, the laughing, the beautiful, 
peaceful, the soothing sea. 

With a throb of pride I recalled that every Sunday moj 



-^ -*- 



I 



70 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

coraer, in the background three slender spars of a schoona 
rigged sailing-vessel crept into view. Her hull seemed 
black cord above the silvery sea, and her stretch of cai 
vas, low down, appeared hardly larger than my thumi 
nail. 

"The new and the old!" I exclaimed, comparing 
majestic power of the dreadnought with the strug^ 
Bailing-ship. 

Every drop of blood in your veins crossed the Atlant 
in a vessel no lai^er and in all human probabilities no ma 
seaworthy than that schooner, my thoughta ran on. Wb 
voyages those must have been ! Storms I Shipwreck 
What men and what women I — French Huguenot, Englia 
Welsh, and Scot. 

Standing there under the pa\'ilion with my eyes fastent 
on the struggling ship, I fell to musing about those ancesta 
of mine — how they had struggled against all the forces 
nature to conquer a wilderness inhabited by savages; hoi 
after conquering that wilderness, they had wrenched thi 
new homes free from the mother country. And with 
start of amazement J. considered their reason, why they hi 
dared all, suffered all— to found a government under whi 
every child might be born free and equal. 

Free and equal ! 'What did that mean ? What 
those wonderful old men and women planned ? 

I looked down at Mary. And across my mind 1 
swept stories of the man from whom my Welsh strain sprun 
After serving as governor of the colony he had enlisted 
the Continental army as a private. Thougli his son-i 
law, one generation nearer me, had become one of Wi 
ington's major-generals — a private the old Welshman p« 
sisted in remaining to the end of the Revolution. 

Hot blood crept up into my face until my cheeks burw 
and my ears tmgled. Who was I, what had I accomplishe 



HUILVX COOTIES 



1 



that gave me the right to turn up my nose at associating 
with a kitchen-Diaid ? I slipped back into the seat beside 
Mary. 

What had I done? What was I doing to carry on the 
high resolves of this old Welshman and the rest of my 
hard-fighting, high-thinking ancestors? II I could not go 
lo the front and fight to carry on the ideals of the country 
 y had founded I could at least try to bring about an 
lerstanding of conditions at home — conditions caused 
the ever-increasing struggle between human cooties and 
man drudges — a struggle which appears to nie now as I 
lie to threaten a greater disaster than that of the World 
War! 
Turning to the woman at my side, I asked : 
"Mary, didn't you say that your cousin planned to give 
^1 her position as head chambermaid with a wealthy family 
b Pennsylvania ? " 

ihe give notice more'n three months ago," my room- 
mte assured me, eager to get me to talk. "If the house- 
BT wasn't so mortal hard to please Jennic'd be married 
■od livin' in her own home- The man she's goin' to marry 
oiraa his own farm and lives real well," jVnd Mary ram- 
bled off, giving a minute description of her cousin's future 
huBband and home. 

On our way back to the Belgrave after helping Mary 
compose a night-letter to her cousin I sent a telegram to 
Alice announcing that I would return the next day to New 
TorL That evening on their return from work in the 
Bea Foam my fellow waitresses gave me a farewell enter- 
Jtiimnent. 

ll And it was a real entertainment, for several of the girls 

' d good natural voices and an ear for muaic. It will be 

long time before memories of "I'd Give My Crown for 

1 Iriah Stew," as sung by laughter-loving Mollie, fade3 



72 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

from my mind. One young waitress seemed to me as 
a clog-dancer as I had seen on the stage. She had pii 
up the steps at a minstrel show — one attendance- Whi( 
was still more surprising to me was that every one of 
could do something in the way of playing the piano, 
one of them had ever taken lessons. 

Though I thoroughly enjoyed that evening I do not 
lieve that in my whole life I ever felt so diffidently 
conscious. The realization of yourself as the only h; 
among honest folk is not pleasant. These girls were 
genuinely sorry for me, for my being discharged. Ead 
one had contributed her mite to pay for the bxmch d 
flowers presented to me at the end of the evening. I fol 
like a thief. ] 

The next morning when I appUed at the hotel office 
the wage due me, the paymaster gave me a receipt to a 
He had computed the amoimt at the rate of thirteen doUl 
a month. 

"Accordmg to my contract I was to be paid at the 
of sixteen dollars a month," I remmded him, returning i 
paper unsigned. 

"You are not working in the side-hall," he snapped 
at me. 

"I went where I was sent," I told him. "The 
waiter stationed me in the dining-room. Since the hot 
required me to sign a contract I shall require the hotel 
Uve up to that contract." 

Being accustomed to handling uneducated women ti 
man fancied that all he had to do to intimidate me was 
talk loud. When he paused in his shouting I repeated 
first statement — the hotel must live up to its contract l 
me. After a second bout at loud talking the stenc^ra|ri 
came to his assistance. She assured me "as a friend" tl 
I had best take the amount offered me, as it waa all tha 




HUMAN COOTIES 



would get. Besides I had no copy of the coDtract I claimed 

' have signed. 

.--he gasped on being assxired that I did have a second 
 py of the contract — the copy Mrs. Wilkins had sent for. 
Taking another tack, this girl reminded me that the differ- 
ence between sixteen and thirteen was too small to dispute 
iibout. Whereupon I inquired why the hotel was imwill- 
icg to pay it. 

Declaring that nothing could be done until my contract 
was found, both the stenographer and the paymaster went 
back to their work. After waiting thirty minutes by the 
clock I again asked for my wages. The paymaster in- 
formed me that my contract had not been found and that 
I would have to wait till they had time to look for it. At 
the end of the second thirty minutes, and seeing that no 
effort was being made to get the contract, I remarked that 
perhaps it might be just as well for me to call on the clerk 
of the district court while waiting. 

Simple as that statement may seem, it had a surprising 
effect on the paymaster. Hurrying to the door of hia en- 
closure he urged me to enter, sit down, and wait for the 
manager. The manager, he assured me, kept all contracts 
locked in a safe of which he alone knew the combination. 
On my persisting he followed me along the passageway, 
begging me "as a friend" to have a httle patience. An- 
other odd featiu"e of the performance was that the house- 
keeper of the Belgrave, though she had held the position 
for more than ten years, could not direct me to the city 
hall. 

Once on the streets every passer-by was able to point out 
the city hall and tell me in just which corner I would find the 
clerk of court. This man was or pretended to be as igno- 
rant of Sea Foam as the housekeeper had been of his where- 
abouts. When I first stated my case he had some difficulty 



74 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

in recalling that there was such a hotel in the placi 
is one of the best known thereabouts and less than fii 
blocks from hia office. His negro man of all work was 
well informed that he was able not only to locate it exaci 
but to give the names of the stockholders. 

The clerk of court, when warning me against "Invoki] 
the law" for such a small sum, informed me: 

"The judge is all right, of course, but when it comes 
a case against one of our large hotels there's never ai 
telling which way the cat will jump. I strongly advi 
you to go back to the hotel and see the manager. Ma; 
be they will have found your contract and will be willil 
to pay you at the rate of sixteen a month." Then 1 
added, as he handed me his card: "I wouldn't be aurpris 
you'd find them with the money all counted out ready I 
you." 

"Neither would I," I answered, keeping tight hold 
the muscles of my face to prevent myself from retumii 
his smile. 

And it proved even as he said. Not only was the mom 
ready for me but the paymaster's manner had imdergone 
complete change. Telling me that the manager wished 
speak to me, he held open the office-door and politely ushen 
me in. 

The manager of the Sea Foam is, or was at that time, 
square-built man with red hair. As we stared at ea 
other across the broad top of his mahogany office-table OT 
eyes were on a level. It was quite evident that he expecb 
to stare me out of countenance. He made a mistake. H 
eyes were the first to give way. 

"Won't you sit down?" he said, motioning to a chur. 

"Thank you. I have neither the time nor the i 
cUnation," I told him. "What is it you wish to aaor 
me?" 



HUMAN COOTIES 



75 



"To ask you why you went to the clerk of court." 
"To prove to the Sea Foam waitresses that they can 
[nrce the hotel to live up to its contracts." 
Then I told him of the way little Beulah had been 
treated. He listened as though hearing of such an inci- 
dent for the first time. Judging by what I had heard, it 
had been the policy of the hotel toward waitresses for 



At lunch, my last meal at the Belgrave, when describing 
my experience I distributed copies of the clerk of court's 
tiusLness cards. 

"It won't do any good until we are organized," one 
fjf the older girls said. "If a few of us kick or insist 
on being paid sixteen instead of thirteen we'll be dis- 
charged and blacklisted. If we organize we can force up 
wages " 

"And cut out tips," a younger girl interrupted. "It's a 
dam shame for the hotels to put up their rates and expect 
guests to pay extra for service. It's a darn ahanie." 

While this was going on the girls at the other end of the 

table had been whispering together. Now the girl at the 

head of the table held up her hand, signalling for silence. 

■'■!ieTi, after a glance at the adjoining table to make sure the 

-tant housekeeper was not listening, she informed me 

l1 she had been delegated to ask me to remain and or- 
ganize the waitresses, beginning with those working in the 
larger hotels. 

The request was so unexpected that for a moment I was 
dumb. On recovering myself I reminded them that our 
country was at war. So long as the war lasted we at home 
must keep our shoulder to the wheel. If the wheel cut 
into our flesh we must endure it for the sake of pushing the 
load to safety. 

"^Tid after the war?" the spokesman asked. 



CHAPTER VI 
GOOD HUNTING-GROUND 

I my return after this experience Mrs. Wilkina said 
[ had lost twenty pounds, while Alice candidly assured 
rthat I could not look worse had I been buried and dug 
up. Such backhanded compliments did not encourage me 
to take either of them into my confidence. And, though 
Alice remarked on the length of time it had taken me to 
get to New York, it did not seem necessary for me to men- 
tion having stopped off at a station in Pennsylvania long 
enough to be interviewed by the housekeeper of Sutton 
House. Neither did I feel called on to con6de that the 
housekeeper had engaged me to take the position to be left 
vacant, three weeks hence, by Mary's cousin. 

Having returned to New York six dollars poorer than I 
quitted it, the necessity of paying in advance for my room 
aud n^ food left me no time to loaf. Though experience 
had taught me that Tuesday is the least desirable day in 
the week to hunt a job I determined to take my chances 
in apite of Mrs. Wilkins and Alice urging me to remain in 
bed and rest. Both offered to loan me money. 

The most promising advertisement in the help-wanted 
Columns that morning was that of a biscuit factory on Long 
Island — women and girls at seven dollars a week. The 
advertisement stated that only one car-fare was needed 
from Manhattan — such an important detail that it might 
f>e called an inducement. 

Begrudging this sixty cents a week I debated with my- 
self the wisdom of following the advice of Alice aud the 




76 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"After the war organize. Then, if you prove your co* 
sistency by refusing to take tips, the public will help yo^ 
get a decent wage," I replied. And I still believe that 
spoke the truth. 



I 



CHAPTER VI 

GOOD HUNTING-GROUND 




Ov my return after tlijs experience Mrs. Wilkins said 

that I hfld lost twenty pounds, while Alice candidly assured 

lue that I could not look worse had I been buried and dug 

up. Such backhanded compliments did not encourage me 

to take either of them into my confidence. And, though 

-Uice remarked on the length of time it had taken me to 

get to New York, it did not seem necessary for rae to men- 

!i)[» having stopped off at a station in Pennsylvania long 

ugh to be interviewed by the housekeei>er of Sutton 

i-e. Neither did I feel called on to confide that the 

•ekeeper had engaged me to take the position to be left 

;iiit, three weeks hence, by Mary's cousin. 

-laving returned to New York six dollars poorer than I 

,.;Ued it, the necessity of paying in advance for my room 

trid my food left me no time to loaf. Though experience 

ii:iii taught me that Tuesday is the least desirable day in 

'''-<■- week to hunt a job I determined to take my chances 

iiite of Mrs. Wilkins and Alice ui^jing me to remain in 

i and rest. Both offered to loan me money. 

The most promising advertisement in the help-wanted 

'imna that morning was that of a biscuit factory on Long 

•iand — women and girls at seven dollars a week. The 

^:'.ertisement stated that onJy one car-fare was needed 

Vm Manhattan — such an important detail that it might 

_)-e called an inducement. 

idging this sixty cents a week I debated with my- 
I the visdom of following the advice of Alice and the 
77 





Wbtn I 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



dirt accumulated since their arrival that morning. 
next day taught me better. There were precious 
thciu, either meii or women, who had the appears 
hftviug washed their faces before leaving home. 

The apron handed me ou my second day was so 
that I asked the woman in charge how often she hai 
washed. 

"Wash these things." she cried, laugjiii^, as she \ 
another apron in a worse condition than the cme d 
gt\Yn nie, "they ain't never waished sence I bees 
WTien they gets so sticky and stuck up that they ape 
olotbes they take 'em away and give me scKoe in 
tboy burn 'em. Tbey ain't 6tten for nothh^g 

"U cUBtomers knew that, perhaps they wooldi 

U^ prices for your eamdies," I suggested. 

'Whftt folks don't kncnr don't hurt 'em none," 



IWti^lIteda 






GOOD HUNTING-GROUND 

That night I recounted my experience to Alice, the hat- 
trimmer, and the tittle organist. They all threatened to 
give up their jobs and go to packing crackers. Every 
evening after that they never failed to ask: 
"Well, what did you have for lunch to-day?" 
The portions were so surprisingly generous that I often 
foimd it difficult to eat it all. It may have been that our 
stem course of appetite suppression had affected me. Be 
ihat as it may, there were several days when only shame 
prevented me from asking permission to take home with 
me the slice of meat I had not been able to eat. Mrs. Wil- 
\m and .Uice would have been glad to get it. 

At that time meats of all sorts were so high that none 
of us women on the top floor thought of having it oftener 
th&D once a day. Potatoes were so expensive that Mrs. 
ffiUdns and the organist had stopped buying them— Alice 
ud I were rice-eaters. Milk had gone up a cent a pint, 
ind the loaf of bread for which we were then paying eight 
Wats was decreasing in size so rapidly that each time we 
bought one we wondered if we would not be forced to use 
I magnif ying-glass to be able to see our next. 
Ah me ! The time came all too soon when I had to leave 
ting job of good food and cheerful surroundings^a whole 
ledt before the date set for me to take the position left 
lacant by the marriage of Mary's cousin. And I bitterly 
iMented the circumstances that caused me to leave though 
 •■\as the offer of a promotion. 

We never promote a girl until she has been here two 
i'ks," Jane Ward said to me late in the afternoon of my 
"k-cond Friday. "Your second week won't be up until 
*leit Tuesday, but you have done so well that the manager 
^V5 I may put you in charge of that machine." She in- 
tLnited a machine which at the time she spoke was bring- 
^^Uown hot gingersnaps from the oven on the floor above. 
"' A she added: "It means a dollar a week Ta\a^ Iot ■^om- 
™jJ it ie » sit^owD job. " 




82 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

For two whole days I debated with myself the que 
— to accept the promotion or not to accept. Those I 
tiful well-cooked lunches were a real temptation. Alic( 
Mrs. Wilkins had remarked more than once on the cl 
in my appearance. The scales proved that I had r^ 
seven of the fifteen poxinds lost while in Atlantic Citj 
Jane had not been so eager to reward me ! Or if ai 
hadn't been so eager to make good. 

Late Sunday afternoon I posted a letter telling Jane 
it would be impossible for me to return to work the fc 
ing day as I was needed at home. Though untrue, 
e-xcuse represented the awakening of my sense of pM 
responsibihty. 

For had I accepted that promotion I would have 1 
the place of some woman who really needed the dd 
Week raise. Besides, I would have given Jane the tr 
of training me. No such qualms of conscience had troi 
'ne when the manager of the premium station offers 
permanent employment, though I was perfectly aware 
^^ly'six other women had been hoping and worldiig fo 
I'csitioii. 

Hefai* turning away from the biscuit factory I wi 
'^*'»te tbat even to-day, after my experience in eo i 
diffp^jjt lines of work, I have but one criticism to 1 
"^here is ^^ reason why women should be forced to i 
**»ilQ packing crackers. 

This rufly seem a small matter, but to the woman w 
i is most serious. In all my experience I have never I 
^y work so fatiguing as standing on my feet continu 
"J^dy - «veral hours at a time. The fact that the feet a 
^ >^'^ ^d in point«d-toed shoes with high heels does not 1 
'^^*rain. 
-^"^^nen should have better sense than to wear such 
>*-^^/^i»rk. Indeed? I^et any one making such a p 
J^C^i^^^* buy, in j^'-ew York, a pair of shoes with rouik 



^ 



GOOD HUNTING-GROUND 



83 ] 



moderately low heels when the other style is in fashion. 

! tried, aad though I succeeded, it was after much 

ing and always at an additional cost of several dollars. 

BS, because a woman works for her living does not 

e her any less a woman; and every woman, unless she 

lol, wishes to appear well dressed — -in the fashion. 

igh I was up and out before eight o'clock the next 

, I returned to my room late in the afternoon with- 

tving secured a position. It was not for the lack of 

I called at nine places advertising for workers. 

3 first place there were twenty-two applicants for two 

At another there were forty women waiting 

[ arrived, and several came later — only six vacancies. 

) the door of a down-town candy factory I was one of 

) fifty women and girls. Many of them had been 

; since eight o'clock. At twelve a man came out 

ighly ordered us all off. When some of us protested 

rst out laughing and informed us that all vacancies 

1 filled before eight-thirty. 

9 next day I was more fortunate — that is, I was taken 

I the first place to which I applied. This was a candy 

After packing fancy chocolates during the morn- 

[ was sent to another department and assigned to the 

: of helping a chocolate-dipper. This position, so my 

fellow packers informed me, was very desirable since the 

x-'Tt step up is chocolate-dipping, a work that always 

inlands a good wage. 

It's grand!" one little girl, who looked as though she 
utui not washed her face or combed her hau- for a week, 
assured me. "You'll leam how to dip. They make big 
money, dippers do. I've gotter cousin who married a 
dipper. She used to make as much as eighteen a week. 
She has the swellest clothes!" 

During my first day in this candy factory I imagined that 
the unneat appearance of my fellow workers was caused by 



84 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

dirt accumulated since their arrival that morning, 
next day taught me better. There were precious few i 
them, either men or women, who had the appearance ( 
having washed their faces before leaving home. 

The apron handed me on my second day was so soilf 
that I asked the woman in charge how often she had tha 



"Wash these things," she cried, laughing, as she held U] 
another apron in a worse condition than the one she ha 
given me, "they ain't never washed sence I heen hest 
When they gets so sticky and stuck up that they spoil yi 
clothes they take 'em away and give me some more, 
guess they bum 'em. They ain't fitten for nothing else. 

"If customers knew that, perhaps they wouldn't i 
such high prices for your candies," I suggested. 

"What folks don't know don't hurt 'em none," she 
torted. 

That night I had a severe bilious attack, and when mon 
ing came I was too sick to think of going to work. Had 
been the biscuit factory or any other position in which 
had worked, exeeptmg the department store, I would hai 
gotten Alice to telephone and give my reason for a 
reporting. 

Two days in that candy factory were enough for m 
Even the money due me — at the rate of eight dollars 
week — was not sufficient to draw me back. Now when 
see the name of that firm on a candy-box I very gladl] 
allow other people to consume it. Yet I am fond of candj 

Fortunately, on Friday morning the postman brought 
a letter from the housekeeper at Sutton House encloang 
railroad ticket. When I told Ahce that 1 had engaged 
go as head chambermaid she rose in wrath. A domesi 
servant in a hotel was bad enough, she protested, but goil 
in a private family was a disgrace for which she could 
Snd a name. 



GOOD HUNTING-GROUND 



85 



'Tet when you are at home you make beds, sweep the 
} floors, and do other so-called menial work/' I remmded her. 
[ "I'm a college woman/' she haughtily informed me. 

"If a lack of education in the worker renders the work 
i&graceful/' I replied, trying to argue with her, ''then 
nr^ my d^ree together with my attainments as a writer 
Aould remove the stigma." 

But she would not argue. It was disgraceful of me to 
|D as a domestic servant. Nobody would ever have any 
mped for me, and that was all there was to it. It was the 
coe subject to which there was but one side. Domestic 
Kfvice was disgraceful. 

This in the country that my ancestors had struggled to 
found — ^that aU under its flag might be free and equal. 



CHAPTER VII 
FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 

The family at Sutton House comprised Mr. and A 
Sutton, both under thirty-five, their only child a boy ei 
years old, and his tutor, a young college man. 

The place was very beautiful. The house, South 
colonial, was large and dignified without being showy, 
park and gardens surrounding it contained eleven acrt 
at least the chauffeur, who brought me from the stat 
BO informed me. Certainly they were ample and perfa 
kept. The trees were noticeably handsome, all of t! 
indigenous. Though an unusually elaborate establishm 
for America, it was not an imitation. Perhaps its a 
striking feature was that it did not suggest England or 
other foreign country. It looked to be just what it wj 
the country home of a well-bred American family erf ll 
fortune. 

The American atmosphere was so distinct that — wal 
ing the house as we approached along the wide drive, 1 
a subconscious expectation of seeing an old negro, imi 
ulately dressed, make his appearance. He didn't cc 
Nor when we passed near the stables and garage was tl 
any sound of laughing or singing. At the side entran( 
was met by the housekeeper, an Englishwoman. 

There were fifteen servants besides the men in the s) 
in the garage, and the gardeners. Every one of ti 
foreigners. 

"Why will Americans persist in surrounding themsd 
with indifferent foreign 'help' when they might have 
best servants and most loyal Americans, for the aaktDj 



88 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

much self-esteem to belittle the person from whom he t 
wages. 

Sutton House was crowded with guests every week- 
but from Monday noon to Friday afternoon Mrs. Sut 
was generally alone with her little son and his tutor. 
Sutton usually returned to the city with the first of 
guests to leave Monday morning, and seldom made 
appearance before Saturday afternoon. He stood well 
his profession, was a hard worker, and might have " 
devoted to his home had the distance between his 
and Sutton House admitted of his spending his nights 1 

Mrs. Sutton, so I learned from the housekeeper, was 
only child of wealthy parents — the darling of her old fatl 
who had insisted on humoring every whim. It being 
whim to come to Sutton House before her husband's b 
ness permitted him to leave town, the family had m( 
out. 

Compared with the department store, the premium 
tion, and the Sea Foam Hotel this position was a holi 
among perfect surroundings. It is true that week- 
every servant had as much as he or she could properly 
The rest of the time the chambermaids finished their w 
before ten o'clock. After that I arranged for them to 
off, leaving two on watch until lunch-time. At lunch 
watch changed, and again at seven, their dinnei^b 
This last watch remained on until ten, which was suppf 
to be the family bedtime. All that was required of 
was to sit, one on each bedroom floor, and be ready to 
Bpond promptly when called. While on watch I en 
aged, or at least I tried to encourage, these girls to 
to sew, or do any quiet handiwork. 

So far as I saw, it was effort thrown away. Not o 
the five ever darned her stockings — of course they all 
silk stockings, also silk underwear. Indeed, I believe tl 
out of the five boasted that she never wore anything 



FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 89 

[cept when she was on duty. Instead of employ- 
ig her mind or her fingers, one and all of the five would 
t gazing out the nearest window and resort to all sorts of 
icks to go to the servants' quarters. Judging by these 
omen, and the thousands of other men and women of the 
one race, I am convinced that what we are pleased to call 
ironderful Irish imagination" is the result of idleness — 
MAstle building. They are the most gorgeous of liars. 
Each and every one of the maids at Sutton House claimed 
I be direct descendants of an Irish kmg. One of them 
mred me that if she had her "rights" she would be living 
a palace and never have to "turn her band" — the Prin- 
B Royal of Ireland. Each one of them had so many 
ints in her family that I used to wonder how she kept 
ick of them all. Needless to say, they were inveterate 
urcbgoeis. Such weird ideas as they attributed to their 
lest! 

"Father Hallahan said we were not to abuse the Gei^ 
ms," one of them told the Italian scrubwoman. "The 
■mans are good friends to the Irish." 
This failing to impress the scrubwoman, the Princeaa 
lyal gave additional information. 

"Yes, and the order came straight from Rome," said she, 
th a defiant toss of her nappy-looking head. 
This so aroused the little Italian woman that she damned 
e Germans and she damned the Irish, but most of all she 
mned Rome. I have never seen a more furious human 
ing. How she rolled out Italian swear words ! Her hus- 
ud was in the Italian army and she was struggling to 
ep Uieir httle home together and their children at school. 
«■ tather, her brother, and two of her husband's brothers 
i been killed in the war. 

S3ie came to me with tears streaming over her face. 
tttO die had turned over her mop and pail to me she fell 
l^v knees, and, burning her face in bee apion, Vii<^^t 



I 



H FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH  

beside the bathtub, rocking her body back and fortti. ^m 
sobbing. The Princess Royal and her sister German sty^o- 
pathizer took the next train to Philadelphia. They ^pe^' 
replaced by two Swedes, quiet, hard-working girls. 

The middle of my second week the housdceeper told f^ 
that Mrs. SuttoQ wished me to go out with her that e\'ei»*°J  
after dinner. Heretofore the housekeeper had accompai^ 
her on these evening automobile trips. Now the old woiE^ 
complained of feeling unwell and I was to take her plar^ 
The ear that evening was a fast roadster with three seft'*^ 
I sat on the back seat. After a run of about an hour ^Si 
stopped at a country inn. Mrs. Sutton told me that 
might either come in or remain in the car. 

It was a lovely evening during the last of May. 
that our stop would be only for a few minutes, I di 
to remain in the ear; Mrs. Sutton followed by the chaufii 
a young Italian with good legs, entered the inn. 
waiting in the car for more than a half-hour, and ft 
cramped from sitting so long, I got out and strolled 
the grounds. Finally, prompted by a desire to kill time,i 
stepped up on the piazza and looked in through a wind) 

Mrs. Sutton and the chaufiTeur were having supper 
gether. By a casual observer they might easily have 
mistaken for lovers. After their meal they joined tl 
dancers. More than an hour later they returned to 
car in which I had resumed my seat about fifteen mini 
earlier. It was well past two o'clock when we finally n 
turned to Sutton House. 

The next morning I got up soon after sunrise and 
at the window of my room. There had been a warm shoM '^f-M 
during the earlier hours, and the gardens and grove loda '' 

like Paradise — the perfectly kept lawns, the flowera ^'^ 
beginning to give a touch of color here and there, the 
trees with their young leaves softly green and glial 
And over all a clear blue sky, through which floated 





FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 



91 



tderful white clouds that looked as though they 
3it have been freshly washed by the angela. Young 
Bniner, like a spirit, walked. 

With all this peace and beauty around me I sat and 
Mined. At first it was not a pleasant dream though it 
icemed a new combination — a discovery that, as a rule, 
IHb a writer. In my dream I questioned if in place of 
e-wom love-aflFairs between masters and serving-maids, 
writers of realism would have to depict mistresses court- 
straight-legged chauffeurs. The idea was too repul- 
. In spite of the scene witnessed the night before, the 
s of the doll-baby young woman at the publishing house 
other whispered hints, I refused to believe it. Even 
igh such a diseased condition was creeping in I was sure 
ould be wiped out by the World War before it had time 
ike root. 

he thought of the war caused my dreams to change. 
d my first vision of America, perhaps the world, as it 
Id be after the terrible conflict in which my country 
Just entered. After it — for surely good must come of 
reat a disaster — there would be no idle, untrained 
^n to menace human progress. In America we would 
neither human cooties nor human drudges; all such 
lan creatures wiped out by the war, we woidd become 
ion of workers, stru^ing to carry out the ideals of 
unders of owe country. 

ixjg breakfast I notified the housekeeper that I must 
it the end of the week. She remonstrated vigorously. 
her offer to increase my wages failed to move me she 
jd to me her plan for my promotion. She, it appeared, 
3cn the nurseTy-govemess of Mrs. Sutton, had re- 
I in the fajnily, and when her former pupil married 
ken charge of her new home as housekeeper. Now, 
I woman continued, Ija-vinS ^^^ enough to keep 
!i/ortable> she wished ^ spend her last days among 



I 



92 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



her owB people in England. I was to take her positioi 
housekeeper. 

Even that did not cause me to change my mind. I t 
her that I must go and not later than the end of that 
Along toward the middle of the morning Mrs. Sutt( 
French maid came to me. Madame wished to see 
her bedroom at once. On entering Mrs. Sutton's ro 
a fable told me by Booger when I was a very small d 
flashed into my mind. 

Booger was a young negro who served my father's faji 
in the double capacity of stable-boy and my nurse. B 
during that period when the fortunes of the people of 
Southern States were at low^t ebb, resulting from our C 
War, I did not share the advantage of being nursed by 
"Mammy" adored by my older sisters and brothers, 
far as I know, my father's stable-boy was my only nu 
And so far as I have been able to learn, nobody knows i 
I bestowed on him the name of Booger. To the rest of 
world he was Peter. 

"The Lord God done made Miss Rose white," acccmi 
to Booger. "But yerly one momin' whilst Marse A( 
was flrwalkin' in the Gyarden of Eden he done kotch ft 
Rose when she was a-tumin' back her clothes an' i 
of her face. Miss Rose was so 'shamed that ^e tufl 
red. She's been red ever sence." * 

Mrs. Sutton, lying among her pillows, with the m* 
ing's mail scattered over the silken coverlet of her bed, 
minded me of a half-opened white rose caught at her %o 
and blushing a shell-pink. She was more beautiful ti 
any flower in her garden. Her wide blue eyes were the a 
of the sky into which I had gazed at sunrise, and as fathi 
less. Who can fathom the soul of a flippant woman? 

When I refused her ofTer to raise my wages she told 
of the housekeeper's plan for my promotion. When 
failed she acted like a spoiled child. She wished to 1 



FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 

my reason for leaving, she insisted on knowing, she must 

I know. 
Looking at her — she seemed hardly more than a girl — I 
Ttffidered if it might not be a kindness to give her the reason 
kt my sudden departure. Though of course I had never 
Btended to remain long enough to inherit the housekeeper's 
position, I had expected to stay three weeks, perhaps four, 
tnd give one week's notice before leaving. Now I deter- 
nuned to tell her my reason for changing my plans — a reason 
within itself sufficient to cause any conscientious servant to 
quit her employ. 
I crossed to the foot of her bed and she smiled up at me. 
■'You really wish to know my reason?" I asked, speak- 
ing seriously. She nodded, and, smiling, showed a flash 
frf her perfect teeth. "It is because I don't care to appear 
«8 a witness in a divorce case in which the co-respondent 
is your husband's hired servant, your chauffeur." 

She stared at me dumfounded. When she understood 
her face flamed crimson. Then she sprang up in bed and 
reached out to ring for her maid. 

"You must not do that," I told her, and I stepped be- 
tween the head of her bed and the electric buttons. "You 
may call your housekeeper but not that Frenchwoman." 
"How dare you !" she cried, and her manner was so com- 
monly melodramatic that I ahnost smiled. 

"I know the servants in your house better than you know 
them yourself," I told her, still holding my position. "And 
I shall do my best to protect you from yourself." 

"Protect me I" she sneered. "You, my husband's detec- 
tive ! Yes, that's who you are. My husband got you out 
here to watch me. You^you sneak !" 

I let her talk until she wore herself out. When she again 
tried to ring for her maid I rang for the housekeeper. 

The housekeeper came. Honest old sou! 1 On these 
evening trips when she acted as chaperon the^ \vaA ^ou^^ 



96 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

panying her back homo, giving me three hours to meet 
at the railroad-station. When I saw her house I understi 
her hurry. Chaos I Dirty chaos at that. The cook, Irii 
of course, told me that five maids had come and gone di 
ing the two previous weeks. 

The house had fifteen rooms, two baths, a large celll 
two wide porches, and two wider piazzas. There was 
of shrubbery on the place and several long brick wall 
In the family there was a young-lady daughter, the mothi 
the only son, two younger daughters, the father, and a litl 
girl of six. I name them in the order of their relative 
portance. 

The little girl, the mother once explained in the preser 
of the child, was a mistake. On the birth of her son, 
ing decided that four children were enough, she determin 
to have no more— hence the difference of ten years betw( 
her son and little Mistake. 

Had these people been content to live in a house of eif 
rooms, and do their own work with the assistance of 
woman to do the laundry and the heavier cooking, th 
would have, in all human probability, been a happy fami 
They were good-natured, good-looking, and with sufficit 
traces of good breeding to have made them attractive. 

During the seven days that I remained with them I ne* 
got to my room, which was in the garret and shared by 1 
cook, before nine o'clock at night. How I did work! 
did everything from firing the furnace to running ribbc 
in the underwear of the marriageable daughter. 

For upward of two years it had been the chief ambiti 
of the family to marry off this eldest girl. When I cai 
on the scene it had become, so they all thought, a vi 
necessity. And I, succumbing to the atmosphere 
me, did my best to help along the match. The mother 
plained to me that if they could only announce the engai 
ment of this daughter the maiden aunt, for whom she 



FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 

would see to it that she had a proper wedding and 
iIbo pay the family debts. 

The idea that these three grown girls, the youngest being 
aast eighteen, might work and earn their own living never 
Itemed to enter their mother's head. The fact that they 
lid not work, did not know how to do anything more use- 
Til than to play tennis and golf, she proclaimed from the^ 
fcousetops. Sad to relate, it was the literal truth. So far 
u I could learn, neither of them had ever done so much 
hs make a bed, dust a room, or mend a garment. I 
fcever knew them to pick up a magazine, a book, or a sofa- 
kUow, though they knew how to scatter them broadcast. 
■Jo, indeed, it was beneath their dignity to do anything 
* keep their home comfortable or clean, yet they boasted 
»i skill at tennis and their golf score. 

What a silly un-American idea it is that knocking a ball 
UTDss country is more ennobling than doing anything that 
«nds to make a home comfortable and happy ! Will any- 
body deny that it takes more sense to cook or serve a good 
tuner than it does to play a good game of golf? Now I 
JL not decrying the game of golf. Indeed, it appeals to 
oe as a very good way to get elderly and delicate persona, 
i'ho take no interest in nature, to exercise in the fresh air. 

For a person who cares for wild or growing things golf 
3 Impossible. I cannot imagine Theodore Roosevelt wiah- 
ag to become expert at golf. I can imagine the number 
J bails he would have lost while watching a bird, investigat- 
ig a gopher hole, or studying a plant. 

Besides, I have for a good many years had a pet theory 
—why Colonel Roosevelt did not cultivate the game of 
olf. May he not have felt sure that he could learn nothing 
rom persons met on the links— rich idlers, men who have 

made their pile," always hidebound conservatives and 
heir hangers-on ? We all know that the most popular of 
lur Presidents was interested in workers in every field— 



9S FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

eager to leam their opinion, to get their point of view. Wi 
he ever known to show interest in the mind processes of 
idler? 

Yet, in spite of the so recent example of this most typio 
American, mothers and fathers, American men and womt 
persist in bringing their children up with the Old Woi 
prejudice against useful work. They may spend a 
amount of time and energy on any work provided it is stl 
and useless, but let it only become useful and at once 
becomes a stigma, a disgrace. 

And so it was with this family. The three girls could I 
play a little on the piano and sing a little with their kitti 
voices. Each was ardently certain that she could dri' 
an automobile if only her father could be induced to bi 
one — poor silent, care-worn, overworked father I He lovi 
his wife and was very fond of his children, yet I think I 
used to dread to come home and at the same time be afra 
not to come. 

When I told the cook of my intention to leave at the ei 
of my first week she called me a fool. She urged me to ft 
low her example and stick it out long enough to have som 
thing worth going to court about. 

The mother and three daughters felt ill used when I ft 
nounced my departure. The eldest daughter remark! 
that she really didn't see what more a second girl wou 
want— nobody ever interfered with me, they let me hai 
my own way. Her mother told me that I really must vt 
until Saturday. Her husband never gave her money i 
the servants except on Saturdays — it was then Tuesdai 
She gave me the use of the family commutation ticket wi' 
the understanding that I was to deliver little Mistake 
her maiden aunt. 

That enabled me to truthfully assure Alice and the haH 
trimmer that the experience had not cost me anything 
though I had received no wages. This time Alice said tbj 





FEMALES OF THE SPECIES 

I of my looking like I had been buried and dug up 

-. loc^ced as if I had been buried and had to scratch my way 
Hit, Mrs. Wilkins agreed with her. 

The next day was the end of our partnership. Alice, 
ibeyiog her mother, returned to her home. I accompanied 
ler to the train, and received as much advice as could be 
jacked into fifteen minutes by a fast talker. Though cau- 
kr forces me to admit that most of it flowed out of one 
Mr as fast as it was driven into the other, a few pieces did 
nach my brain and so lodged in the meshes of my memory. 
Dae of these lodgments was an earnest request that I for- 
Kke the help-wanted colmnn and confine myself to repu- 
table employment agencies. And AUce emphasized repu- 
table. 

Earlier in the winter, following Alice's advice, I had tried 
an agency which made a specialty of placing college grad- 
uates. I had registered, paid my dollar, and been told they 
would communicate with me as soon as anythmg along 
my line turned up. Now, on my way back to the rooming- 
house, after watching Alice get aboard the train for Wash- 
ington City, I called again at this agency and reminded 
them of my application. 

Much to my surprise, I learned that I was an unskilled 
worker in my own line. Because I had never been a proof- 
reader, sat in an editorial chair, nor taught a class in story- 
writing I was unskilled. Neither my college degree nor 
: fact that I had published several novels amounted to 
i.v of pins. H'm, I thought, why did you go to the 
;ble of changing your name and otherwise saiUng under 
i.iisi- colors? As au unskilled worker you are really in the 
.!.:;* to which you belong. 

From this agency I went to a "placement bureau," the 

o"Dex of a semiphilanthropic organization whose specialty 

"reduced gentlewomen." Here the charge was fifty cents 

for registration. When it came my turn to be 'ui\.eT;'*j'\ewe^ 



100 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

by the overdressed woman in charge, she earnestly advia 
me to take a secretarial course at a particular school, 
gave me her personal card to the head of this school 
assured me that she had more demands for graduates frc 
this school than she could possibly fill that season. As 
had overheard her give the same advice to three otll 
(women I was not very much impressed. However, a 
'had come there for advice I decided to see how far I 
would take me. 

At the school I learned that the shortest course was 
ax months, and the lowest price was one hundred doOa 
The head of the school smilingly informed me that 
I might not have to study English a reduction, periut 
ten dollars, might be arranged for. 

Returning to the "placement bureau," I applied to 
same overdressed individual for part-time work that w( 
give me my maintenance while I was studying to become 
secretary. She gave me cards of introduction to the matn 
of two institutions. 



CHAPTER Yin 

ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GHOfl- 

Mbs. Bossman, the matron of St. Rose's Home fcr Girls, 
iriiich I reached after a railroad journey of sevepal heure, 
deceived me with great cordiality. She was very mueh.in 
Deed of a secretary, she said, and, while not able to pay & 
■alary, would be glad to give me a comfortable room with 
tBy board and laundry. I promised to move in, bag and 
baggage, the following morning immediately after break- 
bst. At our first interview she impressed me so favorably 
Biat I failed to notice either the thinness of her lips or the 
polor of her eyes. 

On my return the following morning she again greeted 
Sne with great cordiality. And even as I accepted her ex- 
pxtded hand the color and expression of her eyes, and the 
Siinness of her lips were revealed to me as though by a 
(Ittaze of light. With this realization there flashed across 
■any memory a remark of the late Mrs. Jefferson Davis. 

I had been to the opera — "Faust" with a wonderful 
«aste, Eames and the two de Reski. On my return I went 
ioto Mrs. Davis' bedroom — I was spending the winter in 
New York under her chaperonage — to tell her about it. 
&e was sitting up in bed reading, and laying her book 
aade she Ustened attentively to my praise of Marguerite 
ttd Faust, and my criticism of Mephisto. Then I boldly 
declared: 

"Only a tall, thin man, intensely brunette, should at- 
ilonpt to play the devil." 

"A tall, thin, dark man?" Mrs. Davis questioned, shak- 
ing her head. Then she took off her spectacles and wiped 
tbem. "No, my dear. No. My idea of the devil is a 



102 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRTJSH 

beautiful blonde woman witJi jchildishly innocent blue 
and thin lips. Yes, the devil is a woman. I'm sure of 
Only a woman of the tjjrpel describe will conceive, plan, aol 
jwrpetrate a deed-.oif'-sUpreinest cruelty and selfishness, 
never trust-s.Ho'ode woman." 

What-.queM' ideas old women have I As if the cx>lor of 
peiwcUi.'a.'Cyes and hair realty had anything to do with tl 
{juj^hty of their heart. Then there popped into my mindl 
j-B lawyer, a member of the New York City bar in gpod^ 
standing, who had gravely cautioned me against tnistinM 
a man who "ran-down" his shoes. Evidently queemon 
was not limited to old women. 1 

But a woman with the intelligence of the widow of ti^ 
President of the Confederacy— the thousands of pweant 
she had met and known during her eighty years — might not 
her judgment be of value? All of these thoughts raoed 
through my consciousness during the brief instant that 
Mrs. Bossman clasped my hand. Vexed by what seemed 
to me my own trivial mind, I was pleased by her suggES- 
tion to take me to my room. 

Such a charming room it proved to be! On the second, 
floor and immediately over the main entrance to St. RflBR j 
It was tastefully furnished and spotlesssly clean. At tiMil 
end facing the door there was a broad double window f* 
tooned by ivy that looked into the green feathery foliafi 
of a giant elm. 

Gratified by my exclamation of pleased surprise, Mb. 
Bossman told me that she had selected the room becaiD* 
it was next her own and convenient to the bathroom, shareJ 
by herself and Miss Pugh, the assistant matron. Mia 
Pugh, she explained, was an old friend whom she had in- 
duced to give up her former position in a large foundlinj 
asyliim to come to St. Rose. She, Miss Pugh, was a woo-j 
dwful disciplinarian, and as chockful of ideas as an egg 
with meat. With her as her assistant, and me as her seci^l 



\ 



ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 108 

8. BossnuLQ declared that she felt her success 

1 been in charge of St. Rose, I then learned, less 
months. Previous to coming there she had, for 
18, been at the head of a reformatory, 
ing about odds and ends, Mrs. Bossman waited 
lOved my coat and hat, and brushed my hair a 
it as I turned away from the mirror there was a 
p on the door, and without waiting for a reply in 
a little woman whose head reminded me sharply 
mry-nut doll. 

dear!" she cried, grabbing hold of my hand, 
educated women I" She indicated herself, Mrs. 
and me. "We can stand against the world." 
iiat call we would have to stand against the world 
understand. Being ready to do my best as secre- 
the matron of St. Rose, I graciously accepted her 
And the compliments that appeared to belong to 
long between the two I passed down the broad 
into the private office of the head of the insti- 

atly expecting to spend the summer in thia 

place I glanced about the room that was to be 
quarters. Like every part of the house that I had 

room was spotlessly clean and furnished tastefully. 

of ivy moved by the breeze peeked in at the two 
{ndows that, opening on the street, were shaded 
I direct rays of the sun by the low-sweeping limbs 
Im. From the windows my eyes travelled to the 
[ met the gaze of several bewhiskered gentlemen 
B countenance in clerical garb and black frames. 
Kretarial duties, as then outlined to me, would 
about two hours each morning, excepting Sunda>'s. 
lad finished this daily stint my time was to be my 
|o with as I preferred. 



104 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"Only," Mrs. Bossman added smilingly, "Miss Pm 
and I both hope that you will spend at least a few evcniq 
with us in my private sitting-room." 

Why did Mrs. Davis' caution against blonde women 1 
bobbing up in my mind ? Ah, why indeed ! 

Being in my room when the lunch-bell sounded, I 
a fraction of a minute late entering the dining-room, 
woman whom I bad never seen met me and introduced hi 
self as the housekeeper. She gave me as my pernuuM 
place a chair at a long table about which there were alrea 
seated eighteen women. 

When I had taken my chair the housekeeper took I 
seat and introduced me to the other women. As * 
name was called the owner would glance up at me, nod 
head, and then drop her eyes back to her plate of at 
Never a smile, not one word. The soup finished, while tl 
waited for the next course I noticed that three or f« 
women spoke to their next neighbors, always so low ti 
they seemed to whisper. 

Was this the effect of the presence of a strangert 
wondered. If so it was up to me to break the ice. Selfl 
ing for my first attack a handsome woman with red ha 
who sat just across the table from me, I inquired in 
capacity she was connected with St. Rose. 

She was the "mother" of a cottage, she informed 
All present excepting the housekeeper, the seamstreaa, 
myself were either cottage mothers or their 
Yes, they took all their meals in the dining-room, 
children ate in their cottages — that is, excepting the 
girls serving us. They took their meals in the kitchen 
the cook. 

By a persistent eS'ort, addressing directly first 
woman and then another, I succeeded in arousing quit 
buzz of conversation. Suddenly silence. Even seal 
already begun broke off half uttered, as though the toi 



K^ 



tonfl 



ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 



106 



wme suddenly paralyzed. Puzzled, I glanced 
nd the table. The eyes of every woman, even the 
ekecper, were fastened on her plate; more puzzled, I 
:;ed around the rocsn. 

rs. Bossman and Miss Fugh bad entered and were 
ig their seats at a small table near the door. After 
the women seated at the long table opened their lips 

for food. At the Email table the matron and her 
tant converaed in subdued tones. After making two 
ree remarks in the hope of reviving the convenation I 
up. Judging by their faces, I might as well have tried 
ake mj'self entertaining at a table of deaf-^Dutes. So 
e end of the meal — depressed and depreaang akooe. 
ter lunch, on my estpreaB iD g a wiafa to be made mefal, 
issistapt matron invited me to gp with ber to one of 
ottagea. This "mother" was having ber afternoon off. 
uch to my snr p ri se I fonod that the aUcactiveDeii of 
lose did not extend beyond the buHdii^ oeoqaed hy 
nation and ber ™*»*^**«* staff. Desolate is th« ctiy 
1 that adequately describes the «otta«e to vUdi Miss 
1 conducted me. Never « pictare on the wBs, set • 
•r, Dor a book. Ban vds cf s leckn incr tint* md 
ier Boon. Erea the IiibImiIiiiiI gMfle—  h Adr 
c frames would hKTtt beia JB iavMfvaMBiL 
tere wm tidit^^oiU fide 9di is lUs eatti«e SMitH 
^ (ran fire to tJartsM yma, TW fHppcr^ «UA mm 
id by the oids gvb wkr Ae HvcrvWw «f Ac w- 
at matnHi, nmmtmi d tamed aslasa, btmd oit k 
s, and sweet nft. Tke tsUas was fawic^ Mfiirtitd, 
as dingy M the Amm. laini A^ lerfcsii t» b* « 

of the float Tim amdmy wm tl At limpiit, 
)d and s^dry. aad Am wvB a* M|Um. 
icetbat JylbiswiiAiii— yK——»t<— , I 



106 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

the unlovely sordid surroundings. Even in the home oi 
drunken Irish mother, who had sold every stick of furnj 
excepting a broken table and the mattresa she and 
children huddled on, I saw a picture of the Virgin. 

St. Rose's Home for Girls was conducted by a cb 
claiming to follow the teachings of Him who said: "Si 
the httle children to come unto Me." 

On my remarking to one of the older girls that theg 
took such dainty helpings, she explained that each t 
had to clean its plate. That was the rule, now, she i 
This seemed such a good rule that I told the table, in a 
I imagined to be humorous, that Mr. Hoover woxilii 
glad to know how much they were helping him. Th( 
they knew all about Mr. Hoover there was no smile, ai 
noticed that two of the older girls exchanged glances 
Ufted their eyebrows. 

A minute or so later a shght disturbance at a table 
hind me attracted my attention. The assistant ma 
was standing over a httle girl, forcing her to eat food 
on her plate at lunch, and using her forefinger in the of 
tion. It was the longest and boniest forefinger I had 
seen. And that plate of cold spaghetti was about as a{ 
tizing as some of the messes dished up to the Wfutressc 
the Hotel Sea Foam. 

Now, I belong to a family noted for good health and 
feet digestion. So much so that humorous friends del 
we can, one and all, digest flint rocks. Yet I do not be 
that I could have swallowed, much less digested, that I 
of cold, sloppy, bluish spaghetti. 

The victim of this economic tyranny was a delicate I 
girl of about six years. Her cheeks were colorless, ha 
were almost as wliite, and there were dark circles abou 
eyes. Glancing around my eyes took in the sordid uu 
liness of the whole scene— and the Uttle children 
meekly bowed heads, Corcin^ down food which I coui 




ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 



few if any relished. A lump rose in my throat, and a mist 
obscured my sight. 

How could any woman t How could Miss Pugh I She 
was not a blonde. As though feeling my stare the assistant 
matron relinquished her hold on the girl's shoulder, and 
straightening up, faced me. 

"This is Mrs. Bossman's order," she said. "She found 
it a most satisfactory disciplinary measure in her reforma- 
tory work. You knew she had been in that work, didn't 
you?" 

"Ah?" I replied, as my estimate of Mrs. Jefferson 
Da\'i3' judgment bounded upward. living to be eighty 
has its compensations. Perhaps in time I may learn to 
distrust men who do not tread squarely on their heels. 

\t dinner that evening the talk was more general than 
it had been at lunch. The entrance of Mrs, Bossman and 
Miss Pugh resulted in the same frosty atmosphere. Deter- 
mined not to finish my meal staring at my plate while I 
shovelled down food, I fired question after question at the 
woman with red hair. Amused, and I beheve not a Uttle 
encouraged by my daring, she finally took hold and kept 
her end of the conversation going. 

During the balance of that meal we kept up a steady 
flow of talk, back and forth, across the table. Not another 
woman said a word. Even the matron and her assistant 
stopped whispering to each other. As I now recall it, that 
Mnversation included the heavens, the earth, and the 
waters under the earth. As we were leaving, the red- 
hatred woman sUpped her hand through my arm and 
'whispered: 
I "Come over to my cottage to-morrow when you finish 

onr work. I'd like you to see my children. I have forty 

ttle girls." 

It was after eleven o'clock the next day when. 1 iomeA 

r. Her older girls were at school, and the \itt\.e \,o\fi. "we^a 



4i 



108 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

pl&ying in a sand-pile in the yard. She, seated on an up>) 
turned soap-box under the trees, was making tatting. 

Chatting with her I learned that she was Miss Jeasup, 
and had an orphaned niece and nephew dependent on ha. 
Having been a saleswoman in Chicago for years, she had, 
at length, broken away and come to New York, firm a.i 
her faith of "bettering" herself. j 

"The stores were tumin' off salespeople instead of takin'l 
'em on," she told me, speaking of her efforts to get a 
tion in New York. "I was 'most on my uppers when 
heard about this place. The pay ain't so bad, and I 
love children. Mrs. Bossman is new, you know. I don* 
know how long she'll keep me, but as long as she does" — 1 
jaw squared — "I'm goin' to see to it that my forty geta V 
square deal." 

"Among so many I suppose there must be some of tl 
mothers who do not understand the children in their ci 
I questioned, with the same object that a fisherman throi 
out a baited hook. 

"No, they're all right," she assured me positi 
"There isn't one of them who doesn't do her best with 
cottage. An' things ain't as easy for us as it used to be^ 
neither." Here she glanced around, including the ovr " 
looking windows of her own cottage. Then she addi 
"Mrs. Bossman believes in what she calls lovin' discipl 
She got Miss Pugh here to carry out the discipline. 

"Who carries out the loving?" 

She flashed a quick smile at me. She was an attn 
woman. In spite of her grammar I believe she sprang 
educated people. 

"Mrs. Bossman," she repHed. "Yes, she really d( 
try. You watch the back yard this afternoon after 
girls come from school. You'll see Mrs. Bossman wi 
around with one of the older girls — the girl's arm 
her iraist. " 



>sitiTdjJ 
with beH 




ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 

"Mrs. Bossman's waist?" I asked, increduJous. 

"Mrs. Bossman is holdin' it there. Sometimes she has" 
to hold real hard." She chuckled. "It's odd what some 
folks don't know. You can buy the love of a man or a 
woman — that ia if you have thdr price. But you can't 
buy the love of a child nor a dog. I know, for I'm one of a 
I&rge family, and I was brought up in the country. I 
know children and I know dogs." 

After lunch the assistant matron claimed my services. 
And her manner was such that if by chance I had lost my 
memory I would have been sure that she had a right to 
dispose of my time. Conducting me to a cottage of which 
the mother was taking her afternoon off, she left me in 
charge. It being a rainy day the children were forced to 
remain indoors. And I was surprised to find them so easily 
entertained, or, I should say, that they entertained them- 
selves. Those who did not devote the time to their dolls 
had some quiet game which they played alone or with one 
or two others. 

By and by, noticing how each child seemed trying to 
crouch within herself, or huddled against her neighbor, I 
realised they must be cold— it being a chilly afternoon. 
When I proposed a romping game, something to warm them 
all up, they exchanged glances and shook their heads, 
Then one of the older girls, taking her stand close beside 
my chair, explained: 

"We used to play lovely games — blindman's buff, base, 
and a lot of others that Mrs. Hoskins taught us, but" — she 
^iru^ed her shoulders — "Miss Bossman said we made 
loo much noise, and " 

A Uttle girl seated nearer the door reached over and gave 
the speaker's apron a sharp pull, at the same time motion- 
, bg with her head toward the door. Instantly the child 

ihad been talking to me slii^^ed back to her seat on 
oor and picked up her doll. For a moment tiifttft^aa 



i 



I 



I 



110 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

profound silence. Though every one of the little people 
appeared to be intent on her own play, I felt sure that even 
the littlest tot was holding her breath. 

There was a faint rustle — something on the other ad« 
of the closed door had moved. The children exchanged 
glances but made no sound. 

"Wouldn't you like me to tie your doll's sash?" I asked 
the littlest tot. 

She was standing by the arm of my chair, her doll's tacfl 
downward on my knee, when glancing up I found Mjffl 
Pugh entering the door. Of course she was smiling. 
Women of her type smile even when brushing their teeth. 

She explained that when "rushing" by she had dropped 
in to see how I was getting along. At the word "ru^" I 
again saw the older girls exchange glances — cbildrai arej 
not so blind as many of their elders imagine. Being in m 
rush the assistant matron could remain only a few minuteaJ 
The little folks took her going as calmly as they had bed 
entrance. 

When fiupper-time came the older girls whose turn it 
was to prepare the meal, went about their task without any 
reminder from me. After sfetting the tables and drawing 
up the food from the kitchen on the dumb-waiter, the^ 
announced that supper was served. When the others came 
trooping in they seated the little ones and helped them put 
on their bibs. 

Then, after whispering among themselves, one — ^perhaps^ 
the oldest — called my attention to a plate of cold food, and 
pointed out the little girl who had failed to eat it at lunch. 

Without a word I took the plate and emptied it into the' 
garbage-bucket. For a moment there was not a sound, 
not a movement. Then all eyes turned and stared at me." 
Then they stared at each other. A little girl chuckled and, 
rapped softly on the table with her spoon. The next in- 
stant every little girl was chuckling and beating softly Mk 
tbe table with her spoon. 




ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 

It was a subdued demonstration. Every one of these 
little people understood just what had happened. Also 
they realized that something unpleasant might happen if 
it were found out. 

Late that afternoon I learned that my room was to be 
changed — from the cheerful surroundings of the building 
in which the matron lived to the dingy desolation of the 
cottage in which I had spent that afternoon. This informa- 
tion was not given me by either the matron or her assistant. 
I was told by the girl who was to change with me. She had 
come to St. Rose, so she explained, for the purpose of train- 
ing for an institutional worker, and had been helping Mrs. 
Hoskins, for whom I had substituted that afternoon. She 
didn't like it, and neither did I. 

After supper Mrs. Bossman smilingly informed me that 
I had managed the children so charmingly that she had de- 
cided to change me to that cottage. She was sure I would 
be of great assistance to the mother, so much more useful 
to St. Rose. It really did seem a pity, she went on, to waste 
my genius for managing children — yes, it was nothing short 
uf genius — on her small correspondence. 

Glad to be thrown more closely with the children, and 
sincerely wishing to be of use to the institution, I agreed to 
the change. Though conscious that several of the workers 
had watched us closely during Mrs. Bossman's explanation, 
I did not dream that any of them excepting, perhaps, the 
girl was interested. 
On going to my room with the intention of packing and 
I being ready to move to the cottage the first thing in the 
morning, I foimd Miss Jessup waiting for me. Her face 
»as pale, and I noticed for the first time that her mouth 
bad a very stem expression. 

"Did you come here to take Mrs. Hoskins' Job?" she 
deouuided as soon as the door closed behind me. 
"Mm. Hoakinal" I exclaimed, so surprised that for a 



J 




I 



moment my memory failed me. 
Hoskins?" 

Her mouth became more stem. 

"The mother whose place you took this afternoon. Yofl 
never met her because she won't take her meab here. Shi 
takes 'em with the children — eafa with 'em same as Ai 
would with her own. She got the idea that it makes thi 
children feel more like home, havin' her eat at the tebl 
with 'em. There ain't no doubt about it givin' 'em betta 
manners, though Mrs. Boesman says it's not good difl 
cipUne." 

Miss Jessup then assured me that Mrs. Hoskins was th 
best mother at St. Rose. She was a widow and had hi 
her husband and two children before she was thirty. Eve 
aince, for more than twenty years, she had been motherini 
motherless girls at St. Rose. The children under her car 
WHO the best trained, received the highest marks in th^' 
school, both in deportment and studies, and they were, 
one and all, devoted to their "mother." 

But Mrs. Hoskins had not co-operated as cordially in 
ourying out Mrs. Bossman's theories as that lady wished. 
Om of these theories was forcing a duld to eat all food left 
on its plate at the pcevious meaL She also objected to the 
ehikhwi dcung all the housework. She thought some voA 
too heavy even for the oldw ^rls. 

Mrs. Bossman intended, accoiding to Miss Jessup, to| 
havv me act as Mis. Hoskins* assistant for a couple of 
or as long as it mi^ take for me to learn the ro] 
TWn dw would disdiaige Mis. Ho^ins and install me 



" t ain^ skyin' you wouldn't make a good raothcTt** 1 
Jumiupi wound up. "Idunnobut what IbeGeveyoai 
■aktt a fiisb-dasB one. What I aims at is to get yaa 1 
wait, ro be morin' on soo n g oin' bade to Chi 
jom wonU wnit and tate my eattaga. I don't want to i 



ST. ROSE'S HOME FOR GIRLS 113 

MxB. Hoddns turned out. It would break her heart. 
Thai's a fact. None of us wants her turned out. I'll go 
at the end of the month if — ^if you want me to/' 

''May the Lord love you, woman I'' I exclaimed, more 
noved than I cared to show. ''I don't want either Mrs. 
Hoddns' job or yours. I wouldn't have either as a gracious 

"What you goin' to do? You've got to move into her 
eottige in the momin'. When the time comes — ^when Mrs. 
Bossman discharges Mrs. Hoskins " 

"Shell never dischaige her on my accoimt," I inter- 
nq>ted. "As for what I am going to do — ^how I'm going to 
get oat of it, I haven't the slightest idea. But you let me 
deep on it — you'll know in the morning." 

The next morning when I went down to breakfast I 
took my bag with me. After the meal, the matron not 
kving made her appearance, I bade her assistant good-by. 
Beyond saying that Mrs. Bossman's methods did not ap« 
peal to me a statement seemed imnecessary. 



k 



CHAPTER DC 

EODMAN hall: CHILDHBN'S HOME 



Back again on the now deserted top floor of the rooming" 
house, I turned once more to the help-wanted column. An 
advertisement about which Alice and I had often speculated 
during the winter caught my eye: 

"A philanthropic institution for children is in need of 
services of a gentlewoman. One who prefers the life of 
comfortable home with refined surroundings to a 
salary." 

Though well along toward the middle of the day I 
cided to try my luck. Calling up an address mentk)] 
in the advertisement, it did not greatly surprise me 
learn that the institution was Rodman House. I had long: 
been acquainted, through the newspapers, with this ina! 
tution. In all these "write-ups" the statement that 
children in the home were surrounded and cared for excll 
sively by women of education and refinement was alwaj 
conspicuously emphasized. 

To the wages, fifteen dollars a month, I did not give 
second thought. Having bought a pair of new shoes wil 
some of my earnings at Sutton House, I felt quite in< 
pendent of money. To tell the truth so deep was 
sympathy for the class of children cared for in the 
Hall, I would gladly have given my services. Also, 
had met Mrs. Howard, who was the life and soul of 
work. Familiar as I was with her long and persisi 
struggles to put the institution on a sound financial 
I held her in high esteem. 



RODMAN HALL; CHILDREN'S HOME 115 

Speaking to her over the telephone, I told her exactly 
ho I was, and stated honestly my reasons for wishing the 
Mtion — my sympathy with her plans, and my desire to 
[ closely associated with the children for the sake of my 
oric as a writer. 

She was even more persistent than Mrs. Bosaman in 
rging me to come at once — that afternoon. Confident 
ut I had found a place in which it would be greatly to 
If advantage to remain the entire summer, I hurried back 
I the PDoming-house and dived once more into the business 
f packing. Such an accumulation ! Being the last of 
use who had spent the past seven months on the top 
nor, my neighbors on leaving had presented me with 
rerything he or she did not think worth while taking with 
lan, yet considered too good to be thrown away — the 
Ireas was continually cautioning p)ersons against waste of 
W sort, while every man, woman, and child throughout 
n country appeared to be rushing around gathering all 
bwdvable articles to send to Belgium. 

Perhaps my neighbors thought of me as the Belgium of 
hat top floor. They acted like it. 

Mre. Wilkins gave me a new Panama hat, the brim of 
itiich had been cut by a careless trimmer. 

"They was throwin' it in the trash-box when I aeea 
em," die explained, on presenting the rescued head- 
wering to me. "AU you have to do is to line the brim, 
hm it up on the side or behind or before — whichever way 
Met becomes you in the face — and fix the trimmin' so the 
lot Won't show. It'll look as good as a twenty-five-dollar 
at when you get through." 

On the strength of having given me such an expensive 
lat she asked me to keep her cookmg utensils and bread- 
ra. And as an eleventh-hour reminder, hung her winter 
itat and furs in my tiny little wardrobe — all to be kept 

it she "found time" to send for them. 



ifflahe "four 



116 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Alice, of course, left behind all the household equipmentj 
gathered by the two of us. One of her winter hats, bdlj 
too large to pack in her trunk, and not considered of suffl 
cient value or becomingness to warrant a special shipm«i( 
also fell to my lot. And along witli it a gas-lamp, a can^ 
stool, two writing-desk sets, a soiled Indian blanket — si 
Christmas presents. 

The little organist likewise bequeathed to me a nimib 
of Christmas presents, along with her books and she* 
music too ragged to pack. The restaurant owner gave t 
a metal flask containing about a pint of whiskey, aba 
which he declared: " 'Tain't the kind a man would drinlc 
not twice if he knew it. But I thought, being a lady, ji 
might like to have it around." 

Needless to state I thanked him graciously. Jiist s^ 
did the reporter when he carted in twenty odd books,^ 
file of daily newspapers, two sofa-pillows, and a moth-eat 
slumber-robe. The books, sofar-pillows and the robe h 
been sent him at that season of the year when tiie wot 
goes mad on the subject of giving — give wisely if they kiu 
how and have the money, but give they must. 

A few days after the newspaperman's departure a bai 
boo walking-cane with a wabbly head, a silk umbrella mia 
one rib, and a grease-paint outfit was presented to ms I 
the man in the front skylight room. 

"I used to belong to the profession," he told me, explain 
ing the paints. "Now that I am a promoter I don't o« 
it. And this umbrella — one of the ribs is broken — ^but it 
silk — heavy silk. I saved it to have it mended. One i 
the companies of which I'm a director cut a melon the othi 
day, so I don't need to use a mended umbrella." 

As I was still playing the part of Polly Preston 
trunks were in storage. As a first step toward pad 
my collection of remembrances I hurried to Third Av< 
and after considerable searching among the 




RODMAN HALL: CHILDREN'S HOME 117 

finally discovered three suitable boxes. Persuasion sup- 
plemented by a one-dollar bill induced the owner to allow 
hia errand boy to take them to the rooming-house in his 
hand-cart. Of course the errand boy got an additional 
quarter of a dollar. 

In the smallest of the three boxes I packed my precious 
new shoes and the other articles to be taken to Rodman 
HaD. But turn and twist and pound as I might and did, 
I could not cram all the objects to which I had fallen heir 
into the two lai^e boxes. With many explanations I pre- 
eented the overflow to Molly, the negro maid. Leaving 
the house the next morning I saw them, the box of grease- 
' paint and all the rest, in tlie garbage-can at the foot of the 
froDt steps. 

Evidently Molly had not been receiving private com- 

;iiications from either Brand Whitlock or Mr. Hoover. 

.V comfortable it must be not to carry the woes of the 

rid on your shoulders ! 

_\fter the hot and dusty streets of New York Rodman 
Hall, reached after a considerable run by the Subway, 
■'•^med a bit of heaven. Seated back from the country road 

I among the trees the large house, which was of some 

' k shade almost the color of the trunks of the trees, ap- 

ired to have grown there — not built in the usual way. 

re was no lawn, the trees were not overlarge and did not 

jpreaB one as having been carefully planted or pruned. 

Like the house they appeared to have just grown there and 

to have enjoyed the process. 

Even the gravel on the wide driveway that curved from 
the public road to the front door had the look of being to 
that spot bom. And though the dash of color to the left 

the house, a little behind, was made by a crimson ram- 
there was no suggestion of the artificial. It was a 
fortably homey place without a suggestion of mstitu- 
I congratulated myself on haviii£ ioxHid satV a. 



118 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

place in which to spend the summer — surrounded by i 
dren of the particular class cared for in the Rodman I 

Mrs. Howard received me pleasantly and while shon 
me over the house she explained the work and recoui 
the incident that had led her to undertake the care of 
type of defective children. Though having read the a 
thing in the "write-ups" of the Rodman Hall I was pla 
to have it authenticated. Out on the grounds she poil 
out with considerable pride an adjoining tract of 1 
which she said contained sixteen acres, and which she 
just purcliased for the institution. 

That afternoon one of the institution's employees 
vited me to use her typewriter to write a letter home, i 
fying my family of my change of address. While d 
this we carried on quite a conversation. With cond 
able gusto she informed me that she had been for y 
private secretary to a Mr. Johnson Bascom, a high ofl 
of a large banking corporation. So confidential had I 
her relations with her chief, she proudly assured me, \ 
as soon as the "now famous investigation" was moota 
sent her abroad. 

"It's not every girl that's spent a year in Europe," 
told me, her eyes sparkling with pleasure. "And I stoi 
at the best hotels, too — ^had all my expenses paid, and 
salary besides." 

"Then you could have given valuable testimonyl 
asked. 

"I certainly could've done that, and they knew it, ti 
she boasted. 

"You were not afraid to take their money?" 

"I should say not. They were not giving me more i 
my absence was worth to them. My friends tell me I 
a fool not to have made them pay me more — when you 
young you haven't got much sense. I thought if I 
spend a year abroad I'd be n." 



EODMAN HALL: CHILDREN'S HOME 119 

variety of rr to be second in command of an in- 
fer young children!" was my mental comment, 
lurned back to pecking on her typewriter, 
evening after eight o'clock I passed through the 
on my way to the village to mail my letter. The 
was washing dishes, work that I would have to 
next day, was still hard at work. He told me that 

be more than an hour before he would finish, 
taking one of the attendants also on her way to the 
Ifi, and finding her a companionable woman, I joined 
During our walk she told me that our fellow workers 
looked me over, and decided that I *'might" remain 
days. That nettled me a bit, and I assured her of 
ntention to remain several weeks, perhaps the entire 



inquired if Mrs. Howard bad given me the schedule 
rork It so happened that an assistant had handed 

d typed pages just as I was leaving to mail my letters, 
igh at first sight it did seem formidable I felt sure that 
little systematizing it would be well within my strength. 
^ my faith in Mrs. Howard Was such that I resented 
hgestion that she would overtax any worker. 
Hng ihe conversation I soon learned that my com- 
u was the widow of a well-known college professor, 
bad been "enticed," she said, by an advertisement 
It to the one I had answered. 

fed try to be careful," she assured me, "because giving 
■Httle I had in the way of a home meant so much to 
ftice before I had been tricked by a woman. This 
Wb make sure t^at ever>'thlng was all right, I came 
^Kodman Hall and talked with Mrs. Howard. The 
Beo beautiful and that woman talked so fair I felt 
Kt I had found a comfortable home with congenial 
■t ^e balance of my life." She shook her head, 
Bit for a few seconds, then added; "11 \ co\M \ 



120 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

would leave to-morrow. As it U I've just got to stick 
out until I get moD^ enough to pay my way back to ti 
West to my people." 

"But the other women !" I remonstrated, convinced thfl 
ihe woman was exaggerating conditions. "Surely lefinH 
educated women " I 

"Educated!" she scoEfed. "Excepting Miss (nav 

ing the woman with whom I had talked) I don't believej 
one of them can do more than write her name. They are l 
foreigners. Do you know who she is?" 

Admitting unwillingly that this woman had told me 
having been the secretary of a man mixed up in aoa 
financial scandal, I added: 

"But surely you don't imagine that Mrs. Howard knows.' 

" Don't imagine she knows ! I know she knows," t 
clergyman's widow declared. "That woman is one of Mi 
Howard's standbys. Being an educated woman and (ah 
presentable, Mrs. Howard pushes her forward on any 
all occasions. Did Mrs. Howard mtroduce you to any of tJl 
nurses?" j 

I shook my head. 

"Of course not. She wants to keep up aa long a 
sible her idea about the children being cared for by geotl 
women!" The scorn with which she pronoimced gei 
women! "The nurses are regular Irish biddies, every 
of them." 

Much to my surprise on returning from the village a fe 
minutes before nine I discovered that the sheets had btt 
taken off my bed. They were not in the room. As evei; 
body in the house appeared to be asleep and I did not 
to awaken them, sleeping without sheets was my 
alternative. The mattress did not look any too fresh, ao 
covered it with my two extra nighties. 

My room proved to be a little hot-box. Finally I doi 
off and was suddenly awakened by a mighty banging t 




RODMAN IL\1X: CHILDREN'S HOME 

ting. The night-watchman was cleaning up the kitchen, 
ch was next my room, and he informed me that he had 
lo it every night between twelve and two. Once he had 
ihed I again dropped off to sleep, 
jiother mighty thumping and bumping brought me 
jght up in bed. The man who tended the furnace wag 
y getting it ready for the cook. It was only a little 
T four o'clock, but being hght out-of-doors I decided to 
up. It was then that I discovered that I was expected, 
I matter of course, to wash my face and do any other 
iimg of which I might feel the need, in the kitchen-sink. 
Evidently," I remarked to myself, "when a gentlewoman 
■ts with reverses she not only loses her sense of modesty, 

her desire to keep herself clean. What next?" 
Iter sweeping and dusting the piazzas, the parlor, the 
aolrooms, the reception-room, and the stairs, as per 
3dule, I entered the boys' dormitory. While down- 
rs I had heard a voice that seemed to my ears very 

that of Mrs. Howard scolding some one. Now I 
id her in this dormitory where three nurses were get- 
; the more helpless of the boys out of bed and dressing 
n. 

be, Mra. Howard, reminded me of an ill-tempered dog 
lung, snarling, snapping at everything in sight. When 
itered the dormitory she left off nagging the three nursea 

turned on me. 

You're not beginning very well this morning, Misa 
tCT," she snarled. 

s it had been some Uttle time since I had looked at the 
k I did not know but what I might be a Uttle late in 
thing that dormitory. But I did know that I had been 
idng like a horse since before five-thirty. Not caring 
tare words with any one, Mrs. Howard least of all, I 
led on into the adjoining sleeping-porch. 

ji I b^jan by picking up the night-clotAiea ol \iift *3C£^- 



t 



I 



122 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

dren who, already up and out, bad dropped them on tlui 
floor. This done I opened up the beda — atl of them wa^ 
and two of them soiled. i 

Because of a state law, articles in such a condition caniuj 
be sent to a laundry — they must first be rinsed and dri« 
I was just beginning the unpleasant task of rinsing prepafl 
tory to carrying them, mattresses and bedclothes, to baq 
on the lines in the back yard, when Mrs. Howard enter« 

"You're not beginning very well this morning, ifii 
Porter," she again told me, and her tone was unmiatakabl 
intended to be insulting. 

My respect for Mrs. Howaxd was sincere. Though 
had been at Rodman HaU less than twenty-four hours 
had seen enough to feel convinced that the children wcd 
all well fed, comfortably housed and clothed, and tendeil 
mothered. The discomforts of my room and the hu| 
amount of work scheduled for me were matters of 
dary importance. I felt sure that by a judicious uae 
patience and tact both would be altered to my satiafactka 
Determined not to be drawn into a dispute with a wonui 
for whom I had such sincere respect, I held my tongiK 
But as I continued to work I couldn't help wonderini 
what had happened that could make her eo far ioigt 
herself. 

"Where were you last night?" she demanded, ajid glam 
ing up I found her following close at my heels. "You n 
not in your room at nine o'clock. I took the sheets 
your bed. Where were you?" 

A child coidd have knocked me down, I was so amaaa 
That Mrs. Howard should use such an insulting tone wli( 
addressing me was enough of a shock. That she would 1 
guilty of such an act of spiteful tyranny as taking the 
off the bed of an employee was unbelievable. I stared 
her, stupidly silent. 

"And you're not b^inning so well, now, are you?" i 





RODMAN HALL: CHILDREN'S HOME 123 

repeated a third time, and if possible her tone was even 
more insultiogly taunting. 
That loosened my tongue. 

"I may not have begun so well, Mra. Howard," I told 
her as I unbuttoned my apron. "But I shall improve as 
I go along." 
Having taken off my apron I handed it to her. 
"^Tiat is this for?" she demanded, staring at the apron, 
 What do you mean by this?" 

"It means that you are to send me to the nearest rail- 
mad-station, and at once." 

Tlien I told her what" I thought of her, and my worda 

came straight from the shoulder. I reminded her that she 

i bad hired me as a gentlewoman, yet she had not provided 

me a place in which I could so much as bathe in privacy. 

If she had not sufficient money to pay decent wages to 

•orkers, I asked why slie had bought that additional ten 

Kres of land. I reminded her that she aheady had more 

than could be used by the class of children cared for at 

Itodman Hall. 

Furthermore, I told her that if ever I saw her advertise- 

BQt, similar to the one by which she had trapped the pro- 

Ibbof'b widow and myself, I would go to see the owner of 

file newspaper in which it appeared. I would show the 

Aedule of work she had mapped out for me, tell him of 

women whom she had decoyed, and ask why he pub- 

ushed the advertisements of such fakers. 

It was then that Mrs. Howard did everything except 
offer bodily violence to induce me to return that schedule. 
On returning to New York I took the schedule at once 
U} a reputable agency for domestic servants. Pretending 
tiiat I was acting in behalf of a friend who lived in the 
Sountry, I showed the two typed pages to the manager, 
tnd asked for a maid who would do that work for fifteen 
IdUots a month. The manager glared at me. f!i\\e a^Mte^ 



124 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

me that it was impossible for one woman to do so 
work even in a twenty-four-hour day. She didn't 
show me the door, but the manner In which she looked ^ 
it was pointed. 

At the next agency the manager was more polite. 9 
advised me to induce my friend to get three girls. Ev 
then, she explained, my friend would have to pay the g 
at least twenty dollars a month each, 

"We don't have as many greenhorns coming over as 
used to," she told me, "and even those we do have dema 
more money. Twenty dollars a month is very little th< 
days even for the poorest servant." 

The woman in charge at the next agency brusquely it 
formed me that she had too much respect for herself I 
offer such a job to any girl, even the most ignorant inu 
grant. My friend, she added, should be forced to do 
that work herself, then she might understand why i 
couldn't get a girl. 

At the fifth agency I was treated as a half-witted creata 
to whom the manager was forced by her own self-respi 
to be polite. Evidently, she told me, I had no experioi 
with housework. Otherwise I would know that it 
be impossible for a human being, man or woman, howe 
skilled, to accompHsh so much work in one day. If 
friend's home was near a popular beach, or offered an equi 
desirable summer attraction, she might get me two woi 
Wages? Thirty-five dollars a month each, perhaps n 

Determined to give Mrs. Howard a square deal I cj 
on my Y. W. C. A. friend. After reading the advert 
meat and the schedule, she computed the beds in the 
dormitories and their sleeping-porches. 

"Forty-two beds I" she exclaimed. " Why making foJ 
two beds is a day's work, a hard day's work in itself, 
hotel chambermaid seldom has more than twen^'^ 
beds." , 




:ODMAN HALL: CHILDREN'S HOME 125 

1 I explained that most of these beds were always 
,, many of them always soiled, her surprise became 
tgnation. 

That woman is worse than any slave-driver I" sho eot- 
med. "Oh, yes, she is I The idea of expecting any 
Ban to care for forty-two such beds, carry the bed- 
'hsB and mattresses down two flights of stairs and hang 
m on lines in the back yard to dry. When they do dry 
1 must cart them back again and make the beds. Some- 
ag should be done to that woman. I wish the law could 
oh her." 

^ain turning to the schedule she read to the end of the 
J closely typed legal-cap pages. 

'Besides caring for the dormitories and sleeping-porches, 
1 had to sweep and dust two piazzas, the parlor, recep- 
n-room, two schoolrooms, and two flights of stairs — 
iting all rugs in the back yard once a week, or as often 
necessary." She glanced up at me and shook her head, 
Q went back to the typed sheets. "You were to help 
re all three meals, wash the dinner dishes, and keep the 
(tries in order." 

'ii rfiort, I was to have been parlor-maid, dining-room 
, pantry-maid, and chambermaid — a sort of four in one 

Km," I agreed. "If only I had " 

'This is no laughing matter," she reproved me sharply, 
he reduced gentlewoman is one of the most serious 
blems the Association has to deal with — ^how to help 
help herself, how to make her decently self-supporting, 
lefcy-nine cases out of a hundred such women are as 
mnt and trustful as a baby. That is why Mrs. How- 
's advertisements are so dangerous. You must give 
t woman a lesson that she will not forget soon." 
orprised by her vehemence, I turned and looked at her. 
fott must do it," she repeated, her tone and maitneE 



126 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH j 

"But how?" I exclaimed, then reminded her: "I thrn 
ened to expose her to the newspaper if ever I saw her aq 
vertisement again. That's all I can do." i 

"No, it is not," she contradicted. "You can make M 
reimburse you for every penny that trip cost you — ^jn 
packing and moving your things to storage. Every penn 
That's the only way to touch a woman of her type — -throua 
her pocketbook. She has no heart. She doesn't care i 
rap for those children except as a means unto her endl 
to glorify herself. She intends that institution to be ll 
monument. She will wring or squeeze every dollar she Cfl 
from every person she can in order to add one stone to thl 
monument. You can help the Association — we are alwajj 
coming up against such women. It is your duty to do al 
you can to prevent other women falling into her trap," 

Because I could not agree with my friend^her estimH 
of Mrs. Howard — I promised to sleep on her advice and 1 
her know what I finally decided to do. 

Mrs. Howard, as I then saw her, had a angle-track m 
— a disease more common than is generally admiti 
Absorbed by Rodman Hall she had thought of no ot 
subject, had no other interest for so long that her mi 
had got into a groove, just one groove. She could not a 
much less realize, anything outside that groove, neither 
the side of it, above it, nor below it. The interest of R( 
man Hall and that alone was considered. 

When, after sleeping on it for several nights, I fina 
decided to follow my friend's advice, I felt sure Mrs. Howl 
would refuse to reimburse me. I itemized the expenditu 
She would write me that she was in no way responsible 
my having to buy three boxes, nor for my paying a twtn 
five-cent tip. The amount I had paid for the cartage l 
storage of my goods, she would insist, I felt sure, waa am 
of her business. She would protest that her advertisaiK 
was in good faith, and aa &^e had already paid the wa| 



=^ 



RODMAN HALL: CHILDREN'S HOME 127 

due me for two days, and my railroad ticket to and from 
I New York, she would pay me no more. 

Tuesday morning, my second day in the loan depart- 
\ ment of the T. Z. Trust Company, as I was leaving the 
I looming-bouse I met the postman on the steps, and he 
I lianded me Mrs. Howard's reply. That reply now lies 
i before me. It is written in long hand on the official paper 
[ of Rodman Hall. In the copy that follows only the proper 
3 have been changed. 

"Rodman Hall, June 25, 1917. 
iBAB Miss Pobter: 

"I agree with you that I made a mistake in trying to 
I give this work to a gentlewoman. It will never turn out 
f as I had hoped it would. Almost every day some one 
i comes to me for help and the only work I have I offer. 
"Dormitory work and dish-washing, it is true, is not 
what gentlewomen would select as a general thing to do, 
yet if one should decide to do it rather than be out of work, 
I feel sure the duties would be well performed. 

"I am writing Mrs. Jones, the assistant secretary, to 
seod yoa a check for |4.37. 

Yours truly, 

W. C. Howard." 

On the Subway on my way down town again I gave this 
letter its first reading. It not only greatly surprised me, 
but it greatly puzzled me. On rereading it an exclamation 
burst from my lips. 

Any one reading her letter would imagine tliat I had 
complained of the character of the work assigned me — 
dormitory work and dish-washing. Also, that out of work 
I had appealed to her for help. If she received appeals for 
help "almost every day," why was it necessary for her to 
^Advertise in the help-wanted columns? During \iia.\.'«'\![i'ye.t 



128 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

and spring Alice and I had noticed her advertisement fu 
one dozen times. 

Some day I shall frame this letter of Mrs. Howar 
together with her advertisement and the two typewritt 
pages of l^al foolscap, the schedule of work. 



CHAPTER X 
TRUSTED WITH BILUONS, PAID IN MILia 

fffiEN discussing with my Y. W. C. A. friend my experi- 

loee at the Rodman Hall, she said: 

"Why don't you give our employment department a 

lial? I believe you'd have a wider choice. Besides, you ] 
hlight help the Association a lot — reporting conditions at 1 
4e places where you work." | 

Semiphilanthropy again I was my mcjital exclamation. ' 
Rie department store and Sea Foam were the property of 
ihilanthropiats. The overdressed woman and her "place- 
acnt bureau" was a semiphilanthropic annex. St. Rose 
ad Rodman Hall I Now the Y. W. C. A. employment | 
^lartment. Semiphilanthropies ! 

With a sigh so sincere that it seemed hypocrisy to sup- 
less it, I promised to be on time the following moroing, 
up to the seventh floor and register. I took my leave 
ad walked dejectedly back to the rooming-house. There 
'as no hope in me; my enthusiasm had passed away as a , 
tiing that had never been. I was to have my faith in 
uman nature tried by another semiphilanthropy. 

True to my word but expecting the worst, I arrived, waa 
'hisked to the seventh floor by the elevator, registered, and 
romptly received two shocks. First, not being charged 

fee. Second, being assured that I was not an unskilled 
'orker. Far from it. The woman at the desk named so 
tany lines of work in which I would be received with open 
Tns that it made me dizzy — banks, brokers, insurance, 
ite, and a half-hundred more. 



^WtAtc 



130 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Then she asked which of the fields she had named 
pecially appealed to me. 

"Well," I hesitated, forced by her eyes and her busii 
like maimer to give some sort of an answer, "since 
think I would fit in so many holes, suppose you let ml 
one in which I will release a man for service." 

She smiled and shook her head. 

"That's not much of a choice. In every vacancy I 
named you will be releasing a man — one who has enB 
or been drafted. Under norma! conditions none of 
people would come to us. They'd apply to the Y. M 
some agency making a specialty of educated men. 
the T. Z, Trust Company, one of the largest banking 
tutions in the country. If you go there you'll be the 
woman; heretofore they have employed men exclusivd 

"But what could I do in a bank? I've never been 
yond the drawing and deposit windows. That could 
be called bank training." 

"Bank employees are not produced by training bui 
experience. Suppose you go down and let them judg 
your fitness. Besidea bookkeepers and stenographers 
have openings for intelligent, educated women. I'll 
you a card." 

And give me a card she did. Within an hour after < 
ing the employment rooms, without having spent a 
I was on my way to see the treasurer of one of the Ul 
banking institutions in the Wall Street districts. 
Morton, the treasurer, being in the loan departme 
was given a chair beside his desk, and asked to wait. 

"I dreamed I dwelt in marble halls," I hummed to mj 

If I should be employed here I would certainly woi 
marble halls. The bank, as far as I could see on 
floor, was beautiful marble and bronze. Wonderful I 
huge flat-top desk beside me and the chair in which 
were both exquisitely grained mahogany. And there 



\_m 




ErSTED WITH BILLIONS. PAID IN MILLS 

{Other desks and numerous chairs just like them on 
' floor — at the front of the bank and raised one 
! the general floor level. 

ile I was busy studying the faces of the men at 
' desk Mr. Morton arrived without my being con- 
j of his approach. He spoke to me, and looking up 
i a long, tall man, with becomingly gray hair. Now 
a gray hair, and I also like eyes that meet mine calmly 
3 a matter of course when the owner is talking to me. 
3 a difference in eyes — eyes that play hop, skip, and 
trying to see everything, look everywhere except 
\ the eyes of the person addressmg them; eyes that 
( at you as though wishing to jump out and snatch 
I eyes bald-headed, and eyes that have a predisposition 
tdy the toes of shoes and the figures on the carpel 
ing up once in a while to catch you off your guard, 
ihps murder you. 
Ry interview with Mr. Morton was encouraging. He 
felt sure, he said, that if women of my "attainments" would 
offer their services they would be gladly accepted by the 
banks and similar corporations. As he saw conditions, if 
the war continued as long as persons in a position to know 
appeared to expect it would, half of the work of the Trust 
Company would have to be done by women. 

"Everybody don't agree with me," he added. "Some 
think it unnecessary, my employing women here. Some of 
our men enlisted, many were called in the first draft, others 
will be caught in later drafts. The situation is serious, and 
I want to meet it." 

On learning that he was a Princeton graduate, I decided 
to give him a trial as a boss. Fortunately for me, he de- 
cided to give me a trial. After taking the names of my 
references and some more general conversation, he aaked 
) to report for duty the next Monday morning. 
I my return trip up-town I took stock of myself. Pat 





32 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



myself on the back as I might, I was forced to admit tbat 
jny clothes, in their present condition, were not suited to a 
dweller in marble halls. Determined not to take my 
trunks from storage, I was even more set on continuing 
to live on my wages. What to do I did not know. 

Being Friday I resolved to loaf until Monday. Leaving 
the surface car at Store Beautiful, I proceeded to carry out 
my resolve — loaf. Perhaps while doing so a solution of 
my problem might develop. But an hour spent in roam- 
ing through the most beautiful department store in the 
world only added to my conviction — the unfitness of my 
clothes to marble halls. 

When I again faced the world on Broadway I was still 
struggUng over the puzzle — how to get a dress suited to 
marble halls. Wool was prohibitive not only in price but 
because it was needed by our soldiers and the destitute 
Belgians; silk was far above the contents of my pocket- 
book, and cotton was winging its way upward so fast that 

might be forced to join an aviation corps to get enough 
of it for a frock. 

There was Fourteenth Street to be investigated — Fou^ 
teenth Street has solved many financial problems. So in 
and out of that wide street I nosed, like a pointer dog hunt" 
ing for game ardently wished for though unscented. Finally 
down in a basement I came to a pomt — I actually pointed. 
That piece of cloth over there — what's the price of 
it?" 

The saleswoman looked at the cloth, then back at m& 
Her expression was of a person who had answered the 
«ame question many times. 

"There's only five yards, and we can't get any more Kke 

," she told me. 

"What's the price?" 

"Oh, it's cheap enough," and taking the cloth from tlu 

.elf she spread it before me on the counter. "One dollar 



PUSTED WITH BILLIONS, PAID IN MILLS 133 

Ithe piece. We could get three times the mooey if there 
1 enough of it for anything. It's only twenty-seven 
lies mde." 
"I'll take it." 
POq leaving that counter with the parcel in my hand I 
lied to the pattern department and there spent twenty 
Fortunately, among the riffraflf left behind by Alice 
1 the hatrtrimmer there were remnants of several spools 
white cotton thread and a few inches of dark-brown 
|bton poplin. 

irly the next morning I trudged up to the Y. W. C. A. 

I all the spool cotton and the scrap of poplin in my 

, and a neatly folded parcel under my arm. When I 

Itted the sewing-room late that afternoon 1 carried with 

■a dress in which at that time it would have been equally 

■opriate to visit a tenement or dine in a palace. Be- 

6 bang patriotic it was also the height of fashion — cotton 

Id, severely tailored, with a long tie of dark brown. 

I Up to that time, aside from room-rent and food, my 

inditurea had been limited to one pair of shoes, seven 

■s; one union suit, fifty-nine cents; one picture show, 

11 cents; two evenings at church, twenty-five cents in the 

! each time. I admit that such an existence of grind- 

ItoU is only jKissible to a girl of character. Polly Pres- 

& girl of character. So also were a large majority of 

i with whom I had worked. Had such not been the 

) millions instead of thousands would have fallen by 

I wayside, succumbing to the conditions amid which 

Kien were forced to work before the entrance of our coun- 

linto the World War. At that time the life of a work- 

I woman was of no more value than that of a dog. Yet 

I our working women ceased to be virtuous our country 

inst have perished. 

Now I have come to one of the two most disagreeable 
of my four years. Perhaps the \iaties\. W 



I 

I 



I 



I 



134 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

me to describe with equal justice to myself and the peopb 
among whom I worked. 

On reporting at the T. Z. Trust Company at the time ap 
pointed by Mr. Morten, I learned that though he bad not 
arrived he had instructed his secretary how to dispose o 
me. When she told me that Mr. Morton had decided 
place me in the loan department, it was evident that e 
expected me to be greatly pleased. I did my best not 
disappoint her. But to tell the truth the name meant 
much to me as an inscription over a Hindu temple. Am 
I could have conducted services in a Hindu temple ] 
telligently as I did the work in that department during mj 
first few days. 

After passing through several gates opening into pn'vab 
compartments fenced off by heavy bronze wire netting ' 
entered the loan department. Once there I saw that 
was at the rear of the bank, and that it had two window 
similar to those of a bank for the use of customers, 
the way of furniture there were two flat-topped desks, 
large one and a smaller, two bookkeeper's desks, a larg 
iron safe on wheels, a ticker and its basket, and severs 
chairs. 

The loan clerk, Mr. Hartley, and his first assistant 
Dennis Hoolagan, sat facing each other at the latter of ths 
two flat-topped desks. At the smaller flat top, which 
in one comer, sat a yoimg man, Tom Turpin, tall, blond, 
and carefully groomed. In an adjoining compartment, 
a large table, was a still younger man, Dick Ware. And h 
yet another adjoining compartment was the stenograph( 
and typist, whose name no one considered worth mention- 
ing. Mr. Hartley and Dick Ware, I soon learned, were of 
American stock. Hoolagan was a son of Irish immigrants,, 
while Turpin's parents had come as immigrants from UuA, 
country from which Americans get their coachmen an( 
butlers, but never their cooks. 



RUSTED -WITH BILLIONS, PAID IN MILLS 135 

I have already stated how I chanced to go to the T. Z. 
rust Company. When I proposed to release a man for J 
rvice I did not for a moment imagme that I was doing ] 
lything remarkable. Indeed it seemed a very small thing t 
I offer my country my xmtrained services since all my j 
ai-folks had enUsted and were prepared to give their I 
res. Because the press and men and women in public 
Ee were urging American women to follow the example of 
le women of England and France, step into the working 
orid and release men for service at the front, I did it. 
fhile I did not expect to be commended, neither did I so I 
inch as dream that any fellow employee would do hia best 
) render my position unpleasant. 

That is exactly what Tom Turpin and Dennis Hoolagan i 
id attempt — to render my position in the loan department ' 
r the T. Z. Trust Company intolerable. 

On that first day, the ceremony of introductions over, 
It. Hartley explained that I was to learn to do the work 
one by Dick Ware and Tom Turpin. These young men, 
fr. Hartley informed me, had enlisted, and might be 
lUed at any time. Hoolagan had been drafted, but be- 
ui6e of a physical defect would not be taken by the first 
raft. He, Mr. Hartley, then placed a chair for me at 
hapin's elbow. I was to begin by learning Turpin's work. 

Never in my life had I felt even a slight interest in stocks 
od bonds. Now I found myself sitting cheek by jowl 
rith a ticker. My chair was so close to the thing that the 
ipe got the habit of running down my collar instead of 
ito the basket. Any one can judge how much at home 

felt. 

Even that first day I had a feeling of discomfort that I | 
id never experienced in any of my former positions. My 
lenory of the forenoon of that, my first day, is of a blurred 
pMle — there were so many things the meaning of which 
^Hi Dot the faintest conception. On my letuni ^.Tom. 



136 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

lunch I found only Tiirpin and Hoolagan in the offi 
My chair was nowhere in sight. I placed my hand on 
Hartley's chair. 

"Better not do thatl" Turpin cried. "Hart don't 
anybody to sit in his chair." 

"Who has moved my chair?" I questioned. No 
Both men appeared to be too engrossed by their work 
hear. After a few minutes, puzzled but thinking perhi 
it was intended as a joke, I asked: "Where am I to sit? 

Another wait. 

"There's a fitool," Turpin told me, pointing over 
shoulder to a high stool at the bookkeeper's desk in t 
far comer. 

The stool was not an enticing seat, but not dreanu 
that any offense was intended I never dreamed of taki 
offense. Going over I perched myself on the stool 
busied myself trying to learn how to manipulate a lit 
machine used to make out cheeks. This moving of 
chair was repeated the following day along with numerw 
other acts of petty spite. Having always been coi 
received I did not at all understand. 

It took days for me even to suspect that I was not 
welcomed addition to the department. Turpin was, 
course, the man whose acts aroused this suspicion. B 
method of instructing me had, from the first, seemed 
me peculiar. When pretending to show me how to mai 
out the reports sent from the loan department to vari( 
officers of the bank, he would be laboriously adding 
subtracting a few figures, then suddenly he would thn 
himself back iu his chair, heave a sigh of extreme exaflpe 
tion, and shout at me. 

Though this puzzled and embarrassed me from the fii 
I did not for a moment think it was done with mal 
aforethought. Being repeated so often, I finally be( 
to question myself — why shoidd I, when not allowed 
take any part in the work ui\\8Jid,\ie\v'swVA«.\i1 ^< 




RUSTED WITH BILLIONS, 

Am not quite a fool. It did not require a great length of 
me for me to discover that Turpin's fits of exasperation 
ttd loud talking only occurred when Mr. Morton, Mr. 
[sTtley, or some one of the vice-presidents of the bank 
'as in hearing. 

On my inquiring, quite casually, one day of Turpin what 
p thought of Mr. Morton's idea of putting women in the 
itntions left vacant by men going to the front, I got what 
le would have called "a line" on his behavior. 

"We all know that business has got to make out with 
romen somehow," he replied patronizingly. "This bank 
long with the rest. What we complain about is Mor- 
on's giving us an untrained woman. You've never had 
jiv office training." 

"None," I agreed. "I told Mr. Morton I had had no 
xperience in office work. He thought that being a col- 
Ege woman " 

"College!" he exclaimed contemptuously. "What's that 
'! for? I'd have gone to college if I hadn't known it 
! J be throwing away time. As soon as I finished the 

. ! :-chooI — graduated, of course — I came here." 

"How long have you been m the loan department?" I 
nquired. 

■'More than two years. You can take it from me it's 
!;in-size job. No woman, much less an untrained 
m, can swing it." 

! he work is very hard," I agreed, with a deep and in- 
< re sigh. I thought then, and I have never changed 
>>ptnion, that a conscientious girl of sixteen could do 
Hi tiiat I ever saw him attempt. 

"You bet it's hard!" he agreed with a beaming smile. 

"The bank will misa you," I assured him, doing my best 
Id make my eyes look round and innocent. 

"Miss me!" he cried with enthusiasm. "They'll know 
IrtieD I'm gone; you see if they don't." 

From then on I followed that young man's \eaA ■siQ siia- 




r 



US POrE YEABS IS THE UNDERBRUSH 

warfJyAat lam cca rriii oed that the loan clerk was amaia 
te fad after Ttspin aad Ware kft that I actuaQy km 
ftit tmo aad too made Ctas. TWpm tan^t me ooUuj 
He«oiddwri.ev>aitaliwbovheEot the^oresrormaU 
oat tbe^aijr npatt €t hammaB 6oae in the departmenL 

To lir. MflftDD, to lb-. Hartl^, aod two courteous 
ID tfae bookknfBig defMrtmoit I ore all that I know aba 
tfaemndeflf abankandtfaevaridaffinanoe, Mr. Mort( 
"T***"*** the bow and why of a bank balance. By 
ing me to read the ticker-tape he iDtex>ested me in stod 
and baods, and the part played by Ute Wall Street marki 
to the buBDen of the country. 

The two bocddce^iers showed me from which of tlu 
books Tuipin got the figures about which he had 
nich a myetei^'. It was as easy as rolling off a log- 
out the reports over which Turpin used to sweat and 
— onoe I had learned from which books to get the figurd 
A ten-year-old child could have done all the subtractiol 
and adding — that's all it was, simple addition and 
traction. A man-size job ! 

To Mr. Hartley I am indebted for much more. He Ml 
only taught me enough to enable me to swing my job, but 
he revolutionized my ideas of men — men in general, buanea 
men In particular. 

StraDge as it now seems, before going to work in tiie T. 2 
I had believed that every business man spent the best pal 
of his time while down-town loafing — in a gentlemani 
way, of course, but loafing. Such ideas came to me dire 
from the wives of the men. Among my circle of mtintti 
anquaintancea there are about fifty young married womi 
The huahand of each of these women works to support hit 
family. Of the whole fifty I do not believe there is oirt^ 
who does not suspect her husband of loafing, or having 
aoH of good time generally during the period known 
business hours. 




RUSTED WITH BILLIONS, PAID IN MILLS 139 



|> Lets 



e of them wish to go out of a 



; and she 



1 evening a 
to make her arrangements — ^always including 
r husband. If he demurs, expresses a wish to remain at 
me, she reminds him that it has been a week, or perhaps 
Bmuch as a month, since they have spent an evening away 
1 home. It's all very well for him, going to his office 
r day, but how about her, looking after the children 
|directing the servants? She must have some sort of 
ation, take some rest. It is a one-sided argument, and 
8 ends the same way — the husband takes his wife out. 
1 is not selfishness on the part of these women. It 
ause they really do not know that business is 
r name for work, hard work. I did not know until 
nt to the T. Z. And how hard those men did work ! 
' long, and when stocks went off, far into the night. 
1, murmur, never a complaint. The hardest worker 
1 all was Mr. Hartley. 

I short time after Turpin departed I enjoyed my 
[ in spite of the fact that it was a great nervous strain, 
I greater tax on my eyes — continually reading such 
1 figures under electric lights. Then Mr. Hartley went 
off for a short vacation, and Hoolagan got his chance to 
£ght a woman, who in his stupidity he imagined had her 
■'eye" on his job. 

His first method was "correcting" my daily report of 
the business transacted in our department and those of 
our branches. It was my duty to make out this report, 
get it signed by the loan clerk, and into the hands of a cct- 
tain vice-president not later than eleven o'clock. When 
Mr. Hartley was in the office I would place the report on 
his desk ; he would glance over it, make sure it was correct, 
and then sign it. I would then hand it to a messenger who 
would deliver it to the vice-president. It had become such 
a Diatter of routine that I used to ring for the messenger 
on my way to Mr. Hartley's desk. 



140 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Hoolagan stopped that. There was one day when 
spoiled ten copies of the same rejwrt, pretendmg that 
figures needed correction. This might have contini 
until Mr. Hartley's return had it not been that the bod 
keepers discovered so many mistakes in Hoolagan's figur 
that they laughed him out of court. 

The truth of the matter was that the man did not kno 
how to add or subtract correctly. Having always 
kind, hard-working Mr. Hartley to go over his figures 
straighten out errors, he did not have sufficient industl 
to learn— that is, if it was only industry that he needed. 

The day he had a half-million-dollar loan to Han 
Marson hopping and skipping over five columns of the d^ 
book, I decided that he was a mental defective and couM 
not help making mistakes. I made out my report, th 
bookkeepers balanced their accounts. Then lo, and b 
hold ! the next time we had occasion to consult the d^ 
book that half-miUion loan had been transferred to anotb 
column. Of course our figures had to be changed. Wh( 
this happened four times the bookkeepers raised a howL 

"For God's sake, Dennis I What is that half-millioi 
Where does it belong?" 

Somebody in our department put on thdr thinkiiig-cai 
and recalled that they had heard Hoolagan talking at t] 
window with a Harris Marson messenger about a street ca 
Even though that incident had escaped Hoolagan, the ra 
of interest and a half-dozen other features of the lol 
should have told a man familiar with the T. Z. the cl 
acter of that loan. 

After that he stopped "correcting" my reports, and 
to hiding the day-book. When the head of the bookkt 
ing department put a stop to that performance Hooli 
proceeded to hide himself. Just let him see me coi 
toward his desk with a report and Hoolagan was 
and away. If he possibly could manage it, he remu 




TRUSTED WITH BILLIONS, PAID IN MILLS 

(way until a messenger sent from the front would chase 
bfan down and make him sign my report. In a busin&ss 
\sB8 «tal to our country and humanity Hoolagan would have 
be^i a joke. The T. Z. was an Important factor in world 
Bnaoce. 

^ The way all other men in that bank worked t I can never 
terget it. And the little tliey got out of it ! The average 
American business man, for all his work and worry, gets a -■ j\ ^ 
borne in which to sleep, spend his Sundays and an occa- ^^% 
Bonal holiday. In spite of this— perhaps because of it — ..^ ,i 
be is the most idealistic of God's creatures. N \«M 

Behind all his work, be it mad hustle or deadly grind, 
there is a woman — his woman, the one woman in all the 
*orld to him. It is of her he thinks, it is for her he slaves. 
His adored woman, that girl of his dreams must have, shall 
(■ everything that he can win for her at any cost to 
K'lf. I know, because at the T. Z. I studied the Ameri- 
^nii business man in his natural habitat—I talked with 
liim, rubbed elbows with him while he was hustling and 
«hen be was grinding his hardest. 

How often did I see a man, when called to the telephone, 
pick up the receiver with indifference. Then on hearing 
the voice at the other end of the wire liis face would brighten 
until it beamed, and his voice would change from the re- 
Rstful tone of having his work interrupted to a loving 
i^urr. It was watching the men at work in the T. Z. that 
ii^covered the reason why our business men prefer mu- 
.! comedy to high-brow drama — ^it comes nearer visual- 
.-iJij; their dreams. 

God bless them I — American business men. That I 
wijfked among them only six weeks was entirely my own 
fault, a fault for which I have often reproached myself. 
Had it not been for Turpin and Hoolagan — or rather had 
those two unworthies crossed my path later on during my 
,r years' experience, after I had acquired a gresAer aiaoMi*- 



142 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

of self-control — I might not have gone to Mr. Morton be- 
fore the end of my third week and assured him that I did 
not like bank work, and never would like it. 

Yet had I remained at the T. Z. until our soldiers re- 
turned from abroad I would not have worked in the tene- 
ments of New York City. Without what I saw and learned 
there my four years' experience would hardly have been 
worth writing. It was working in the tenements, living 
in the tenements on my wages that showed me what tha 
working man and woman are up against — how they face 
their problems, ' and how they feel about present-day con- 
ditions. It was there, too, that I realized the menace of 
idle women to American ideals and institutions. 




CHAPTER XI 
I AM SICK IN THE XJNTERBRUSH 

a week before leaving the T. Z. I had a set-to with 
Uady. Stopping at the door of her room to pay 
I, I handed her two dollars and seventy-five cents 
Iditional quarter for gas used in cooking. Imagine 
mishment when the woman began to goggle her 
jne, to wiggle her tongue back and forth, making a 
joimd, all the while trying to elongate and contract 
■tub of a neck. When I demanded to know if she 
\ her mind, she became apologetic and assured me 
i was only trying to get my vibrations. Thereupon, 
ig the biblical threat of hell-fire, I told her she was 
^ot the scientific fool that she claimed to be, but 
n garden variety. 

ng Molly on the top floor, I told her I did not wish 
rown to go into my room so long as I paid rent for 
e next day I went direct from work to the Jane 
i House — another home for working girls. There 
a deposit on a room with two meals a day at six- 
ffeek, to take possession at the end of my time with 
irown. When I notified this woman that I was 
her house she denounced me bitterly. 
I're deserting me because I didn't succeed in stop- 
e war," she accused. Then she added, wagging her 
, me: "I would've done it if President Wilson had 
what I told him to. That's who's a fool — President 

If he'd a stopped the war my fortune would've 
ade." 

dent ^\Tlson ! I wonder how many persons call 
fool because be re/used to make t\iera lQtWoss"\ 







144 FOUR YEARS IN 


^^ 


But that was not the last oi 


" Ibad Bb 


house. The day that I iin 


\i courae. \ 


Btairs. 


.-.d brown li 


"Ain't you ashamed?" 




ashamed to treat a fellov 


■' table wi 


me?" 


r eftdi ot 


"It is because you are a ^' 


nproaoona 


house," I told her. "You ft' 


-, of Af 


a faker. It is the duty of <"" 


glad to 


you feel that you dishonor y- 


It out oi 


not an American — he has ton 


had 


"It's a shame!" she cr 


•!ireey 


"Men are always kinder to >■ 


Its n 


"It's because a woman hi 




Knowing the strength as wcU 


l^t 


sex, she recognizes their peti* 


■:iker, 


replied soothingly, while I t^ 


■■e^ 


her a good deep jab with my 


a cause for real tears. "Dnr 


1 V 


catch a thief.' Good-by, Mr^- 


t-lilS 


the stairs and out at the fro. 


efS 


cemed that was the last of 


jfl 


the theory of "vibrations." 


d^ 


When engaging a room «■ 


^tta 


told me that guests were ni. 


^OB 


in their rooms, and I ther'- 


>nil 


my trunks being in storagt-. 


^3il 


"home" for working woEoa^^^^ 


^^^M 


unseen, I wondered that 1ihi^_L 


^^H 


trouble to formulate a rule fit 


^^^1 


ally no place for even the — 


^^H 


swung from the ceiling — tlie • 


^^^^ 


thinnest of steamers. 


-^^^^H 


Besides a narrow cot the 


Jr""^^^] 


foot above the floor, their 


i-d 



;H 145 I 

ronier with 1 



I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

etnaU table with one minute drawer, a narrow chiffonier 
five soallow drawers, topped by a mirror narrow both ways. 
There was also a sash-curtain, a window-shade, a white 
cotton cover on the table and another on the chiffonier, a 
clothes-c!oset, and a face-towel so tiny I felt sure it would 
never grow up. Besides a brown door with a transom and 
a narrow window opening on a court only slightly wider 
than the door, my room consisted of four shiny yellow walltt, 
a shiny white ceiling, and a shiny brown floor. After my 
Brst peer around my new quarters — ^because of the narrow- 
ness of the court and the height of the two buildings my 
window only admitted twilight — I took myself to task for 
being overcritical. Though I was pajong two dollars and 
a quarter a week more than room and food had cost at 
Mrs. Brown's, I would not have to do either cooking or 
dish-washing. Doubtless the meals would be better and 
more abundant than those I had prepared for myself. 

Then there were the piazzas, one on each floor, and the 
roof-garden, all overlooking the river, I continued, enumer- 
ating all the advantages of my new abiding-phice. It would 
be eo lovely aft«r a hard day down-town to sit and watch 
the river until bedtime. Of course I must get another 
job on Monday; no use of loafing wbea our country needed 
every woman as well as every man. By that time my 
tnead, a librarian who had lived in the Jane Ler^nard for 
several years, would return from her vacation, and I would 
bave a companionable person to speak to — for weeks bdore 
leaving the rooming-house Molly was my cmly speaking 
acquaintance. 

Dinner that night dJd not come up to my expectations 
—my pet abominations, baked beams and a brown bread 
even worse than the concoction set before you three times 
a week in Boetoo. For in i^ite of my three years to a 
Massachusetts eoUege, I never leaned to eojoy its n a tional 
di&b, or two disbes. Before gtong to the Jane Leonard 



^ 



146 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

when this combination was put before me I had alw! 
looked the other way and waited for the nest course. H 
there was no next course. Baked beans and brown bn 
was dinner. 

A woman who sat under my elbow — the table waa 
tiny that the four of us literally sat under each othi 
elbows — this neighbor of mine who had an unpronouncea 
German name and looked like an American of Afri 
descent, warned me darkly that I would be glad to 
such nourishing food before "this country" got out of 
war. Nourishing! The very adjective that had b 
drummed into my ears while at college ! Even three ye( 
drumming did not make me form the habit. Its wd 
result was a play. 

I do not now recall just what it was about that a 
position that so aroused the ire of Professor Baker. 
may have been that it proved my point — that New & 
landers partake of their Wednesday and Saturday dim] 
and their Sunday breakfasts as a sort of memorial feasi 
honor of the hardships enjoyed by their ancestors when ti 
first landed on their rock-bound coast. Mr. Baker wa 
not agree that his ancestors enjoyed hardships. AH ( 
has to do is to read history. Early New Englanders 
joyed hardships just as the Irish do being persecuted — l 
almost as much. The result was pretty much the sam< 
both peoples multiplied on the face of the earth and I 
their descendants a subject for conversation, a verita 
snowball of a subject, which, by the simple method 
rolling it over the tongue a hard fact becomes slui 
fiction. 

The next morning, Sunday, we had eggs for breakfi 
Unfortunately I was the first at table, so did not have 
advantage of advice from my table-mates. I ordere<i 
medium-boiled. When peeled, it closely resembled a | 
ball that bad been lying in the wet grass for a coupI< 



rSH 147 1 



I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

months. That proved to be an intensely hot day, but 
sitting on the roof-garden or the piazzas was impossible 
because of a virulent stench. 

"It's from the dumping-plant, where the city garbage is 
loaded on scows to take out to sea," a woman who saw me 
huiTj' down from the roof-garden explained. "The wind 
iJways blows from that direction hot days," 

Being too dark to read or write in my room, I spent the 
morning straightening out my few belongings. On hang- 
ing the suit in which I had set out on my adventure and 
my coat in the closet, it seemed so full that I decided to fold 
my nightie and place it under my pillow. 

A few minutes later a gaily frescoed individual, who in- 
formed me that she was the assistant housekeeper, entered 
to exchange my Peter Pan towel for a fresh one. Evidently 
Ae realized that my Uttle pancake of a pillow bad risen 
too high and too suddenly, for she jerked it up. 

"There!" she exclaimed, pointing a stubby red finger at 
my nightie. "Night-clothes are to be hung in the closet. 
Don't you seethe rules?" — pointing at along, printed page 
Ucked against the inside of my door. "Can't you read? 
You can't keep nothin' under your piller nor under your 
M neither." 

Here, going down on her kneea, she peered carefully under 
the bed; then, still kneeling, she passed her eyes over every 
square inch of the four shiny yellow walls. When they 
aicountered a paper bag hanging on a nail to one side of 
the narrow chiffonier, she scuffled angrily to her feet. 
I "I'm gonna report you," she cried, glaring at me, "It's 

I positive against our rules — guests drivin' nails in the walls. 
This ain't no tenement. Seems like you can't teach some 
folks nothin'." 

"Suppose you look at that nail," I advised her, as I re- 
moved the paper bag. " You can see for yourself that it 
(as been here since before the walla were paiw^i. \N. >a 



14S FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

covered with the same coat of yellow paint. If you dra 
it out ever so carefully it would mar the wall." 

"Well, you mustn't hang nothin' on it," she told me. 

"What am I to do with my winter hat?" I asked, as 
slipped a quarter into the pocket of her apron. "It 
too large to get in the closet, and too good to throw aw« 
Besides, that manila bag is so near the color of the wall 
is scarcely noticeable." 

She put her hand into her pocket and felt the mze of tl 
coin. 

"Well, if you didn't drive the nail I won't say nothi 
about the other things," she agreed. Then she add) 
cautiously: "But you'll have to be on the lookout whj 
Miss Digges comes round. She don't allow nothin' hm 
on the walls." 

"Who is Misa Digges?" 

"She's the head one, the manager. And you never kn{ 
when she's comin'." She snatched the door open, 
popping her head out looked up and down the hall, 
caught her once, just like that. She was followin' me arouD 
Be careful about that hat now." 

With that parting injunction she took her departui 
Her hand was in the pocket of her apron and her gaud) 
painted face wreathed with smiles. Money talks ! 

That midday dinner was a fairly good meal. After 
good soup there was chicken fricassee, a vegetable, a salA 
and ice-cream. The waitresses all wore clean aprons ai 
the table linen was fresh. During the first part of the mi 
I realized an indefinite feeling of discomfort that I hi 
attributed to "nerves" had become a headache. As dina 
went on instead of the pain becoming less it increased, 

The Uttle waitress placed my ice-cream before me and 
glanced up and smiled at her. That movement of t 
muscles in my face explained my headache. My skin ft 
so tightly stretched that it seemed as though I should ha 



I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 149 

, it crinkle. Ijcaving the ice-cream untouched I ex- 
t myself aad hurried up to my room. 
1 1 could only take my erysipelas medicine in time it 
1 lessen the horror, perhaps prevent it entirely. Fum- 
[ in the semidarkness of the hall I got my key in the 
<ot my room door, then found that I could neither turn 

Ibr get it out. I must have struggled with that key for 

twenty minutes. Then going to the elevator I asked the 
operator if he could get it out. 

"Sure, lady, I can get it out," he told me. "But I don't 
^ow what song and dance to give 'em in the office that'll 
make 'em let me leave the elevator. I'll go try and see," 

After waiting fifteen minutes for the man to return I 
pushed -the button. The elevator started up at once. In 
agbt of me the operator shook his head. 

■'I've been waiting for you to ring. I can't move unless 
1 get a ring. That's a rule." He opened the elevator- 
door. "Maybe if you goes down you can get that woman 
to let me off. I told her you was sick and that it wouldn't 
take me ten minutes, but it didn't do no good." 

I stepped into the elevator and went down to the office. 
The clerk that afternoon was a small blonde woman, with 
a face as hard as a flint rock. After explaining conditions 
I asked her to allow the operator to leave the elevator long 
enough to get the key from my door — the man standing at 
my elbow remarking that it would not take more than 
five or six minutes. 

"No," snapped flint-face. "We've had all we're going 
to take — guests putting their keys in upside down. We're 
going to stop it. You'll have to wait until Jack gets off. 
Then if he wants to help you it's no affair of ours what he 
does in his free time." 

"When do you get off?" I asked the operator. 

"Six o'clock." 

Tt was then seventeen minutes of three. Three hours and 



150 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

seventeen minutes to wait ! The tight sensation in 
face had passed into a sharp stinging burning that efi 
minute was growing more and more intense. Three bo 
and seventeen minutes ! The doctors had cautioned 
against allowing erysipelas to get to my eyes. 

I begged that woman as though begging for my life— fc 
believed that I begged for my sight. It had absolutely 
effect on her. When I asked for the manager she laug^ 
at me. 

"Miss Diggs is resting," she told me, and she chuck 
with delight. "You disturb her Sunday-afternoon 1 
and she would have your key taken out the lock, and 
morrow morning she'll have you moved out the house, 
guests don't like our rules they can leave. We've got doi 
on our waiting-list ready to take your place." 

Despairing of getting the woman to change her mind 
stepped into the hot little reception-room and took : 
seat. It was stifling. I could see the sun beaming throt 
the windows of the library and the dance-hall on the oi 
side of the exchange, so I knew they were still hotter, 
face was like a red-hot blaze, and no tooth ever ached 
painfully as my whole head. 

Putting my pride in my pocket I crept out and as 
the woman to let me have five cents to telephone to a di 
store. I reminded her that my pocketbook was locket 
my room, then that I was a friend of Miss Stafford, who i 
lived at the Jane Leonard for nearly five years, 

"Why don't you borrow of Miss Stafford?" 

"You know yourself she is not here," I wailed. "1 
told me so yesterday when I came in. Said she woul< 
be back from her vacation until to-morrow. I gave yo 
note to be delivered as soon as she arrived." 

" Why don't you borrow of the elevator-man ? " she aaJ 
then added with a devil's grin: "you've got thick en« 
with him considering you've been here less than tweD 
four hours." 



|I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 161 

I ask him," I told her. "If he's got it I'm sure 

jnd it to me." 
id I would have done it had I not recalled that the 
:riptioD was in my pocketbook, locked up in my room, 
ew nothing of the drug-stores of that neighborhood, 
e clerk at the desk would not trust me enough to lend 
ive cents, it was not at all probable that a druggist 
i let me have a medicine for which I could not pay. 
the sake of getting farther away from that clerk when 
elevator returned I took it and went back to my floor. 
I the Jane Leonard one of the many "features" adver- 
1 is the sitting-rooms, one on each floor. It waa to 
[if these I now crept. My head ! My God 1 the pain in 
iead. The li\'ing flame that was my face ! If, when I 
I go to hell I do not believe I shall — that I can suffer 
ter agony than I did during the three hours spent in 
hot little room opening on a court and shut off from 
)Utside air. Even now, looking back at this distance, 
afternoon — like one mad, hideously flaming blur — is 
ul. 

ben, after eons of time, the elevator-raan appeared in 
loor of that sitting-room, he had to repeat his state- 

tiiat he had opened my door before I could under- 
L I think that I mxist have been semidelirious. I 
mber that as he followed me to my door he said that 
i not taken him five minutes. Also — this more vividly 
it he refused to take the tip tliat, though suffering 
almost unendurable, I had memory enough to offer. 
lOugh the first half of that night was a hideous night- 
I it was not so bad as the afternoon. I could not he 
I, but I rested on the bed with my head on a pillow 
ut the wall. Besides I had water, not very cool, but 
reahang moisture to the fever of my face. Most of all 
Uie certainty that relief was on the way — once the 
jtte had time to act. 
^Bus£ have happened toward Biidiugh.t. \ "waa s^iSSi- 



k 



152 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

ciently conscious to recognize the step of a man pf 
along the hall, and to know that he was the night^watchmi 
Calling through a crack of my door I asked hiin to tuni 
the light in the hall immediately in front of my tn 
He was so concerned about my not being asleep that sen 
ing up my courage I asked if he thought he could get mei 
small piece of ice. 

"Sure, lady," he told me. "I'll get it from the ice-l 
in the basement, and I'll bring it straight up — not wait 
come on my roimds." 

That flint^faced woman in the office had shaken mij 
faith in humanity to such an extent that I did not believa 
this watchman. I thought he was jollying me. So sm 
of it that I went back to dabbling my handkerchief in 13 
little pan of water that I had fetched from the bathrooi 
and tried to make myself as comfortable as might be sittil 
on the bed with my head propped against the wall. 

In a surprisingly short time the night-watchman 
back again. He had brought me a pitcherful of ice, not 
small pitcher either. He explained that he had put d 
large piece at the bottom so that I might eaaly get t) 
smaller ones. When I offered him a tip he stepped beyM 
the reach of my hand, and told me: 

"My wife's niece hved in a place like this before i 
married. One time she took sick and 'most starved 
death before she could get us word — nobody come near b 
for more'n two days. If you want anything just you o 
when you hear me passing." 

For the first time I realized fully the blessing of ii 
The little towel being too rough I tore up the softer of mj 
two nighties to get a cloth large enough to cover my fa<t 
and neck. After several applications of this cloth saturatM 
in ice-cold water, I fell asleep, comforted by the belief thit 
the medicine and ice had come in time to prevent 
erysipelas from reaching my eyes. 



I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 153 

When I waked I could not open my eyes. I distinctly 
recall that I had no thoughts, no fears — just a stunned 
leeling. Next I decided that I must not cry — that would 
Bot help matters, only lessen the chance of saving my sight, 
that is, if it could be saved. Then I determined that if I 
did have to be bUnd I did not have to be a coward. Grop- 
ing about I located my little pan and the pitcher. Two 
jnecee of ice still floated in the deliciously cold water, and 
I proceeded to apply the cloth saturated with the water. 

As the tinie wore on I heard alarm-clocks in the rooma 
about me go off, their owners get up, move about while 
dresang, then go out, always banging their doors. One 
by one I listened as their footfalls became less and less dis- 
tinct and merged into silence. The chambermaids came 
on. I heard them talking and the clash and thumping of 
the dustpans and brooms. Finally one came to my room. 
Without knocking she opened the door, and before I 
could prevent her turned on the light. I shrieked with 
pun. Then as automatically heaved a sigh of relief — if 
fight hurt my eyes I could not be totally blind. On learn- 
ing that I was siek and would make my own bed, the maid 
lumed and was leaving the room. I asked her to turn off 
tlie hght, and then after an effort inquired if she could get 
me some cracked ice. She took the pitcher and promised 
to bring back the ice as soon as she got a "chance." 

As time passed and the girl did not return I realized my 
felly in allowing her to take the pitcher — even tepid water 
fras more soothing to my inflamed face and eyes than the 
dry cloth. At last, giving up all expectation of getting ice 
Until the return of Miss Stafford, I took my Uttle tin pan 
Bud groped my way to the bathroom. 

Back in my room I found that I had barely a half-tea* 
Sup of water — doubtless there was a rule against spilling 
ira.t€T aloi^ the halls. Fortunately, I reasoned, the heat 
Mcald soon dry it up. The house was profoundly still. 



154 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

If there was anybody in it they didn't come to my t 
Several times I made the trip back and forth to the b: 
room with my tin pan, each time realizing that the infla 
mation must be less because I could see a little better. 

It was a long day but I did not get hungry. When 
women began to return from work I began nervously 
wait for my friend. Being employed in the library ol 
down-town mortgage company, I knew their closing h) 
was not later than five-thirty. Time passed, but none 
the footsteps passing so frequently along the hall stop] 
at my door. 

One woman's voice called along the hall asking the ti] 
Another answered that it was a few minutes before eig 
Eight o'clock! Miss Stafford had not returned from 
vacation and I was dependent on the night-watchmi 
He had told me that he made his first round at eld 
o'clock, so I set about preparing for the three hours' wail 
to make my Uttle pan of water last until he came. N 
the inflammation had subsided sufficiently to make 
keenly conscious of the difference between the duskin 
of the halls during daylight and the glare under elect 
lights. 

One of the footfalls along the hall did stop at my dc 
There was a tap and my friend entered. 

"Why!" she exclaimed. "What makes you 
night-owl ? I'm going to turn on the light." 

Fortunately I spoke before she found the electric buti 
She was shocked on learning what was the matter, and 1 
it had all happened, and even more shocked when I U 
her that I had moved in the previous Saturday aftemc 
and left a note for her with the clerk. She had retun 
from her vacation Saturday forenoon, had been in the J) 
Leonard all Saturday afternoon, all Sunday except for I 
time spent lunching with a friend a few blocks away. I 
had returned from her office a few minutes before six t) 




I AM SICK IN THE UNDERBRUSH 155 



ftenioon, got her mail and room-key at the office on her 
ray to her room. Returned, handed in her key at the 
ffice, had her dinner, and then gone out for a walk. It 
ras after this walk, when she stopped at the office for the 
■£y of her room, that my note was given her by the night- j 
lo-k. I 

The only information vouchsafed to Miss Stafford and I 
tie by the woman to whom I had given the note was: I 

"It was misplaced. I put it in 507 as soon as it turned I 
ip." And the tone in which that statement was made 1 
ras not in the slightest apologetic. Indeed it was irapa- 
ieot to the point of rudeness. 

"There's nothing we can do," Miss Stafford told me. 
'Mtb. Scrimser, that's the room-clerk's name, is a special 
tiend of Miss Diggs. Miss Diggs? She belongs to an 
lid New York family, they say. She's always very nice , 
o me. She always speaks to me." I 

"Why!" I exelfumed. "Doesn't she speak to every ' 
[Ufist who has been here long enough for her to know them ? " 

Miss Stafford shook her head. 

"That's the reason we consider it worth mentioning when 
ihe does. You'll have to wait and see for yourself. It's a 
condition that can't exactly be explained." 

A very wise reply I found that to be before I left the , 
fane Leonard — a condition that cannot exactly be ex- i 
plained. At least it could not be explained with credit to I 
Uie persons controlling the house, nor to the woman whom J 
ihey employed to manage it. I 

Because of that attack of erysipelas I was confined to ^ 
ay room for nearly a week. When I felt strong enough 
go out, it was only in the evening to the roof-garden, or 
yt a walk along the river's edge. Even then I was com- 
idled to wear a broad-brimmed hat and colored glasses 
shield my eyes. When at last my eyes became strong 
DQimh for me to lay aside the glasses, it was e. covi^V% q^ 



156 POUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

weeks before I dared to read or do anything besides co! 
knitting — sweaters for our soldiers. 

Lack of money forced me back to work. The last of tl 
fifty dollars for which I had worked so hard, and skimpf 
so carefully, had to be drawn from the savings-bank 
pay my board. Fortunately the Y. W. would get me 
job without first exacting a fee. 

On my explaining that I didn't feel quite honest — taldl 
a position and receiving the training, and then leavil 
within a couple of weeks — the woman in charge of the 
ployment bureau advised me to take temporary positioi 
There was always quite a demand for such workers, d 
explained. Now that there was so much government wo 
to be done, she found it hard to get any one to so much 
consider a temporary job. 

"Have you anything temporary in the way of 
ment work?" I asked. "I'd like to feel that I was helpii 
the govenunent if there is anything you think I could da 

"I wish all the girls sent out from here were as 
equipped," she told me while looking over her file, 
give you a card to ex-State Senator Gallagher. He 
organizing and setting in motion the working end of 
District Board for the City of New York, down in the 
Post-OfSce Building. There are plenty of other opeziiiij 
but I'm quite sure he'll take you." 




CHAPTER XII 
JACKAI^ FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 

The eveaing after my first day spent as a clerk of the 
District Board for the City of New York 1 reached the 
Jane Leonard m tune to be among the first who entered 
the dining-room for dinner. The meal was good enough, 
Mup, roast Iamb and a vegetable, and it being Monday the 
aprons and shirt-waLsts of the waitresses were still clean, 
bat — oh, the flies I These pests swarmed over everything 
except Miss Diggs' table. That was always kept carefully 
covered with mosquito-netting. 

Getting through dinner as soon as I decently could, I 
hurried up to one of the piazzas and sat watching the boats 
passing back and forth on the river — every conceivable 
sort of craft from a tiny dory manned by two half-nude 
small boys to huge Sound steamers with noisily splashing 
side-wheels. Among this noisy throng now and then there 
would pass such strangely colored boats, boats that made 
tae think them the product of some cubist or futurist when 
in the clutches of a nightmare — camouflage, weird twistings 
and curves in blues, greens, purples, black, gray, white. 
it was soon after the disappearance of one such boat that 
Miss Stafford came out and took the chair next to mine. 

"How do you like your new position?" she asked, as 
turning her chair sideways to the piazza railing she put 
her feet on the rung of my chair. 

"W-e-l-l," I hesitated. "I don't know whether to be 
amused by it or to hate it — reading the afiidavits of draft- 
evaders. There are so many of them I feel like kicking, 
yet, at the same time I feel like crying — lo ^uii. \Iq».\. "^"et^i 



J 



158 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUS! 

are bo many persons living in our country, fattening on i 
enJ03dng its benefits and not caring enough for it to fig^ 
for its ideals." 

"You mustn't expect everybody to be as keen aba 
doing their bit as you are. Your fingers are never sti 
You must roll bandages or knit sweaters in your sleepi' 
she laughed. "What are the other employees like? 

"We're a grab-bag lot. It is just as though the Seci 
tary of War, wishing to set going the machinery of the draf) 
had thrust his hand into a bag filled with a miscellani 
collection of workers, and would-be workers, and grabl 
a handful. The head of the subdepartment in which 
work was a saleswoman in a smallish Brooklyn ahop, 
eight dollars a week. Now she is getting twenty-five, 
seems to look upon it as a miracle." 

"I can sympathize with her," the librarian told me. 
the New York public library I only received forty dcJllj 
a month. Now I get eighty and the promise of a boml 
at Christmas. After you've skimped and struggled t 
long to have your salary doubled in one jump does mal 
you feel inclined to pinch yourself. But when the war I 
over— you don't think salaries will go down again, do youj 

"I don't know. That's what I'm trying to find outi 
whether wages should go still higher, remain on the presd 
level, or fall back to the pre-war figure." Then I outlinj 
what I had done, and what I planned to do. I 

"Until after the war — -go from one position to anotha 
I never heard of such a thing I" she exclaimed. "You w! 
never make anything, taking what employers offer you.**f 

"I'll learn conditions and, incidentally, employers." 

"But you might do so much better. With your 
even though you can't go abroad you could land s< 
thing big. There's the publicity department " 

"Allah forbid !" And even a Moslem himself could 
have been more fervent. 




FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 159 

"But why not? You're a writer, and " 

"It is because I am a writer," I interrupted. "Because 
I am a ^Titer and intend some day to be an author." 

"You make a distinction 1 Whom do you think of as 
authors?" 

"Thomas Hardy, John Galsworthy, George Eliot, Mar- 
garet Deland, Booth Tarkington, and others," I answered, 
then added: "Come, let us talk about people, not books." 

"All right," she agreed pleasantly, though she still kept 
her feet on my chair. "You say the head of your sub- 
department gets twenty-five a week — what does the head 
of the department receive? And what manner of indi- 
ridual is he or she?" 

"Fifty a week. A man, of course, about forty, hale and 
hearty, with a wife and no children. I think he must be 
wbat is called a political hanger-on. I heard him tell Mr. 
Jobaskl that he hadn't been without a political job for 
more than twenty years, just stepped from one to another." 

"And Mr. Jobaski?" 

"Quite a young man, not more than twenty-six. He's 
the head of another department and receives fifty a week. 
His name tells his nationality." 

"Unmarried?" 

I nodded my head. "But he has a mother," I added, 
wishing to give as good an account as possible of my fellow 
workers. 

"Dependent?" The librarian had quick-moving, clear 
blue eyes. There was still enough daylight for me to see 
that she suspected my object. 

"W-e-1-1," glancing at her through the comers of my 
eyes and catching her watching me, I laughed, "to tell the 
tnilh Mr. Jobaski is a draft-evader, or trying to be. Miss 
i^nc-ezet, my immediate boss, told me that he had been 
drafted, but was 'tryin' to keep from goin'.' This after- 
i a great honor, he offered to let Tne Msa \^s. "^Ti.. 



I 



160 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

He assured me it was solid gold, and given him by 
mother at his last birthday. It certainly is solid aam&J] 
thing, almost as large as my thumb, with a larger emerald 
set in the end — really a handsome stone. Tor a pen ! It 
felt more like a crowbar. Any more questions, Miss Perse- 
cuting Attorney?" 

"Since you don't really enjoy the work, it must be th» 
persons with whom you are thrown. I may as well leaiU' 
your taste," Miss Stafford informed me, and it was entirely 
evident that she did not approve of the plan I had mappeii 
out for myself. "And the individuals in your department. 
— men, women, or whatever they may be?" 

"Women and girls. The one on my right had been ped* 
dling matches when she was 'taken on' — she couldn't get 
anything else, so she told me. The one at my left was 
cashier in a butcher-shop, seven a week. Another had 
been a saleswoman in a jewelry store, seven a week. Next 
her a girl who, as a learner on a power-machine, had not 
arrived at the dignity of a salary. While the one taken on 
after me was in her second year at high school when eat- 
ables began to sky-rocket ao fast last winter. She had to 
go to work, cash-girl in a department store at five a week, 
to help her father support her younger brothers and sisters." 

^The librarian shook her head and continued to r^atil 
me with speculative eyes. I could see that she was think- 
ing of me, what she regarded as my peculiar taste, not <rf 
the persons about whom I had been talking. 
"Don't you think it's pathetic?" I began again after & 
short silence. "These women and girls are forced to think 
of such a catastrophe as the war as a godsend. From fivs 
dollars a week to fifteen, think what a relief it must be. I 
don't believe that the girl who was selling mat(!hes mack 
even—" Glancing up stream I caught my breath. "Hush," 
I whispered, peering at a dark bulk on the river gliding 
toward us. 



tl 



J 



FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 161 

"Hush!" the woman at my elbow repeated, and others 
taking up the word it ran the length of the piazza. 

"Yes! Yes I It is they," the woman at my elbow ex- 
rlaiined, half under her breath. "I saw them against a 
lig:ht on the water. They are in uniform — our boys !" 

It came on, tiat huge black ship; it made no sound, 
there was no ray of light. Against the reflections of the 
shore lights dancing on the water we made out, peering 
through the gloom, the trim young figures packing every 
deck and leaning from the port^holcs. The other crafts 
on the river, as though recognizing the destinatioQ of the 
great ship and the preciousness of her freight, all made way 
for her — three of them crowding close against the shore in 
front of the Jane I^onard. 

"May we not call God's blessing to them?" a woman's 
voice farther along the piazza questioned, half sobbing. 

"Give the German spies In this house a chance to have 
their ship sunk as it leaves the harbor? Not much." It 
was the little woman at my elbow. 

As they drew nearer — our boys — each woman found her 
pocket-handkerchief. There was no waving, no word; 
now and then a half-smothered sob. A mute tribute to 
the soldiers on the dark ship to which they responded as 
mutely — as the ship swept past, against the dancing lights 
on the water, we saw that they all bared their heads. 

Bending far out over the banisters of the piazza we 
watched it ghding away from us — a silent ship upon a 
ffllent river, no sound, no ray of light. Now and again as 
it passed a building on the island we would get a glimpse 
of the trim silhouette of a young figure. Under the bridge 
it slipped and beyond, at every heart-beat growing smaller 
and more dim. Then it melted into darkness — a black- 
gray speck upon a black-gray river. 

The women on the piazza drew a deep breath that 
sounded almost like a heavy sigh from one breast as they 



162 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

sank back in their chairs. The men in the three ci 
that had put in against our shore began to talk — not lom 
but to call back and forth, as though giving and tal 
orders. A bell clanged, a whistle sounded, and the three 
boats again started on their way — busily noisy boats rai i 
busy, noisy river. 

"I'm going down-stairs," the woman at my elbow aa< 
nounced. "If any of those damned spies tries to use tbs 
telephone, I'll know how to stop her." She was no bigger 
than a second. 

"FU go with you," a woman called from the far end o( 
the piazza. 

Conversation was not resumed. One by one the womeal 
went in until finally the piazza was left to the librarian and 
me. Unmindful of my surroundings I sat staring strmgl 
ahead— for all I knew one of my brothers, or all of tin 
might be on that silent ship. Would they sail away inl 
the unknown without being allowed to say good-by to anj^ 
one, even then- mothers? Had the country that my 
cestors helped to found come to such a pass? — 
going to fight in its defense must steal away in the darft' 
ness. Immigrants? Loathsome ingrates! 

"I'm thinking of your grab-bag lot," Miss Staffon 
remarked, and I, having forgotten her presence, turae 
grouchily toward her. 

"Politics, like want, makes strange bedfellows," I replie 
indifferently. Somehow the heart seemed to have beeB 
dragged out of my body by the passing of that ship. I 
longed to go away, get off by myself, yet dreaded the hot 
discomfort of my little room. Why could not this woman 
go to her comfortable room and leave me the piazza? 

"Under a Democratic administration it is to be expect«4- 
that Democrats will get all the jobs," the librarian reminded 
me. "To the victors belong the spoils, you know.' 

"All I know about it," I replied crossly, "is that Judgl 




FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 

Roger Pryor once told me that he was the first to use that 
v^uotation as a poUttcal slogan. I doo't know the politics 
^ any of my fellow workers." 

When this subject recurred to me the following day I 
^umptly began a quiet investigation. Much to my sur- 
jrise I learned that with the exception of Mr. Gallagher, 
«very person with whom I had come in contact who re- 
ceived above fifteen dollars a week, the lowest salary paid, 
Was a Republican, and had voted against President Wilson. 
.And they made no bones about either fact. Mr. Jobaski 
boasted of having held, for several years, another federal 
job. And that he still held it, having put in a substitute 
at a lower salary. Speaking of it, he assured me that it 
was the easiest and safest way for a person to make money. 
The head of the department in which I worked, the fifty- 
^ollar-a-week man, also had a code of morals somewhat 
different from any I had ever heard put into words, 

"What's your hiury?" he would ask, on seeing you re- 
luming to your work after lunch, or at any time. "No need 
for you to rush around and kill yom-self. When you cheat 
the government you are only cheating yourself— taking 
"what really belongs to you, your own property." 

He certainly lived up to his own preaching. In the 
"whole six weeks that I was on that job I never saw him do 
CO much as an hour's work. When he was not lolling back, 
lis chair on its two hind legs, smoking an expensive cigar, 
ie was strolling along the corridors smoking or talking with 
Anybody he could buttonhole. He was a great man for 
""'ordering" supplies for the department — pencils, paper, 
printed blanks of every known variety, in short anything 
"that he could think of, or that was suggested to hun. Be- 
cause my eyes were giving me trouble I borrowed an eye- 
shade and wore it while at work. This man caught a glimpse 
of me and at once sent in a written order for eye-shades for 
every worker in the department, including himself. When 



164 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

the shades came and were distributed everybody, excej 
ing myself and the man, tossed them aside with sc( 
Up to the very day of his discharge this man made a pw 
of wearing his eye-shade when strolling along the corridf 
smoking. To-day among my "exhibits" I treasure 
green celluloid eye-shade, paid for by the United States 

In this federal job my work at first was winnowing 
and getting together the papers of drafted men wh( 
claim for exemption had to be passed on by the Disti 
Board. And such claims aa many of them did set foi 
— reasons why they should not be called on to fi^t 
their country. They called themselves jnenf 

It was from these papers that I learned a new use fcB 
wife — to help her husband evade draft duty. The 
of these dependent ones was almost as great as their m 
ber. One was dependent because her husband paid fift< 
thousand a year for an apartment in which to keep 
The husband of this expensive dependent was a compo 
of popular music, who described himself as a "creat 
artist," and he gave his yearly income at such a very 
figure that the greatest of the many surprises in hia p 
was that he was able to pay his rent. That man's pai 
were so absurd, for, while pleading his inability to sup( 
his wife if he was forced to go to the front, he boasted of 
huge sums he had received in royalties, so that I always 1 
a suspicion that they were prepared by his publicity ag 
with his tongue in his cheek. 

Another proud possessor of a dependent wife was the 
of a millionaire bread-maker. His apphcation proved 1 
to be in such dire poverty that we all decided he had m 
a mistake— instead of being the son of a bread-maker, 
must have been the son of a bread-line. 

Unfortunately for the evaders their wives were not alw 
so complacent. One man made out a very good case- 
wife was delicate, their baby less than two years old. 



FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 1 

is salarj- small Alas for his hopes I His father-in-law 
80 sent an affidavit with the necessary number of wit- 
He proved that this dearly beloved dependent 
fe had been deserted by her now affectionate husband six 
}Qths after marriage-^the father-in-law had supported 
th motiier and child. This old man stated plainly that 
would be very grateful to get his son-in-law sent out of 
! country, and kept out — he did not specify on which 
iUe-field. 

ffhea Alice left me I felt sure that never again would I 
et s person with such an exalted opinion of a college 
ication. That was an error. I was yet to meet two 
re. The first of these two appealed to me the day that 
 department was moved up-stairs — the top floor of the 

Post-Office Building. In appearance he was an un- 
i&Uy fine-looking man of about twenty-five — a blond, 
I slightly under six feet in height. He was the picture 
health, well fed and exceptionally well groomed. 
Stopping in the door he glanced around and chanced to 
ch my eyes. S milin g he walked across and greeted me 
ib great cordiality. He wished very much to know just 
ir his case stood, he explained, and was sure that I could 
OBt him materially. I had not read his papers, so I 
ted him for an outline of his case, as well as his name and 
iresa. On learning these particulars my face must have 
[ireesed a lack of enthusiasm in his cause, for he hastened 
add: 

"It's like this — if I'd thought I was going to be drafted, 
mnild have enlisted. Now all I ask 'em is to let me 
list." 

"Now that you are drafted why do you wish to enlist?" 
tsked, for this was a new type of an evader to me. 
He drew himself up to his full height and looked down 
me with indignation. 

['m a college man," he informed me haughtily. "It 



166 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRtJ 

is impossible for me to associate with the type of num 
to — th Camp." 

"Why, what is the matter with them?" I questifl 
still at a loss to know at what he actually was drii 
"What could they do to you?" 

"Do to me?" He was so disgusted that he appeart 
consider turning his ba«k on me. Evidently he hi 
second and what he considered a wiser thought. "I'll 
you just how it is — what happened when I went out t 
the other day," he began in the confidential tone assu 
by some men when they think they are about to help (3 
selves to a kiss. "The first man I met was a barber- 
fellow who has been shaving me every morning for — ( 
don't know how long." Looking at him I waited — I 
not waiting for the kiss. "Now, you couldn't exped 
to associate with fellows like those — could you ?" I lo 
away without replying^ — there are so many different 1 
of fool in this world. After a moment he added petti 
"If you were a college woman you'd understand." 

He not only made me feel ill, but he made me fee! ew 
felt just as one does when in the grip of a bilious atta 
what is it all about ?— why not kill me at once without 
ting me through such nauseating torments ? 

"I am a college woman," I told him, feeling weak : 
nausea. The next instant resentment flared up, and ta 
the bit in my teeth I lied without shame. "I'm not o] 
college graduate, but I have four honorary degrees." 

"Four degrees!" he cried, staring at me goggle^ 
"Why, why I What you work here for? — 'mong i 
people?" 

"For one reason, because I'm not a jinnyass," I sn^ 
back at him. "For another, I'd sweep the streets, be 
to sweep them, for the sake of helping my country 
this war." Then I stood and glared at him, and I thi 
clinched my fists. "God help a college that ti 




FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 167 



Bale creatures as you." TurniDg my back on him I stalked 
1. r lo a window and stood staring at the front of the 

uv Hall. 

1 was not grieving for the lie told when claiming four 
legrees. But I did regret, rebelHously regret, that it waa 
tit within my power to fonn all draft-evaders in one com- 
Uy, force them to the front, and leave them for the Ger- 
IBiis to finish. I questioned, and I still question, the 
k^t of any person, man or woman, to live in a country 
|r wluch he or she is unwilling to fight. I felt and I still 
)d that if they had any sense of honor in their puny souls, 
1^ Tould get out and found a country of their own — a 
Knmtry of draft-evaders I 

As contemptible as these persons seemed to me there was 
mother class for which I had an even greater abomination 
H class, as I now see conditions, that not only threatens 
k life of our country but of what we call Christian civi- 
■don. That class against which the most beloved of 
ht Preadents never ceased to thunder — the intentionally 
fcikDess married woman. 

' There was never a day that we, handling the papers of 
bft^vaders, did not see and recognize her as she stalked, 
torched, waddled, or blew in on us — the contemptuous, 
Wirow-lifting type, the I-know-my-rights-and-I'lI-have- 
pD type, the life-is-so-hard type, and the airy-fairy-Lillian 
?Pe. They all came, singly, in couples, and occasionally 
Irios, all on the same business — "to see about my hua- 
Ms case." 

Well do I remember the first of this class that fell to my 
H. She blew in like a slender, perfectly equipped racing- 
iMp, with one tall billowy sail. In spite of her slender- 
pa there was a suggestion of Cleopatra — her slow smile, 
IB dumberous dark eyes, which, when you crossed the 
PM£a of their owner, became pin-points of amber flame 
mkind narrow sHts. 



1G8 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

By nature I am as Boft as a man about good-Io<J 
women. This girl was beautiful. She said she felt 
that I would be able to help her. Odd how one could 
ways recognize a congenial person, she added. And 
smile with which she made this assertion was a poem, 
the glance of her wonderful slumberous eyes might I 
made any man feel sure that he could write an epic, 
course had she not wished my services she would never 1 
wasted either on^a woman. 

Her husband, poor dear boy, wished to go to the fr 
She had coaxed him not to enlist, even gone so far at 
say that if he did not enlist and should be drafted, 
would raise no objection. It seemed so certain that 
would not be caught, so many men were not, you 
Of course a promise given under such circumstances cq 
not be binding. She had had her law>'er draw up the ne 
sary papers asking her husband's exemption. 

"We wives do have some rights, you know I" she 
claimed, at the end of her story. 

"Yo;i have been married five years and your husbai 
salary is ten thousand dollars a year — surely you h 
saved enough to supplement the government's allowa 
to the wife of a soldier," I told her, for I longed to help 
man in his determination to fight for his country, yel 
the same time, I did not wish in any way to mar the dai 
perfection of this beautiful creature. 

"Saved !" Another slow smile as her body 
gracefully. "You have never lived in a hotel, my d 
Saving is impossible. What they don't take from yoi 
your bills they do m tips. It is terrible! Why — " 
paused, glanced me over as though taking my 
then bent toward me and lowered her voice to a confii 
lower tone. "Even the clothes on my back are not 
for." 

"But your children?" I demanded, for I waa shod 





FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 169 
jfvoice showed it. "Surely you should save for your 



r eyes flashed out at me — two sharp rays of amber 
between shtted lids. 

[hildren?" she purred. "I've too much sense for that, 
stroy my best asset— my figure." 
long the many wives-have-their-rights individuals who 
us personal calls was one who waddled in at the limch- 
when Miss Sneezet and I chanced to be the only ones 
e department. She was short, plump, and wore ex- 
ve clothes. She had come to find out what she could 
bout her husband, she explained to Miss Sneezet. 
been drafted, and she wanted to make sure that he 
i pay her the alimony awarded her by the courts, 
ss Sneezet reminded her that the government made 
in provisions for dependent wives. Oh, yes, she 
about that, this woman repUed, but it was such a 
amount. The courts had allowed her thirty doUara 
sk alimony; if the government took her husband away 
Duld not only make good that amount, but should see 
she got her husband's insurance. Suppose he got 
1, then her alimony would stop entirely. Yes, it was 
right that the government should make it up to her 
guaranty her against loss. A wife had some rights, 
ihe wanted hers. 

'erhaps your hu.'!band had his insurance made payable 
s children," Miss Sneezet suggested. 
Ihfldren !" the woman cried, her eyes round with sur- 
, "He ain't got no children. I never had none, and 
n't never married again," 

uppose you give me your name," Miss Sneezet finally 
iSbed, as a means of getting rid of her. When the 
! was given Miss Sneezet glanced up from her writing- 
Eind her eyes were round with astonishment. "Mrs. 

olerl But — but you gave your husbanOCa tiasaa 

rMaddea," 



172 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"Win!" he cried, in a voice of haughty scorn. "Ha 
be snowed under." Then he added reprovingly: "Yi 
should know that." 

"How should I know?" I inquired, meek though puzzlf 

"Every CathoUc has been instructed to vote 
the acoundrel," he informed me. 

"Ah !" I exclaimed, for I was genuinely startled. 

"That order came straight from Rome," he assured 
in a lowered tone. "If your brother lived here he wi 
have told you." 

I stared at him, and he, misinterpreting my expresso 
smiled jubilantly as he nodded his head in emphasis. I 

"I wonder if either of my three brothers could have toll 
me?" I questioned, and I looked htrn straight in the eyttJ 
"My brothers are all Americans." I 

"I'm an American," he asserted indignantly. "I wa^ 
bom " j 

"I don't care where you were born," I interrupted. "Ml 
one, man or woman, who takes orders from a power oul 
the United States is an American. A person who 
orders from Rome is no more to be trusted than one 
takes orders from Berlin. I'll not sit by either." 

Grabbing my file in one hand and my chair in the ol 
I marched to the other end of the table. Two days 
this man was caught on the roof caressing one of the youny 
est of the girls in our department — she had been taka^ 
from school to help her parents support the family. Whij 
the men employees did to this fellow I never knew. ^ 
did not return, not even to finish that day. 

For one thing I am devoutly thankful — that Polly Pii 
ton is an American. It must be the most stupid of tM 
to write about a hiunan being who is forbidden to thi 
for him or her self. I had as soon write about a white hi 

Durmg the later part of September, while still work] 
for the District Board for the City of New York, I mo^ 



FIGHT TO KEEP FROM FIGHTING 173 



gr belongings from the Jane Leonard to the top floor of a 
loming-house in Greenwich Village — in the same house 
[id on the same floor with Hildegarde Hook. Having met 
OB young woman at the Y. W. C. A. and learned from 
Qiself that she was a writ^, and from the Association that 
ie was a problem, I decided to put her on my list of those 
id that to be investigated. 

Early in October Uie workers for the District Board 
^an to be laid off. When my turn came I was not sorry. 
>bs were plentiful, wages on the rise, and I was anxious 
I try anotiher field. 



CHAPTER Xin 

"MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE**! 

The day after leaving the District Board forf 
of New York I called at the employment departmeil 
the Y. W. The head of the department greeted me 
dially. She had plenty of jobs — up-town, down-towi 
all the suburbs. Reading her card catalogue of opM 
she stated that the Suffrage Party was offering ten da 
a week for canvassers, to work from five to nine even* 

"Could you place me where I would not be recc^nia 



I inquired. 



SJ/lo?* 



"Know many persons on the upper West Side?' 
asked. I shook my head. "Ever see Misa Mac 
Marks?" Again I shook my head, "She's in chari 
the West 78th Street branch. She's been begging for 
I'll give you a card 

The telephone at her elbow rang vigorously. She 
off the receiver and applied it to her ear, all the while, 
in a card introducing me to Miss Madeline Markfl. 

"Daskam & Howe? Yes, I remember. You 
dressers? Piece-work? One and a quarter a 
No, I can't send you any one at that." 
tone was final. "One fifty is the 
Most demand two. Are they 
chuckle. "I've listed about 
I've been able to fill. Ot 
What's that ? — one doUar 

"I'U take it," I 
to send one." 

"I may be able 
five," she called 



I"M0RE DEADLY THAN THE MALE" 175 

^for you. Good-by." As she hung up the receiver 
turned to me. "I was in hopes you'd be willing to 
the Suffrage Party out," she told me, and it was plainly 
nt that she was disappointed. "This is the last week 

lie election, and " 

I going to take both positions," I hastened to inter- 
f*'My first job was with Daskara & Howe — ^mail- 
The manager of the addressers is a nice 
n; he'll let me get off afternoons in time to canvass 
ifrage." 

e cut her eyes at me and smiled. 
Lny of them will do that now," she assured me. 
ey'll let you do about anything you want, they are so 
to it to get workers, I'm glad you're going to work 
mffrage. Do you think there's any chance of our 
ling?" 

S I work for it — yes." 

le turned on me and looked me up and down. 
iVhat do you mean?" she asked, 
rhere's a sort of superstition at home — however hopc- 
a cause may appear, if I get busy and work for it it 

fou believe it?" 

iVhy not?" I parried. "We all thought President 
on's chance for re-election was hopeless. At the 
;nth hour I had myself made vice-president of a Wood- 
Wilson League and got busy," 
That was a close shave !" she breathed. 
Vly work saved him," 1 laughed. 
Por heaven's sake!" she exclaimed, pressing two cards 
itroduction into my hand. "Get busy and work for 

1 half an hour I presented myself at the employees' 

i of Daskam & Howe. Instead of the kindly little 

I young woman with a face Uke aa ladrnTi VaniB<- 



176 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

hawk received me. Being among the late-comers, I 
seated in the room in which the buyers of the firm 
their desks. All these buyers, including corsets and wonies 
undenvear, were men. At least that was the condition 
day that I began work. A day or so later a woman, tl 
only woman employed by the firm as a buyer, retuilH 
from her vacation. 

"Hello, fellers!" she called, stopping in the door os 
return. "Damn busy, I see, chewing the rag. You' 
hell of a lot." .\nd after this a long string of oaths. 

In the use of swear words I had imagined the men by 
ers unsurpassed. They couldn't touch that girl. It d 
not seem possible for her to open her mouth without letti 
out a string of oaths. She swore at her fellow buyers, 
the men and women who came bringing samples fra 
manufacturers. She swore at members of the firm, at n 
and all the other addressers, but most of all she swore 
the telephone. 

Strange to say, the men buyers were shocked. So lo; 
as she was in the room they acted like a handful of mice 
the presence of a cat. Puzzled by this I asked the g 
with the tomahawk face for an explanation. 

"Who, Miss Sojowski?" she replied. "She's got tin 
men beat to a finish. That's what's the matter. Shi 
buyer for women and girls' suits, hats, and coats — four jo 
in one. She's been with the firm five years, and she's nev 
made a mistake — all her styles sell, no left-overs. Sure a 
makes big money. Three times as much as any of th( 
httle simps pulls down." She glared at the men buya 
who could not have avoided hearing every word she said. 

My next^seat neighbor at this place was a young ml 
from Canada. He spent his time breathing darkly hideo 
threats against the Germans, what he would do once 
"got across." Bit by bit his fellow workers learned tl 
soon after England entered the war he had induced t 




MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE" 



ixteen-year-old daughter of his employer, a prosperous 
anner, to elope with him. When, in spite of his marriage 
le was called to the colors, he eloped alone to the United 
!tat«s, and had been living in New York under an assumed 
lame. 

It was a shame, he declared, that a young fellow of his 
Jaility should be forced to address envelopes. He had ex- 
lected to get a position as manager of some millionaire's 
■rm — a sort of all-pay-and-no-work job. He would have 
[ot it, too, he assured us, if the people Ln the States were 
Kit BO prejudiced against the Irish. Soon as would-be em- 
llo3rers learned that he was not bom in Canada, they 
nrned against him, he asserted — gave the position to a 
'dirty Dago" or a man of some other inferior race. 

Recalling the abundance of king-<iescended men and 
ipomen of his race, I inquired about his forebears. Sure 
inough, he gave me a long list of kings and saints, and as- 
(ured us all that only the tjTanny of England prevented 
liim from living in a palace without having to ' ' turn a hand." 

The day that the addressers were paid off this slacker 
EUggested to a lame man who sat across the table from him 
that it would be a friendly thing for him to start a subscrip- 
tion — get up enough money to pay his, the slacker's, rail- 
road fare back to Canada. 

"If your wife's daddy is so rich, why don't you ask him 
to send you the money?" the lame man, a middle-aged 
Jew, asked. 

"Him!" the young, healthy Irish-Canadian exclaimed 
contemptuously. "He don't want I should come back. 
Both of his boys were killed by the Germans. Now he's 
hying to turn ray wife against me, saying I deserted her." 

"Well, didn't you?" the lame man demanded. "You 
told me your child was more than a year old, and you'd 
never seen it. You said you had never got enough ahead 
■yHul your wife money." 



178 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"She don't need I should," the slacker replied. ' 
father's richer than butter, and she's all he's got now; 

The lame man struggled to his feet and lifted his crutch, 

"I'm a poor man," he said, and taking his pay-enveloirt 
from his pocket he held it up, "but if I had a million dollan 
in this I wouldn't give you a nickel. My father brought 
us from Poland when 1 was ten years old. When this wj 
came my brother, the youngest of the family, was the on^ 
one able to fight. My father and I promised to care fa 
his wife and four children," 

The lame man shpped his pay-envelope back into 
pocket, then fitted the crutch under his arm. You mi^ 
have heard a pin drop. 

"Your brother'U come back," a woman addresser 
sured him hopefully. 

The lame man straightened up and swung himself aroiiDi 
on his crutch. 

"Less than two months after he went away we got tie 
news — he had been killed in battle." He turned and faced 
the slacker. "My brother was a good husband," he stud; 
"he loved his children." Clutching his hat and his littl(( 
lunch-box in one hand, he stumped out. 

This pay-day brought me a real surprise. Instead 
counting the envelopes I learned that they reckoned by 
weight. My three days' work, according to my own count, 
amounted to five thousand envelopes. Soon after the 
basket in which they had been packed was taken out, the 
girl with a face like a tomahawk hurried in and informed 
me that there were only three thousand and three hundred. 
Against the advice of my fellow addressers I demanded ft 
recount — perhaps I should say a count, for they had been 
weighed, never counted. 

After considerable bluster my work was turned over to 
another young girl. In the first box she found eighty-ooe 
while I found one hundred. On a second counting sbs 




MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE" 179 




£0 found one hundred. The difference in the second box 
as even greater. After that she evidently decided it was 

faopciless taak^ — trying to cheat me. According to her j 
Dal count, I had addressed five thousand five hundred and j 
fty-seven. I was paid for five thousand. 

Beyond a weak protest the day that I began work for I 
laakam & Howe the girl manager of the addressing de- 
utment made no objection to my stopping work every 
ay at four o'clock. That gave me time to eat a second 
lid lunch, and report at the West Side headquarters of 
ke Suffrage Party by five. When applying for the posi- 
en I told Miss Madeline Marks that I would be glad to 
B assigned to the tenement section of her district. There- 
pen she assured me that she felt sure that I would be more 
eeful on Riverside Drive and the adjacent side streets. 
o taking a list of voters to be seen, and a package of little 
dlow pledge-shps, I sallied forth. 

The first voter on whom I called, like other individuals 
rhom custom clothes in trousers, suffered from the halluci- 
lation of thinking himself a man. When I opened the 
(mversation by saying that I had feared not finding him 
it home so early, five o'clock, he explained that, being a 
'gentleman of leisure," he was always at home to charm- 
Dg ladies. Being aware that the race of fools had not 
)tea entirely exteiminated, I allowed his explanation, along j 
rith the accompanymg smirk, to pass unnoticed, and pro- i 
seeded to business. 

At the mention of suffrage his back stiffened and hia 
yes flashed green. When I offered him one of the yellow 
Jedge-siips, asked him to sign it, he broke forth : 

"You women!" he spit at me. "You've lost all sense 
if decency. Do you realize that our country is at war? 
3o you realize that men are dying? Do you realize it? 
)o you realize it?" 
^j^realize all of it," I told him, rising to na'j ieet, WC!A.\. ^ 



180 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

think my eyes flashed green. "Besides, I realize that t 
man at the front — fighting, djing, and dead — was broi^ 
into the world by a. woman, who went through the jawa 
death, suffered the pangs of hell, to give him birth." 
walked to the door of the drawing-room, then turned ! 
glared at him, standing speechless beside his chair. "Ther 
something else I realize — the pity of it that a man like y 
has to be bom of a woman, when you might just as w 
have been hatched out of a goose-e^." 

The footman, whom I had looked upon as an impasal 
piece of furniture, followed me out on the stoop. 

"If you'll give me one, lady," he said, "I'll be glad 
sign it and send it in by mail." 

Halting on the comer I took myself to task. I admiti 
without regret that I had inherited all the temper erf l 
Huguenot and Scot ancestors. Wha.t 1 did regret 
having lost control of that temper, acting, as I consider 
like a shrew. The following afternoon Miss Marks shofl 
me two signed slips mailed from the same address — mas 
and footman had pledged themselves to vote for the t 
frage amendment, 

"Ixrae your temper !— act like a shrew I" Miss Marks 
claimed, when I described the incident. "Do anything 
get results like that. Why, that man has been for ja 
a violent Anti." 

It was an Anti who converted me, made a living, worid 
suffragist of me. The scene of my conversion was the Stj 
House of Massachusetts. The Suffrage Party was maid 
its annual appeal to the lawmakers of their commonweal 
I attended the meeting because of a promise made, y( 
before, to Mrs. Julia Ward Howe, not because of my 
terest in suffrage. 

While in college Mrs. Howe had asked me to attend s 
a meeting, and I, because it was easier to say yes than 
had promised to do so. Not having any interest in 




MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE" U 

_ ition, I forgot all about it until I learned from t| 
Sronscript that the meeting had taken place, and that Ml 
3Bowe had been the chief speaker. Having been broug 
»jp in the faith that no well-bred man or woman will 1 
ftentionally break a promise, I hastened to call on Ml 
Sowe and apologize. I told her the truth — that I 1 
s-« forgotten. 

: ^\ As always, Mrs. Howe was kind and sympathetic. 
I I was telling her good-by, while she was still holding l 

aliands, she asked me to give her another promise— to attffl 
Buch a meeting at the State House at my earUest opp< 
■tunity. That opportunity came while I was taking 
graduate course at Radcliffe — Professor Baker's course"' 
jilaywriting. 

Learning from the morning paper that the Suffrage Pm 
ivas to make its annual appeal in the State House tb 

afternoon, quite a Uttle while after the appointed hom 

^ g^ cirifted in. It was a long room with high ceiling, 

J 3/ knew that the broad windows 00 the side facing the dd 

m v4 *^ which I entered overlooked Charlestown and the Chi 

f Xiiver. 
X-ir That side, the Charles River ade, was packed— 

^i«at taken, and nmnbers of women standing against i 

"^^all. On the side next the door there were a good 1 

'^^^"acant seats, and without giving the matter a though<| 

^^*^-t»t my place beside a woman, who, catching my Q 

-^^aZ^^^^^iflffe room for me. There were several speeches for | 

^ft ^TbeJJ » ^ttle wisp of a woman got up. She had the ii 
^m t,ht£b ^\ new-bom baby— wrinkled and old as the hun* 
^Blfi Alt'^- her eyes there shone the patient acceptaa 
^V- ^*\. "The sins of the fathers shaJl be visited ( 
■b^ ^/^y^- to the third and fourth generation." 
W^^Pf^^^^'L La^vrence, Massachusetts, and had ba 
^^^ f"^ Toe she was ten years old. Foryel 



she had supported her delicate mother ajid her yot 
brothers and sisters. These younger ones, having bet 
forced into the mills before they were strong enough, hi 
sickened and dropped off like so many flies. So at last si 
was left the sole support of a bedridden mother. 

She told of conditions in the mills, and I knew she spA 
the truth. For it was soon after the notorious "Lawieu 
utrike," during which I had journeyed down from O 
bridge and spent a week in the mill town. This ill-fed 11 
feminine creature, who had never known a care-free i»y ! 
her wJiolc life, ended her statement with the appeal: 

"Gentlemen, you tell me a woman's place is the home 
Ah, gentlemen, if I only had a home I'd be too glad t 
stay in it. I know you can't give me a home — there a 
too many like me. But you can give me the ballot." Sin 
bent toward the men on the rostrum, the law-makw 
" Please give it to me," she pleaded, her Uttle voice so husk] 
that it was hardly more than a hoarse whisper. "Plea 
give me the ballot. Then I can vote, stand a chance o 
getting my work hours limited. You don't let 'em wort 
a horse day and night, gentlemen. Give me a horaefi 
chance. Give me the ballot, gentlemen." 

There may have been applause when she slipped bad 
into her seat. But if so I was unconscious of it. My hear 
was like a throbbing, aching tooth in my bosom. Wa 
there really a God in heaven ? 

Then across the aisle from the little woman a man steppa 
out. Such u man as would make you feel sure that at h 
birth his mother might have proclaimed with pride: "Be- 
hold, I have brought forth a man child; a man made in ll 
image of his Maker." 

From the tips of his polished shoes to the crown erf ti 
waving iron-gray hair he personified "the best" — the be 
breed, the best care, the best food, the best education, tl 
best fashion, always the best and only the best. 11 



"MORE DEADLY THAN THE MALE" 183 

2wel in his scarf-pin or one of the rings on his hand would 
iHve made the puny factory worker comfortable for the 
«Iance of her days, would have given her a home. 

The way he railed at her — that great, strong, well-fed, 
landsomely dressed, handsome man. He not only shook 
lis finger in her face, but he threatened her and all suffra- 
^Bts against following the example of the militant English- 
rameD, who he claimed had poured acid in the letter-boxes 
i London. While I did not see him actually grit his teeth, 
bat waa his manner — gritting his teeth and foaming at the 
south with fury. 

At the end he gathered himself together, raising himself 
o his full height, and proclaimed his contempt for the 
romen before him. The "ladies" of his acquaintance not 
mly would refuse to vote were the ballot given them, but 
hey would draw their skirts aside to keep from coming 
n contact with such despicable representatives of their 
BZ. 

When he finished, the women around me clapped and 
Atouted like mad. Amazed, I turned to the woman next 
me and asked what she meant by it. 

"He's on our side," she told me, her face glowing with 
Misfied pride. "He is our chief speaker. Applaud him. 
Applaud him." 

I saw a great light. In my stupidity I had taken a seat 
among the /Vntis. Rising I crossed over the aisle. There 
wag no seat, so I took my stand at the back of the room 
■gainst the wall. A hand reached back and touched me. 

"I recognized you," a sweet voice whispered, "and I knew 
groQ had gotten in the wrong pew." It was a daughter of 
Kis. Julia Ward Howe. 

As a result of that man's harangue a few months later I 
tnvelled more than one hundred miles to march in the 
BuSrage parade through Boston. Now I not only worked 
far the sake of rubbing my rabbit's foot and ^v"m^ ^u\i'4Tfi. 



lU FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

the victory, but for the sake of gettmg beliind the seen 
and learmng by my own personal observations whether 
no the women leaders of the party were competent execB 
tives. 

I held a good many positions during my four years in 
underbrush. In none did I find more competent leadt 
ship. In none did I ever see such indomitable pluck j 
perseverance, such undaunted courage. It takes couri 
real courage, to work on regardless of insult and flatten 
Especially when the insults and sneers come from th( 
with whom you are the most closely associated. It tak 
pluck and perseverance to lay siege and to hanuner 
hanmier and hammer to break down prejudice in s 
minds. That is what being a leader of the Sufirage Far 
meant. 

At the end of my week I was paid the promised 
dollars as promptly as I would have been by any oth 
first-class business organization. On Monday evening! 
marched in the last suffrage parade in New York C5( 
from the West Side headquarters to Durland's. Much 
the surprise of the marchers about me I insisted on can 
ing both a heavy banner and a transparency. 

The day after that election wliich gave the women 
New York State the ballot I went to work for the Interqi 
tional Young Men's Christian Association — proof-read 
in the multigraph department, otherwise known &3 i 
"guts" of the Association. Through our hands 
every order, every report, every circular of every sort ll 
fore it was given to the public. Down in two little di 
basement rooms we worked imder electricity from dg 
thirty until — many times after 10 p. m. 




CHAPTER XrV 
STAMPING-GROUND OF THE MONKEY-PEOPLE 

"It was colossal I" Hildegarde Hook panted boisterously, 
as she burst into my room about four o'clock one morning 
during the Christmas holidays. ' ' My ideal marriage — 
eleven o'clock at night, in a dark church with only the min- 
ister, the two contracting parties, and her best friend 
present. And Joe Ellen didn't even change her dress — 
didn't even sew up the slit in the ba«k of her skirt." Here 
she stopped panting long enough to laugh loud and long, 
after the manner of Greenwich Villagers too self-consciously 
innocent to consider the sleeper in the next room. "Harris 
had on his old yellow-and-purple Mackinaw, out at both 
elbows, and I think — yes, I'm sure, the pants he had on 
were the pair given him by my burglar." Here she jounced 
herself down on the side of my bed, and drawing the pins 
from her hat, cast it on the top of my bureau. The pins 
she stuck into the mattress. "Now, dear, don't you agree 
with me that it was an ideal marriage ?— that is, of course, 
since our atrocious laws force us to go through that silly 
ceremony. Now don't you think it an ideal way for two 
poets to be married ? — so characteristic, so filled with color. 
Two struggling young geniuses!" 

"Is Harris a poet?" I questioned, as, having edged as 
far away from her as the wall would permit, I sat up in 
iied. "I've read several of Joe Ellen's verses in the maga- 
zines. What's Harris's other name? What has he 
written?" 

"Casey — Harris Casey. Such a romantic name I Two 
epics and no end of lyrics. Jack Harland saya \,\ia.l ^aro^ ^ 



186 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

longer epic ia the most colossal thing in the English lan- 
guage since 'Childe Harold.' While I'm not sure that 
Jack will ever accomplish anything worth while in the 
creative 6eld, you must admit that he is a perfectly colossal 
critic. You do admit it?" she questioned so earnestly that 
any one entering the room might have fancied that she 
pled for the salvation of her immortal soul. ' 

'"Childe Harold' is not quite in the fonn of — " I began, ( 
determined not to be led into a controversy so early in the 
morning, for I still cherished the hope that she would take 
herself off. 

"Form!" Hildegarde cried, as though invoking her pa- 
tron saint. "Form! the chief difference between poetiy 
and prose. 'Paradise Lost' and 'Lucile,' for instance — 
both tragedies, in a way, yet each a different form. You 
don't mind if I slip my feet under the cover for a bit?— 
I've taken off my slippers." 

Without waiting for my reply she hoisted up her feet 
and began to tug at the bedclothes. Such looking feetl 
Her black stockings were without toes and heels and her 
bare flesh glistened with moisture. 

"Your feet are sopping wet!" I involuntarily expostu- 
lated. 

"I never take cold," she assured me, in the act of stick- 
ing her feet between my sheets. 

"Please," I be^ed, grabbing the bedclothes from hef 
hands. "Please, get that bath-towel over there and drj 
them — give them a good rubbing. No use taking risli 
when you don't need to." 

"Risks!" she scoffed, in the act of stripping off one w< 
and tattered stocking. "That's what my burglar and 1 
disputed about. We've been sitting on a bench in Wash' 
ington Square since twelve " 

"Of all things ! And the ground covered with snow." 

"He brushed off a bench and I am never conscious 



STAMPING-GROTJND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 187 

my body when enthused," she reproved me. "He is a 
stubborn man, but he finally had to admit the justice of 
my argument — considering the risks in an undertaking is 
the quickest way to insure defeat. Only a weak individu- 
ality will consider risks. Once I make up my mind to do 
a thing, I do it." 

She was rubbing one foot with my face-towel after having 
tossed her stocking on my pin-cushion. 

"While making up your mind, don't you conader the 
risks?" I inquired, huddling up in the far comer of the 
bed. The thought of having her cold feet come in contact 
with my flesh made me feel like climbing over the head- 
board. 

"Not at all. Not at all," she replied emphatically, as 
she let fly her second wet stocking and it landed on the 
fresh shirt-waist I had been so careful to hang on the back 
of a chair. "When the colossal idea of opening a tea- 
room struck me, instead of considering risks as a person 
of weaker mentahty undoubtedly would, I went ahead 
and did. Now see where I am I— until this freeze came and 
burst my water-pipes and the gas froze on me I was feed- 
mg half the village." 

"Half the village," I murmured, at a loss for words — 
only a few days before Christmas her younger sister, a 
hard-working, serious girl, had been forced to pay two hun- 
dred and fifty dollars to keep Hildegarde's eating-place 
from being closed. Havmg hved in the house with Hilde- 
garde for more than three months, I realized the hopeless- 
ne:^ of attempting to make her see the truth, so I changed 
I" .subject. "You didn't finish telling me about the two 
rts. Did they go on a wedding trip?" 
"They are spending the night in my shop," she told me, 
 still busy nibbing her toes. 

^ "What on earth?" I questioned, so amazed that I forgot 
lot i that she was slipping her feet belwedii Tt"^ ^w*a. 



188 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDE 

"You have no sleeping arrangements — only small ta] 
and narrow benches." 

"Joe Ellen said it was better than taking Harris 
her room and to-morrow morning being ordered to le 
the house or produce their marriage license. They d( 
intend the general pubhc to know of their marriage — i 
until they find a publisher for their first book of poemi 
collaboration." 

"Oh !" was my meek reply, as I wondered why she 1 
let me into such an important secret. "They might hi 
gone to a hotel," was my next remark, and being a non 
idea it was so far out of focus that it impressed me as 
inspiration. 

"Hotel ? " she ' questioned indignantly. ' ' That wo 
have killed every bit of romance. Besides, Joe Ellen o 
had seven dollars and a half — a check she received for i 
of her short poems. Then, of course, as Mr. Freeij 
pointed out, there was Harris's clothes." 

"Who is he?" 

"Mr. Freeland? He would have been best man had 
received Harris's note in time. It was he who discove 
Harris — a terrible night last November. Harris had cc 
up from Texas and was selling papers with his feet wrap] 
in an old piece of carpet he had fished out of a garba 
can." 

Just what had become of my sense of humor that nil 
I have never been able to decide. Certainly it was : 
with me. Instead of howling with laughter my brain ; 
as an egg looks when it is being prepared for scramblinj 

"Did Joe Ellen know him in Texas?" I asked, I 
feebly keeping to the details of the affair. 

"Exactly three days to the hour — that's the rea 
they were married at eleven o'clock at night — exactly th 
days to the minute that they first met each other. ] 
mance! Only a genius with Joe Ellen's colossal br 



^ 



STAMPING-GROUND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 189 

could have thought out such a perfect climax. You won't 
mind if I take your other pillow, will you, dear?" 

"Oh, no, certainly not," I assured her, as I hastily ex- 
tracted one of the two minute pillows from behind my 
back and handed it to her. As she settled herself, her 
head at the foot of my bed and her feet in the comfortably 
warm spot on which my shoulders had rested previous to 
her bursting into my room, I meekly inquired: "Anybody 
in your room?" 

"My burglar," she answered La the matter-of-fact tone 
of one agreeing that two and two make four. "I hadn't 
thought of bringing him in until he noticed that the police- 
man making his rounds looked at us. He got an idea that 
the officer was coming back and tell us to move on just to 
get a good look at him. He's awfully psychic about police- 
men — says all men who have served three terms in Sing 
Sing are. Of course, if it had been the regular park police- 
man" — here she yawned and moved her feet nearer my 
comer of refuge — "it would have been all right. I've 
helped him take drunken women to Jefferson Market jail 
) often that we've got to be real pals." 
She had hardly finished this last sentence when she 
. to snore, her buttonhole mouth wide open and her 
! startlingly like the beak of a parrot. Convinced that 
irould never be able to get back to sleep with such a noise 
^ near, I shpped out of bed and proceeded to get my 

cfast with a tiny alcohol-lamp. 

That was in the midst of one of the severest blizzards 

'ever experienced in New York City. It was impo^ble to 

get coal, and gas-pipes all over town had frozen and burst. 

In spite of the warmth of my heavy blanket bath-robe I 

was chilled to the bone. 

I was sitting on my feet and eating my breakfast— a cup 
of hot tea without milk or sugar, and war bread with mar- 
~ ne — when I heard a plank in the hall outside my door 




■190 FOUR YEARS IN THE tJNDERBRUSH 




groan. The burglar! Creeping noiselessly to the door 1 1 
listened. Some creature was trying to pass without dfr I 
tection across the carpeted floor of the square hall. A I 
Becond plank groaned. 

Opening my door to a crack I peered out. The candle I 
in a saucer which our landlady, Miss O'Brien, had placed | 
on a trunk the night before as a substitute for the gas-jet, ! 
had burned out. At first I could see nothing. Then I 
made out a tall oblong of duskiness — the doorway leading 
to the staircase. The next instant a dark object filled the 
dusky space. Another instant and the object disappeared. 
After a short wait I crept out and looked over the banisters. 

Once or twice, perhaps three times, I made out a sound , 
BO soft that it seemed an echo of the footfall of a cat <bi | 
the carpeted stairs. Finally there came a sharp click that 
sent a gentle tremor through the house — the front door had ' 
opened and closed. Hurr^'ing back to my room, regardles 
of the freezing air I threw up the Uttle window and stuck 
my head far out. Approaching the electric light at the 
MacDougal Street comer of the square was what looked 
to be a comfortably dressed working man. He was walk- 
ing quietly along — evidently on his way to or from work. 

My interest in Hildegarde Hook had been awakened by 
her telling me of her first meeting with this man, whom she 
always spoke of as "my burglar" — she never knew his 
name. 

"You know, I never reaUy wake up until after twelve , 
at night," she had assured me. "Mother is like that— i 
mother and I are just alike except that mother hasn't my ' 
colossal brain. She says so herself." Such was the intio- 
duction with which she always began her description of the 
incident. 

A stormy night during the previous winter she took 
shelter under the arcade in front of Madison Square 
Garden, wiuting for a particularly heavy downpour Xt < 



lownp<wj^M 



STAMPrNG-GROUND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 191 

dacken. It was bitterly cold, and she noted that the only 
lighted window in sight was that of the .American Society 
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She was just 
debating applying for shelter in the Society room on the 
plea of being a human animal, when she became aware 
that another person was occupying the opposite door-jamb. 

"Say, sis," a man's voice whispered, "kin youse see the 
door to that cigar-store at comer of Twenty-seventh 
Street?" When Hildegarde replied that she could, the 
voice added: *'Keep your lamps peeled; when youse see 
that cop hidin' in the shadder 'cross the comer go in, 
gimme the git-away, Uker good gal." 

Until then Hildegarde had not noticed the dark figure 
o[ the policeman, so nearly did his rain-washed rubber coat 
and helmet match the moist and glistening darkness sur- 
r-mnding him. Standing there in the doorway of Madison 
S(|iiare Garden she learned that the man who had spoken 
to her had served three terms in the penitentiary for bur- 
glary, and was wanted for a fourth offense. He had mistaken 
her for a "woman of the streets" and naturally supposed 
 that abe also was hiding from the rubber-clad officer of the 
kw. 

When finally the policeman did enter the cigar-store 
ffildegarde and the bm^lar flitted around the comer at 
East Twenty-sixth Street, and hastened to the safer shadows 
irf Lexington Avenue. Seated on a bench in Stuyvesant 
Square in the pouring rain, Hildegarde insisted that the 
burglar had "made a full confession," and promised to lead 
Ui honest life. To further this end she required him to 
aieet her once each month, at twelve o'clock at night, 
HBually in Washington Square. 

As proof-reader in the multigraph department of the In- 
tenational Y. M. C. A. my wage was twelve dollars a week, 
Ind I found it the most uninteresting of all the positions 
beki during my four years in the undeibrxiBii. 1\as. "^^a 



I 



192 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

doubtless because it was something I had done before 
Not only had I read proof, but I had worked in a crowded 
dark basement under electric lights, and for long houia. 
Reading the annual reports of the Y. M. C. A. secretaries 
from about every country of the world was something of 
a novelty, though many of them were far from interesting^ 

What I did enjoy was the atmosphere, the spirit of tl» 
place — everybody spoke to everybody, and always with 
smiling courtesy. It was charming. Also it was com-i 
fortable to know that however ignorant you might be yoo| 
would not be snubbed nor sneered at. The war had in- 
creased the work so much that the building on East' 
Twenty-eighth Street swarmed with workers. PracticoJly 
every day a new department was organized, only to bej 
moved out the next day for the sake of getting larger quar-i 
ters, and to make room for yet another new branch of worltJ 

For a good many years I had heard the two ' ' Ys " sneered' ] 
at for being "sectarian." While at the Jane I^onard, Miaij 
Stafford had retorted to my praise of the Y. W.: "Being n 
Catholic you know what I think of the Yoxmg Woman'fl 
Christian Association." She then assured me that botitj 
the Y. W. and the Y. M. were so "dead against Catholics'*'! 
that they even refused to list them in their employmenM 
departments. j 

In the multigraph department at the International Head- 
quarters of the Y. M. I worked shoulder to shoulder with b 
young Catholic woman. Though she was not particular] 
efficient, she had held the position for several years; indeed,' 
ever since she left school. Her younger sister was thftj 
private secretary of the head of one of the departmental 
Both these Catholic women had gotten their positionB| 
through the employment department of the Y. W. J 

In the lunch-room of the International Headquarters  
met several other Catholic women, all earning their dailfl 
bread working for the Y. M. I neither saw nor heard ol 






STAMPING-GROUND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 193 
fceir being discriminated against. One of them boasted 

"Being a Catholic I'm not expected to go to prayers. 

Chat gives me an extra half-hour to do with as I please. 

-jally run out and do a httle shopping or looking around, 

-tores are so convenient." 

■\'ow, I hold no brief for any Church — I believe in Justice. 

ill aJl my dealings with the two "Ya" I never saw the 

-lightest indication that any creed was discriminated 

gainst. 

Is it because the two "Ys" stand for progress that 
Catholics abuse them, belittle their work ? 

It may have been because of my long hours in the base- 
CQent of the International Headquarters, or it may have 
keen subsisting on such scanty meals—in any event soon 
■fter giving up my position in the multigraph department 
3 was taken with a heavy cold. I know I had fever, for 
a day my pillows and sheets were saturated with 
mfHration. My head felt as big as a bushel measure, 
was choekful of ache. 

tnaggle as hard as I might, and I did struggle, I couldn't 
up sufficient strength to get down-stairs, even though 
T hours of struggle I succeeded in putting on my clothes. 
!be first Sunday of this illness I think I must have been 
6 measure delirious, for I was obsessed by the idea that 
I hospital would take me in, that I must wait until 
hniay. 

With that idea planted firmly in my mind, I pinned a 
)le on the pin-cushion — the name of the physician I 
rished called on Monday, and to which hospital I was to 
I taken. A ten-cent bottle of vaseline being all I pos- 
Ked in the way of medicine, I put it beside my pillow 
id between dozes ate it. 

Sunday night I began to cough up the phlegm that had 
ide my chest feel so painfully tight. Then 1 leW a^fievi 



194 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

such a good, sound sleep. When I wakened it was Mondl 
forenoon, my head had become normal in size, and s 
ache had disappeared. How weak I was ! Trying to fl 
from the bed to the window I almost fainted. 

If it had not been for Jack Harland, who aUo had | 
room on the top floor, I really don't know what would h 
become of me. Miss O'Brien never came near me, neitM 
did Hildegarde Hook. Jack, my tall, long-legged I 
I used to call him, came twice a day, morning and eveni 
to ask how I felt and learn what be could get for me m 
way of food. 

Later, when I was able partially to dress and keep E 
eyes open, he would come in evenmgs and read to r 
the daily paper and parts of "Les Mis^rables" and l 
"Ninety-Three." Wonderful Victor Hugo! When read 
by a sympathetic boy's voice these books become wondJ 
ful indeed. I 

The first time I was able to creep out, on retumini 
mounting the four flights of stairs to my room, I realiin 
that something was the matter with my heart. Instead d 
hunting a job next day, as I had planned, I knew t 
must wait until I got stronger. Working with a flutt 
heart like that I might drop in my tracks at any i 
ment. 

I had paid a week's rent and still had Bve dollais in t 
pocketbook, so why worry ? Of course I would be fit | 
fore the end of the week. When that time came not o 
was my heart as fluttery as ever, but I realized that I b 
gained precious little, if any, strength. 

A problem faced me — must I give up my plan of livi 
on my wages, go to the bank and get money to tide n 
over, or what ? What would Polly Preston, who had I 
money in bank, do under the circumstances? How 1 
I to feel as a working woman felt if I kept in the back^ 
my mind the knowledge that I could go to the bank a 



- I 



'■.MPINCM3R0UND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 195 

money to tide me over a rough place? Again what 
culd Polly Preston do? 

On leaving a bench in Washington Square I returned to 

he rooming-house, and crawUng up the stairs, I reached 

room and took stock of my scanty wardrobe. It must 

ether my furs or my cloak. Fortunately, the weather 

mild. I had exactly one dollar in my pocketbook, and 

trrow was rent day. 

le following day I set out soon after breakfast, wear- 
both my cloak and furs over my coat suit. Recalling 
,t I had seen one or more pawn-shops on Sixth Avenue 
the -vicinity of West Fourteenth Street, I went there, 
the fiiTst I was told brusquely that they did not accept 
earing apparel of any sort. 

On leaving the second pawn-shop I held twenty dollars 
my hand and was without my furs. Twenty dollars 
s ample provision for three weeks. Long before that 
le I would be able to get a good job now that work 
B 80 plentiful and so well paid. 

Ending the rest of the day on a bench in Washington 
^lare with a library book in my hand convinced me that 
must find some other way of occupying my time if I 
to gain strength. The afternoon paper solved that 
nblem. 

The U. S. Employment Bureau on East Twenty-second 
Inet was in need of volunteer workers. On calling the 
zt morning shortly after nine I found the street in front 
 the Bureau crowded by men. "Wlien finally, having 
wmed my way in and up the stairs, I made myself known 
offered my services I was quickly placed — given a 
' at a long make-shift table, planks on top of saw- 
and told to register applicants willing to take work 
lipyards. 

At was a motley crowd — men holding jobs paying as 
0ve hundred dollars a month offered UicmseVi^a 




196 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

for positions paying one-fifth that amount, and men 
had no work at all refused jobs, the only ones they i 
fitted for, at three dollars a day. 

One dear old Frenchman I shall never forget. He 
passed down the long line of registrars struggling to a 
himself understood when he reached me. Though he 
lived in New York more than twenty years he could nei 
speak nor understand the American language. 

He was a highly paid cabinetmaker. Up to the 
break of the World War his family comprised himsdf, 
wife, five sons, and Uttle Hortense. When he reached 
a bright day when winter's smile seems spring, his I 
cu-cle had dwindled within two years to himself and 1 
Hortense. His five sons were under the poppies sd 
where in France, his wife had died of a broken heart. 

He acknowledged his age, past sixty, but insisted be 
had strength enough to work for America and France, 
would take any job, at any wage, I gave him a card 
sent him to an employer who had specially stipulated 
he would take no man over forty. 

Within an hour that employer telephoned and asked 
me. Instead of the blowing-up that the registrar at 
elbow prophesied, he wished to thank me. The Frei 
man was a tip-top workman, he said. Then he added: 

"It's not often you find a person, man or woman, i 
knows when to break a rule. That's what I called yoa 
for — to thank you for breaking my rule. If you find ; 
more men like your Frenchman, don't ask his age, ; 
send him along." 

Learning that women were needed in the gas-: 
tory at Long Island City, I got a card of introduction t 
the head of the woman's branch of the employment bun 
and journeyed out. This woman had told me that 
wage was exceptional — twenty-five to forty a week. 

A3 fifteen dollars a week had, up to that time, be^ 



BTAMPING-GROUND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 197 

pl^iest I had received, and that for only a few weeks, I 
priced forward to making my fortune in the gas-mask 
Htory in a few days. Another case of exaggerated wage, 
■teen dollars is what I was paid, and I would have had 
f work there a good long time before getting a raise. 
i it happened I worked there two days, received my 
; and was made an inspector at fifteen dollars a 
Rthen decided to find another job. The fumes of 
i gave me a hideous headache, and besides I had 
irge crowds of women turned away from the doorB 
|day. 

ning to the employment ofEcea of the Y. W., I 
[ that my next job must be work for the govern- 
preferably in a munition plant. There were plenty 
, and taking cards of introduction to several 
tiear New York City, I set out. 

if you don't find anything to suit you," the 
i at the employment desk told me, "it will be help- 
E letting us know what you think of the places." 

only mature women to that plant in Hoboken. 

Irant night- workers," I advised her on my return. 

S other two places over in Jersey? If you have girls 

live twenty dollars to spend before their wages begin 

i in, send them there." 

the clubwomen?" she questioned. "We were 
lat the clubwomen had thrown open their homes, 

I women workers in those plants." 
lowed her my figures, the lowest that I had been 
► get, though directed by the employment ofSce of 
Se munition plant: three dollars a week for a small 
^m, up two flights, seven dollars a week for two meals & 
fcy and three on Sundays, sixty cents car-fare, — that is 
you caught a particular train making the trip for the 
Qrpose of taking munition workers. 
"The wage being eleven dollars a week, giria working 



198 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

there who room with and are fed by those clubwm 
will have just forty cents with which to get lunch, lai 
and any other little luxury," I went on. "■^nd don't ft 
she doesn't get a dollar until the end of her second 
Her first week's pay is held until she leaves — God 
for why — -and she is not paid for her second week until 
finishes it. In the meantime she has to pay for ever}' 
in advance, board, lodging, and car-fare." 

"Those clubwomen!" she exclaimed, in disgust. 
fuss they made about taking munition workers in 
homes for the sake of helping the government." 

t'' "That's what being a worker means — everybody's pregg 
I repUed, and the thought did not make me any the hfli 
pier. "It's gouge and squeeze, and when only a flicker! 
life remams fling them in an almshouse or a pauper's grai 
Ours is a Christian country." ' 

'^ During the two months that followed I worked a n 
days in a cigarette factory, in a second cracker factofl 
folded circulars, addressed envelopes, stamped envelopj 
and folded more circulars. It was on this last job tha£ 
was taken for a labor organizer. ] 

Having nothing else to say to the woman working at 
elbow, I asked if that printing-house was open or do 
shop. Within three minutes she pattered off, and hel 
lengthy conversation with the forewoman. Within ani 
three minutes this forewoman bad informed me that 
the work was "running short," she would have no 
of my services "right then." 

Those two words, "right then," so I was informed, p 
vented that forewoman's dismissal from being a dischi 
Had she discharged me I could have collected the ' 
due me; as I was "laid off," I had to wait until the 



"There's more ways of killing a dog besides ch(ddn| 
to death with butter," the 'woman who explained the mai 



LE 199 1 

ters' day J 



i^r.VMPING-GROUND OF MONKEY-PEOPLE 

c me added. "Some of these days — if the workers' 

lanes in my time — I'll do some of the choking.'' 
On returning to my friend of tlie Y. W. employment de- 

Lrtment, she gave me a handful of cards. 
"They're all good positions, but I know which you'll 

■ke," she told me. "It's the one with the smallest salary." 
"Why? I'm working for my living, living on my eam- 

■gs.'' I retorted, not a bit pleased by her declaration. 
"Yes, but you've got an enormous amount of curiosity," 
laughed at me. "That position is with the American 
idety for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. It's in 
office, posting the books, and the salary is only fifteen 
week. You'll take it because you want to see how 
works." 

I banded all the other cards back to her and set out for 
e offices of the A. S. P. C. A. There I was taken on and 
it to work at once — writing in a huge book the numbers 
t the current year of licensed dogs. It was not tenement 
ffk, but it touched the tenements and that pleased me. 
During my second week, on learning that the society 
»ied Ucense inspectors to take the place of the men who 
gone to the front, I determined to apply. When told 
A man in the office that the positions were for men only, 

H^ot change my mind. Up I marched to Mr. Horton's 

^|fcll," said Mr. Horton, the manager, "we never have 
ftd a woman inspector. Still, I don't know any reason 
;i woman shouldn't hold the position. Do you know 
the salary is?" 

 o, air." 

r. Horton smiled. 

1 10 you know what the duties are?" 

\o, sir." 

. r. Horton smiled again. 

Most of your work will be in the tenementa, ttaHv\io\raa 



200 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

to house. Often from flat to flat. You'll have to go 
ever there is a dog — to see if it is licensed, healthy, aad 
cared for." 

It so happened that I did know all this. That wa 
reason for wanting the Job — it would take me into the 
ments, to meet tenementrdwellers face to face as 
human beings. I would see the homes from which tbi 
and girls, my fellow workers for so many months, ci 

At last I was going into the tenements, stepping i 
more dense section of the underbrush, where I woul 
at least glimpses of the heart of the jungle. 




n 



CHAPTER XV 

THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE 

! tenements of New York City ! The change that I 
-working with tenement-dwellers and living in room- 
houses to working in and living in the tenements — was 
) that experienced by a hunter when stepping from the 
outskirts to the depths of a jungle — a jungle abounding 
in treacherous quicksands and infested by the most venom- 
ous and noisome creatures of the animal kingdom — a swamp 
io which any misstep may plunge you into the choking 
<iepths of a quagmire or the coils of a slimy reptile. 

But there are two great differences between the jungles 
of civilization and those created by nature. In nature's 
Trorks there is always beauty— however noxious the crea- 
ture, however venomous the reptile, there is always beauty. 
"The tenements of New York City are monstrously hideous. 
In nature's jungles the evolution is always upward from 
protoplasm to that most perfect of animals — man made in 
the image of his Maker. In the jungles of civilization the 
cv-olution is always downward — from man to beast, to rep- 
tile, and to that most noisome of living creatures, the human 
■*onn. 

. ^ tie tenements of New York City we see the forced d&- 
f'^iimtjon of representatives of all the civilized peoples. 
^ Ji there exis* thousands more afflicted than Lazarus, 
*«.n^ Possessed of more devils than the Master cast 
^f ^oi Gadaxenes. Uiousands in whom the light 



^ 



^saj-thly icils- 



It is the product rf human greed. 
I jungle— the gUded zone 



-*^.-i»eNew York Ci«y 'o » jungl<^tne guueu .ou„ 
■^*^*;i»rk A™„n.s are the taU Umbers, the grove 



Pork Avenues are 



202 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

of leisure and pleasure whereia the human animal hai 
all that nature and civilization can supply is supposed 
grow to perfection — the superman. Leaving this 
going east or west, with every step leisure and pl( 
grow rapidly less, farther and farther behind do we hm 
fresh air and sunshine, and all that makes life desirable. 

I entered the tenements by two routes — as a social woiM 
attached to Bellcvue Hospital, and as a license inspectJ 
for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty m 
Animals. Polly Preston entered by yet another route-H| 
a fugitive. 

Even to-day as I write, with more than a thousand mild 
between me and New York City, I recall my work in tfaj 
tenements as a social worker with a shiver. Social work  
dispensing as charity that which should have been pa 
as wages. Had the wage been paid there would have be 
no rickety baby, no tubercular maiAood and womanhofl 
no need for homes for incurables. It is underpaying tb 
I drives persons to live in the tenements, it is iU health 
/' ignorance that keeps them there. 

Possessing neither the blasphemous conceit formei 
professed by Wilhelm Hohenzollem nor the sublime fi 
of the Pope, I did not enjoy acting as the personal repj 
sentative of God Almighty. It used to make me sick 
with nausea, more than once I was near to wringing i 
hands. 

Who was I that honest, hard-working men and 
should cringe before me? — poor oven\'orked, underfed hn-j 
man beings who from their birth to their death never Ion 
consciousness of the snarling presence of that hell-bowM^ 
Poverty. 

It was in my power to see that a quart of milk 
livered daily for Baby — real bottled grade A milk with 
the cream in it. Johnnie was kept home for lack of ^i 
and his father having been in the hospital going on 



THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE 203 

veeks, and his mother's wages as scrubwoman only enough 
tobuy food, there was no hope of his getting a pair unless — 
yes, I had the power to get for him a better pair than pos- 
sessed by any boy on the Avenue. Wonderful lady! So 
ill-powerful. 

"Johnnie, bring a chair for the lady. Let 'er see what 
nice manners you've got." And Johnnie, tripping over his 
o?m feet incased in a pair of men's shoes past mending 
and too broken for his father to wear, drags forward the 
only whole chair in the flat. 

Another typical case was that of Mary Kane. The tene- 
ment in which I foufld her was like ninety-nine out of every 
hundred in New York City. Dark halls with crooked stairs 
and air foul for lack of ventilation and overcrowding. 

"Stop cryin', Mamie. Here's a lady from Bellevue. 
Maybe she can get you to go to the country." And her 
mother, haggard and overworked to the point of despera- 
tion, turns to me with a wan smile which, in her effort to 
make it gracious, becomes a ghastly grin. 

When I reply that it is because the society sending con- 
Talescing children to the country had reported that Mary 
had not used the card entitling her to two weeks in their 
home that I have called, her grin becomes that of a 
beaten dog. Again it is lack of shoes and a few clothes. 
In this case the husband and father is not in Bellevue. He 
had stopped in the comer saloon on his way home with 
his wages. 

Mary has a tendency to T. B. To spin her Ufe out even 
a few months will require plenty of fresh air and the right 
kind of food. 

Hospital social service is to supplement the work of the 
doctors and nurses of that particular hospital. Fortunately, 
Mary has been in Bellevue. I took her size and the number 
of her shoes, and promised to get them along with another 
card entitling her to another two weeks in the country. 



204 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRU 

Time passes and again we are notified that Mi 
not used her card. On my return to the tenement 
tically the same scene confronted me. Only this time 
mother had a black eye, the baby tugging at her breast 
whimpering, and Mary seated near a window, the 
window in the flat from which a glimpse of the sky 
be had, looked more like a ghost than a living child. 

Before I was well in the door the mother hustled me 
again into the hall. In a neighbor's flat, a trifie lifter 
her own because there were two windows in the front : 
opening on the street, she started to tell me her story. B 
cause I had known many tenement wives and mothers 
recognized that she was lying and stopped her. 

"Who was that snoring in your back room?" I asked be 
And fact by fact I draw the story from her. 

The husband and father of the family had stolen th 
shoes and clothes sent for Mary, had sold them and gotle 
drunk on the proceeds. So drunk that — Oh, she didn' 
mind a black eye so much, she assured me. He didn' 
really mean it, being a good man when not in liqu 
What she regretted was that he had missed two days 
work. 

Then with a grin like a cringing beaten dog she &dmitt«l 
that since Saturday noon she and Mary had lived on to, 
without either milk or sugar, and part of a loaf of bread 
given her by a neighbor. To-morrow? Maybe by t* 
morrow her husband would be sober enough to returo t9 
his job. 

Then came that terrible look — the look that made nU 
want to wring my hands, to get off the earth, had such bea 
poBsible. The look of a cringing human soul pleading to 
the All-Powerful for something dearer than life — to ffW 
Mary another chance. 

A succession of such scenes is what entering the 
ments as a social worker means. One sees only the ab> 




THE HEART OF THE JUNGLE 



205 



• hears only the groans of the suffering, and of the 
3 of the criminals, 
tering the tenements as an inspector of dog Ucenses 
e A. S. r. C. A. brought me face to face with normal 
tions — the well and the sick, the innocent and the 
lal, the devils and the angels. I met them all, and 
as my time permitted I tried to get the point of view 
ih individual. 

rdest of all, I tried to get the point of view of the 
of tenement-houses — the originator or the per- 
 of the greatest of earthly hells. After working 
jid living in the property of the tenement-house 

[Jor twenty-one months I beheve that I succeeded. 

) MONEY—IT MAKES NO DIFFERENCE BY 
J MEANS, GET MONEY— is the point of view of 
iniers of tenement-house property in New York City, 
sy have no civic pride, no pride of race, no feeling of 
erhood. Greed, that's all, GREED. Never do they 
ler the health or good name of the city, or the health 
Dofort of their tenants. It is get money, and more 

Bdthe idle married woman, they are a curse, a mildew, 
H the very life-blood of those whose welfare and 
n should be their first aim. 

reriy of itself is not degrading. It is the filthy dena 
ich the poor of New York are forced to live that de- 
es them, converting human beings into beasts and 
es. I do not beheve that Abraham Lincoln himself 
have risen above a childhood passed in the average 
York tenement. 

is not the location, for the tenements among which I 
sd occupy the healthiest and most convenient por- 
H Manhattan Island. It is the landlord — the eternal 
 the house-owner for money, and more money. I 
Bilked with hundreds of them, and found but Qns 



206 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

exception. That one was a stable-keeper, whose 
houses are situated in the lower gas-house district, i 
about whom I shall write farther on. I 

My remedy for tenement-house conditions is to mi 
the owners live in them for twelve successive moal 
Force every tenement-owner to live with his or her fan 
in the house that belongs to him or her, to pass one wq 
and one summer. What a cleaning up and tearing dl 
there would be. I 

When that happens the police force of New Yoit cad 
cut down to half, and the Health Department can go oti 
business. Neither the poHce nor the workers of the Hfl( 
Department will have to do without city jobs. ThereJ 
be room in the Department of Street-Cleaning. Then! 
cleaning will begin in those sections containing the great 
number of inhabitants, not in those having the moetj 
pensive property. 



CHAPTER XVI 

BURROWING IN 

[t going to live in the tenements came about in a romid- 
ut way. While existing in the Jane Leonard I let it 
iiiown that I was looking for a small flat in a tenement, 
only one offered me was that of a young artist who 
been called to Washington City by the government, 
'as in a "model tenement," had two rooms, a kitchen, 
iric lights, gas for cooking, steam-heat, hot and cold 
a-, and the windows of the comfortably large Uving- 
a overlooked East River and Blackwell's Island. 
Wliat more can you expect for the money?" Miss Staf- 
, who had learned of the place and insisted oq taking 
to see it, exclaimed pettishly when told that it was not 
t I wanted. "Five dollars and twenty cents a week! 
eally is remarkable. The furniture is fit for Fifth Ave- 
, real antique. They say Mr. Howard spent thousands 
ishiog it. On account of the river view, you know." 
de lifted a window and with a flourish of her chubby 
i indicated the sluggishly flowing river. And with 
ther flourish the almshouse on Blackwell's Island. 
The house is so well kept," she assured me, as she 
led from the window. "Such nice people live here, 
agent is a lady of the old school. She told me herself 
\ she never accepted a tenant without a thorough per- 
il examination. I really can't see what more you want, 
e you have set your heart on living in a tenement." 
he truth of the matter was that I did not want so 
•h. To any one with even a superficial knowledge of 
ment conditions the rent of the flat told ttie sUsrj. \ 

207 



208 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

had already learned enough about the private affaire 
my fellow workers to know that none of them lived in su 
expensive quarters. For the sake of getting suffida 
room for their family they were forced to do without 
veniences. At the premium station the girls had lookl 
at me with awe when told that I paid two dollars and 
half a week for one room. They lived in flats of fro 
five to seven rooms, the rental of which was from ten i 
fifteen dollars a month. One of them, describing her hom 
said: 

"We've got seven rooms, real lai^e rooms, and only 
is dark. It's a cold-water flat. What you want a hi 
water flat for ? — pay for hot water and never get it. Mol 
says it's better to have seven rooms and pay for gas wl 
you needs hot water than to be packed in five rooms 
ing for hot water that you can never get." 

At that time the tenement-dweller who paid abon 
twenty dollars a month rent either received an exceptioD- 
ally high wage or had several children working. My 
perience had taught me that my neighbors in the modtl 
tenement would be of the lesser professional class and wtfl 
pmd office workers. I not only did not wish to live among 
such people, but I was dead set against having a lady-of-tbfr 
old-school agent. I wished to learn the truth about ten* 
ment conditions. However, I reaUzed the uaelessness d 
trying to explain to Miss Stafford. Though I talked aS 
day she would not understand. 

It was because I felt sure that Hildegarde Hook woidi 
understand that I went to five in the Greenwich Villagi 
rooming-house in which she spent her winters. But n? 
faith in her understanding began a rapid evaporation 
evening after I moved in. 

Hildegarde was busy cleaning, with a grubbing-hoe, thftj 
basement in which she afterward conducted her tea-rooiB« 
She invited me to dine with her. On learning that thiu 



BURROWING IN 



209 



f Erst meal, was to be cooked in her basement, I accepted 
1 the proviso that I pay for all materials. 
Lfter my winter with AUce and observing the economies 
■the hat-trimmer, Hildegarde's manner of buying seemed 
short of reckless extravagance. At one of the 
E ejqjensive stalls in Jefferson Market she bought let- 
le, tomatoes, and hothouse cucumbers at a price that 
Lild have fed Alice and me for days. At yet another 
i-priced place she selected and I paid for a large loaf 
ibread, which she declared to be the only kind she ever 
Next came salad dressing, unsalted butter, sugar, 
1 cream cheese. 
3 that this would be all, I carefully folded and stored 
; bottom of my bag the remains of my five-dollar bill. 
RBd not know Hildegarde. Declaring that the grade of 
dstuffs carried in the Jefferson Market was a disgrace 
I the city, she led me to a meat-shop on a cross street. 
BTenderloin steak ! My hair almost stood on end. Three 
mds ! What on earth was she going to do with it ? 
I had a happy thought. Such a cheerful solution. 
; next day being Sunday she planned for me to take all 
three meals with her. Though I cannot be sure that while 
paying for that steak I wore a smiling countenance, I am 
sure that I was not so glum as I most certainly would have 
been had I known what was to become of it. 

Hildegarde ate it — two poimds and three-quarters of 
underdone steak, at one sitting. When I said that I only 
wished a small piece, she gave me the bone. And she ate 
that red dripping meat without bread, potatoes, or vegetable 
of any sort — two pounds and three-quarters of imderdone 
_Bteak. 

It was not an appetizing sight. When she had swallowed 
I last mouthful she explained that, being a meat^ater, 
e only ate other things for the sake of filling up. When 
B finished that process the provisions which I had believed 




210 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

would last us both through Sunday had all disappeared- 
the last of the quarter of a pound of sweet butter togethi 
with the last of the pound of granulated sugar on the ~ 
slice of bread. 

Our sightseeing began on a narrow street both crooki 
and short. Keeping pace with Hildegarde's eager stepa 
entered at one end and walking rapidly halted near ti 
centre of the block. 

"Sniff," panted Hildegarde. "Sniff." 

"Why, it's a stench," I replied indignantly, and 
of sniffing I held my nose, "What on earth is it?" 

"Cesspools," she assured me. "Those houses are ai 
fully old. There is not a drain in this street. Typhoid 
the summer, croup and pneumonia in the winter — peofJ 
die like flies. Jack Harland says we may have a few ci 
of Asiatic cholera here this fall if the hot weather will only 
continue long enough." 

I stared at her — a tall, voluptuously developed woman d 
twenty-six. Her eyes were large, blue-gray, and expres- 
sive. Her brows were dark and well defined, her moutb 
like a buttonhole. Her nose, though not large, curved ov«f 
it, and reminded me of the beak of a parrot. Nature, 
though begrudging the generous amount of material used 
in making one woman, had not only slumped her chin but 
taken a snip out of the middle of it. 

"Don't you love it?" she panted, her face ahining inft 
enjoyment. "Don't you love it?" 

"I think it is horrible that people have to live in iu| 
holes." 

"W-e-e-11, if you wUl look at it from a utilitarian pdnt 
of view," my guide drawled patronizingly. Then she added 
with gusto: "From the point of the artist it is coloesaL 
Swarms of 'em come here^for types, you know. Tl| 
starving children of Belgium and famine sufferers — colossi 
studies I" 




BURROWING IN 



211 



t you Hank they actually suffer for food?" 
Hy dear!" Hildegarde stopped on the comer and 
Itching me by the shoulder brought me to a sudden stand- 
ill. "I talked to a little girl who lived in that fifth house. 
he most desperate-looking child I ever saw. She told me 
w never had anything for breakfast before going to school 
ECept the dregs from a can of beer and a IeftK)ver potato, 
r a crust of bread. Sometimes she didn't get the beer— 
iftt depended on how drunk her parents were when they 
ill adeep. Colossal 1 Think of the literary atmosphere!" 
"You come here for atmosphere?" I inquired, thinking 
tat the effrontery needed to commercialize the misfor- 
mes of that child was what was colossal. 
"Not often," she replied, puckering her lips and drawing 
sr brows together. "To tell the truth these people are 
» — too prosperous for me, for my purpose." Here squints 
ig her eyes she thrust her face nearer mine. "To let you 
ito a secret — I'm specializing on the underworld, crooks 
od their sort. My burglar took me to a joint on the 
last Side kept by one of the most famous crooks in New 
ork, — in the whole world. All his customers are crooks. 



Had I been a profane woman I would have called her a 
amned fool. 

"It may not be safe for you — not exactly," Hildegarde 
old me, panting eagerly. "But if you've got the pep I'm 
rilliDg to take you. A policeman wouldn't dare go there 
lone. With me, having been introduced by my burglar, 
;'a different. Would you like to go to-night?" 

"Not to-night, thank you. I must be getting back." 

"I'll go with you as far as Bleecker Street. It's on my way 
a the East Side joint to meet my burglar," she agreed, 
od we turned toward Washington Square. , 

"Have you written many stories about crooks?" I m- , 
., for, though she always spoke of hei^U && aii &\)S^'ca j 



212 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRt 

and of everything she did, even the tea-room she was ] 
ning, as a means of getting material for her "real w< 
she had never mentioned the names of her stories. 

"Not yet." She panted so vigorously and her 
shone so eagerly that I was sure of having touched a 
ject she liked. "You see I specialize on one type at a I 
My last before taking up crooks was newsboys." 

"You wrote a newsboy story?" 

"Newsboys who had made a fortune of one hun 
thousand dollars and over. It was colossal. The e 
told a friend of mine that it was the greatest spread 
ever appeared in " 

"Spread?" I interrupted. "I thought you sud 
wrote short stories." 

"Story-writing as you understand it is a dead art,' 
assured me solemnly. "Pictures 1 The future of the 
ture story is colossal." 

That night before I fell asleep for the first time ia 
new quarters, I decided that Hildegarde was not one 
would understand my determination to live in the I 
ments. I never confided in her. 

During the months that followed, working day after 
in the tenements, from eight-thirty in the morning to 
of an afternoon, I never lost sight of that determina 
Having decided to sublet a small furnished flat, I was 
tinually on the lookout for it. Before I finally found 
a flat, Miss O'Brien had demanded my room. 

"Miss Porter, Miss Porter." She was standing on 
parlor floor as she shouted up the stairs to me on the 
floor. "I want your room, an' I want it at onct. A 
want you should know I'm a lady — I'll not be insulte 
my own house." 

The insult referred to was a note left on the hat-r« 
the front door that morning on my way to work. In 
objected to having a strange man sleep in my I 
the day, while I was at woT^!.. 




BURROWING IN 213 

Iq Greenwich Village, when the origin of tobacco-smoke 
b feminine, it is invariably accompanied by crume of face- 
powder and smudges of rouge. There were no such marks 
OS my bureau. But the odor of tobacco-smoke in the sheets 
I d the bed ! The signs of soot and grease grimed hands on 
i ay towels ! I was paying four dollars and a. half for my 
mom, small with a slanting roof and a half-window on the 
lop floor. I had no intention of sharing it with an unknown 
Win even for the sake of helping my grunting, groaning 
' vJiady. 
:i more ways than one Miss O'Brien was out of the ordi- 
. Her name, her religion, and her brogue to the con- 
-;. , she boasted of being English. Ais a consequence she 
- not descended from an Irish king nor did she have a 
;:t in her family. She was red-hot for suffrage, because 
wanted a law passed to force women working outside 
home to make their own beds and clean their own 

"Tain't right for WMnen in business not to do their share 

i 4e housework," she would tell me, while leaning on a 

b (rf a broom or wiping my mirror with a dirty rag. "I 

nH mind doin' for men — it's only right I should, they 

1 an' payin' me." 
' "The women pay you. I pay a half-dollar more than 
■w man who vacated it without giving you notice. You 
li me so yourself." 
"I ain't sayin' you don't pay all the room's worth," she 
I me, and maybe by this time having smeared my 
r to her satisfaction she would be propped against the 
I of my door. "What I says an' what I stands by is 
I ain't right for you and Hildt^arde Hook not to do 
r rooms regular — you bein' wtmien an' not men. No, 
:;t right, Mias Porter. You hadn't ouster treat no 
—an like that." 

-Vhen she found that I intended to take het at \«a -wtn^ 
mai pre her ber room, she became repentant and oficE<A.^*k 



214 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

let me "stay on." Unfortunately for her good intentiMU 
the atmosphere of Greenwich Village had become boriifl 
Even a woman's hotel, the only vacancy to be found at thi 
season, promised a welcome relief. 

My stay in that Adamless purgatory was not very loi 
Before I had been there one week an old woman occuf^ 
the room to the left of me objected to my using my typ 
writer between seven and eight in the evening. Before tJ 
end of my second week an old woman at my right positive 
forbade me to touch it mornings before eleven, and befo 
I had completed my third week an old woman in front 
me entered a violent protest against my using it at all. Gc 
defend me from idle women I 

In a fit of I'11-take-anything-I-can-get I applied to th 
agent of the Phipps tenements. She had no vacancy, 
on my second call, seeing that I was near desperation, shi 
suggested that I go talk to a Mrs. Campbell who lived ia 
another house owned by the same company. Mrs. Can^i 
bell was taking her sick daughter to Staten Island for 
summer. 

For five dollars a week, one dollar and sixty cents aboi 
what she was paying for her flat unfurnished, she subli 
to me for the smnmer. There were three snmll rocuns,' 
minute clothes-closet, a toilet, gas, and both hot and coi 
water. 

On East Thirty-second Street between First and Second 
Avenues, this place was within walking distance of the A. 8 
P. C. A., and so saved both car-fare and time. Built arouni 
a court each of the forty-eight flats was so arranged that i 
opened on both the street and the court. As a consequena 
the ventilation was excellent. Four of the flats on each flooi 
opened on a little balcony, and I was lucky enough to gil 
one. 

When I mentioned that there was no bath, Mrs. Caan 
bell looted pensive. After a pause her daughter explainaa 




BURROWING IN 

"There are two baths — one for men and the other for 
imen. They are in the basement. Sundays people stand 
line, taking turns at using theni." She paased and glanced 
her mother, who was still gazing pensively into space, 
fe alwaya — " She paused and again glanced at her 
sther. 

"We alwftys make out with the set tubs," the older 
Duan told me. "It's not very handy, stooping imder the 
Ina-closet, but it's better than bathing in a tub used by 
many." 

Glanciog at the set tubs I realized the advantage of being 
lall. It seemed an easy matter for these two Uttle women 
step on a chair and then into the tub, but how about 
5 me ? Yet I managed it somehow. That summer the 
ly thing in the way of bathing I did was m that set tub; 
wching under the built-in china cupboard, I splashed the 
iter over various parts of my anatomy. Once you make 
I your mind you can do almost anything. 
[TnUke the model tenement in which the artist lived, thia 
kce was a slice of tenement life in New York City. Of 
B two blind sons of the Irishwoman who had the flat next 
ne, one went out daily with his Uttle tin cup, while the 
ter, who was not totally blind, made brooms in a work- 
op for the blind. Their unmarried sister was a trained 
«e. The three supported the mother, who, being Irish, 
e Lot's wife was continually looking back and weeping 
er past glories. 

The flat beyond this family was occupied by the matron 
one of the city courts; next came two more women, 
9wede and Hollander. The first v/aa a forewoman in a 
irt-waist factory, the other before becoming a helpless 
pple from rheumatism had been a dressmaker. 
Across the court on the same floor was an Italian tiulor 
th nine children, an undertaker's assistant, a clerk in a 
cond Avenue grocery, and the driver q\ & mS!t-^a%«vi. 



216 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Occupying other flats in the house were a stevedore, a Gl 
peddler, an Italian who helped in a coal-and-ice cellar, 
Hungarian street-sweeper, a man who drove a dump-ca 
a baker, a butcher, several factory workers, a cook, an 
capacitated nurse, two Russians whose business nolx 
knew, and myself, who because of my khaki frock was cal 
by the children the "army nurse." 

Of June evenings, when I first moved in I used to sil 
my doorstep, with my feet on the little balcony overlook 
the court, and try to untangle the conversations being 
ried on around me in eleven foreign languages. As the d 
wore on, the July sun beat down on the tenements. Wl 
there was a breeze it was to be avoided, not enjoji 
Though hot and prickly in its feel, worse, many times wa 
were the odors with which it was laden — the odors of dea 
ing garbage and the filth of unwashed streets. 

Those torrid summer nights! Instead of trying to 
tangle foreign tongues, I used to try to stop my ears ag& 
the wails of sick children, the weak frettings of a baby 
far gone to make louder protests. When at last, worn 
by hard work and lack of sleep, I would doze off, it was t 
to be wakened by the shriek of the baby's mother — ne 
again in this world would her baby disturb her 
bors. 

Or when by chance I managed to sleep through the I 
part of the night, the "French girl" would have a brt 
storm and arouse the whole house. The nightmare « 
that followed 1 Men, women, and children would rush 
on their httle balconies in their night-clothes. The n 
amiable would remonstrate with her, reminding her of 
Edck and sleeping children. A few, the two Russians 
an Irishman, would curse the girl and threaten to caD 
police. 

Though this girl was bom in the United States, 
daughter of native Gennans, she persisted in calling 



BURROWING IN 

?lf French. Her mother was a cook in a private family 
nd the girl herself had been trained as a lady's maid, 
letting "notions" in her head, so the mother explained, 
be had proclaimed her intention of devoting herself to 
loving pictures. 

Her brain-storms were caused by her parents suggesting 
lat she return to her old job and earn her own living. The 
wd curses and abuse she hurled at them ! When the plead- 
1^ and threats of their neighbors failed to stop this row, 
Sie musicians of the tenement would fetch out their in- 
truments and practise usually for the rest of the night. 

Hideous as this may sound, the blast of the comet, the 
^ings of a flute and two piccolos, and the groans of a basa 
iolin were no worse than the curses of the men and the 
fsilings of the women and children. When the musicians 
«pt at it long enough the "French girl" was shamed into 
ilence or indistinct grumbling. 

Then there were nights when there would be no sleep — 
ply subdued cursing, complaints, and stench — the stench 
f unmoved garbage, of the unwashed streets, of the laun- 
ty opposite, and several other unclaasiiied stenches. I 
IBed to get up in the mornings feeling worse than a wet 
■g — ^like a wet dish-rag saturated with stench. 

All day long I trudged the streets, such filthy streets, 
rith overflowing garbage-cans that had not been emptied 
or days and days. How I longed to possess the power 
rfiich the people because of my khaki attributed to me 1 

"Lady, my baby is so sick. The landlord's done cut off 
he water, and I has to go up and down sbt flight of stairs 
get every drop of water we use. Won't you please speak 
Q the landlord, lady? My baby is so sick." This was a 
tttle Italian woman on lower First Avenue, the mother of 
Iz smidl children. 

When I reminded her that I was not a city employee, 
h&t I had no authority, she came back at me ■witti VJat %\a!ufe- 



218 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

ment that I was educated, the landlord would listen to I 
By actual count I found forty-nine children living on i 
top floor of that six-story flat-house. Not one of them lool 
to be above eight years old. Several of them were B 
and the mother of one family ill in bed. 

Because the law forbade the owner of the house to t 
the rent any higher on these, his regular tenants, he 
hit on the happy idea of cutting off the water. He 
out when I got his oflSce on the wire. I left word with 
woman's voice claiming to be his secretary that if 
water was still cut off at four o'clock I would report 
house to the Society for the Prevention of Crueltyi 
Children. 

This society may have been as helpless in the matte 
the one I represented, but I didn't know of any other th 
to make. It had the desired effect. 

Hardly a day passed without at least one such api 
being made to me. It almost seemed that people had 
idea that heartless landlords, dead horses, and deader ' 
were my specialty. 

One woman trailed me three successive momii^ : 
house-to-house search from East Seventy-first Stree 
East Seventy-ninth and Exterior Streets. The first 
she found me I was sitting on the river-wall in the M 
of a derrick, eatmg my lunch — two Georgia peaches. 

"It's just a chance I seen you," she called, as she era 
from the comer. "I told my daughter if I found 
I know'd you'd do it, and I set out to find you." Ha] 
in front of me she wiped the streaming perspiration i 
her purple and crimson blotched face. 

"Sit down and tell me about it," I invited, making i 
for her in the scanty shade of the derrick. Though I 
no recollection of her face, I knew she belonged in som« 
of the hundreda of homes that I had visited during 
few days. 



ited during tha 



BURROWING IN 

"My grandbaby's got the browncreeters," she told me, 
)B taking her seat at my side, she began to fan her face with 
ier apron. 

"Bronchitis is pretty serious for a young baby,'* I ad- 
Bitted; not knowing in what other way I could be of use 
•oberlasked: "Doyou want me to have it taken to Belie- 
ve?" 

Phe shook her head. "It's the dead horse, comer of 
\venue A. You seen it the day you was at my daughter's 
ibout her dog, a French poodle." 

If she had not mentioned the dead horse I certainly would 
aot have remembered her daughter's dog. All white woolly 
3ogs in the tenements, and about twenty-five per cent are 
irhit« and woolly, are dignified by the name of French poodle. 
[ did remember the dead horse. 

"I promised your daughter to telephone the Health De- 
partment about that horse, and I did so," I replied, a bit 
nettled by her having chased me down after I had explained 
to her daughter and numerous others in the vicinity of that 
dead horse that I was not a city employee, had no author- 
i^ to get dead animals moved. 

"Sie knows you did. She watched and seen you go in 
Bie drug-store on the comer. Last night when her baby 
iras took so bad her husband went after medicine, and the 
drug-store man told 'ira you'd called up about the horse." 
[n her eagerness to conciliate she stopped fanning and placed 
ber hot hand on my arm. "They never done nothin'. This 
sun makes it worse — all swelled up and we's afraid it'll 
bust." 

What could I say? I had done my best and nothing 
had come of it. Living in the tenements I knew how hide- 
niB night could be made by a stench. This dead horse w&a 
irotse than anything that I had had to endure. 

"I thou^t if I paid for the telephone you wouldn't mind 
^jeakin' again." Gouging down in her stockmg, ^e\>twM^^i 



FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRU 

up a rusty leather pocketbook. "My grandbaby'a an 
sickl" 

There was no use trying to reason with her, trying 
explain. Besides, it was a very small favor to ask for a I 
baby. i 

She followed me to the nearest drug-store, stood at 
door of the telephone-booth, and listened while I beg 
for the removal of the dead horse — called attention to, 
number of children in the vicinity, and made special m 
tion of her sick grandbaby. 

The next day but one I saw her coming toward me aej 
the hot sun-baked playground of John Jay Park. Tl 
were deep circles under her eyes, and in spite of the I 
her heavy cheeks were only slightly colored. 

"I hunted for you yesterday, everywhere, but I mil 
you," she reproached, as I met her in the middle of 
scorching-hot playground. "That dead horse — It's 
rible and the dogs — — " 

"Come on," I interrupted, leading the way to the di 
store. "Now that the dogs are after it I can get it moi 
That's what the society is for — protecting dogs." 

Back in the same telephone-booth I called up the ei 
city department, was answered by the same operator, t 
gave me the same official. After teUing him that 1 1 
an inspector for the A, S. P. C. A., I told him of the 
horse, the number of days it had been on the street, and 
the dogs were after it, 

"You must give us time," he drawled. "New Yi 
a good big city, you know, and " 

"Yes, and you get a good big salary/' I cHpped in, 
tating his drawl, and making my voice as insolent as 
sible. "I don't care a whoop about your time. It's 
business to protect the health of the dogs in this 
I report at Society headquarters every afternoon 
On my way I shall make a point of passing 



BtlRROWING m 



221 



■I Bee any dogs around that dead horse I shall report it 
m our manager, Mr. Horton. He'll know what to do." 
Hiiuig up the receiver with a snap. 
wAa I stepped out of the booth the boy at the soda-fountain 
■oke to me. 

F"Teiephomng about that dead horse, lady?" He shook 
Esbead as he filled a glass with fizz. "Wastin' good money, 
fcist've been a hundred people in here in the last three 
m^ telephonin' about that horse." 
"My grandbaby's so sick," the woman at my side wailed. 

Beems Uke " 

|f*Much they care about sick babies!" the stouter of two 
■ug women for whom the boy was mixing drinks sneered, 
pd she eyed me insolently. "They're too busy sweeping 
|hrk and Fifth Avenues — afraid the dust'U speck the white 
kuble palaces of the millionaires." 

tBhe was good-looking, well dressed, and judging by her 
Btures and coloring a daughter of foreign parents, though 
B spoke without accent. Her manner was so pointedly 
pensive, so evidently aimed at me, that the woman at my 
He resented it. 

L"'Tain't the lady's fault," she reproved the girl. "She's 
luie all she could to get the dead horse took away." 
[■"Sure she's done all she could," the girl retorted, taking 
V ^yes oflf me long enough to wink at her thin companion. 
teut I've noticed that social workers never do anything 
mi the rich don't want done. Oh, I'm not blaming you," 
pe added, addressing me directly in the same sneering 
lone. "If I made my living distributing crumbs from mil- 
lonaires' tables I'd do just as you do — perhaps." 
^''Perhaps you might," I consented cheerfully, glad to 
■t a candid opinion of social workers from the class among 
nom they work. "But, as it happens, you've missed your 
pees. I'm an inspector for the A. S. P. C. A. That dead 
brae is a menace to the dogs in my diattict." 



222 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"Menace to dogs!" the thin girl giggled, and she biol 
the straw through which she was drinking. "Thinks thej 
do more for dogs than children !" 

"She thinks dead right. The animal societ/a got 
lot of rich swells behind it," the soda boy asserted. 

"That oughtn't to surprise you," the stout girl remarki 
turning on her thin friend. "You heard that lady fn 
Park Avenue"^how she sneered the word lady — "call tl 
bow-legged httle boy a monster because she thought 
was mistreating a yellow pup." 

With her soda-water still untasted she turned back 
me. "Uttle bow-legs said he was seven, but he didn't la 
to be more than five. He'd been playing in the park w 
his younger brother and sister, and was taking them hor 
One of the younger ones was leading the pup, had a stri 
in its collar. They'd got as far as Park Avenue when 
dame pounced on them. The names she called those thi 
kids!" 

"The pup was a poor, dear helpless doggie," the tl 
girl giggled. 

"She said the pup was half -starved," the stout girl 
on, "I beUeve she was right about that. The childi 
didn't look as if either of them had ever had a squi 
meal." 

"That's the way they all are — those rich women," 
serted a man in overalls, who was standing at the presa 
tion-counter. "They think more of animals than of th 
own kind. What did youse say to the jane?" 

"Who, us?" the thin girl giggled between draws on 1 
straw. "We kept out of her sight. We work in a specia 
shop on Fifth Avenue, and she was one of our regular 
tomers." 

"'Fraid of you job," the man in overalls commentt 
"Knockin' the bread out your own mouth wouldn't h( 
the kids none." 




BURROWING m 



"It would help the kids if we'd make the city government ' 
dean the tenement streets instead of wasting time dusting 
n front of vacajit houses. They don't get much more 
Itau dust, and those houses are vacant ten months in the 
rear," the stout girl asserted, as staring at me she waited 
or me to reply. 

"If we hved up to our national professions," I said, 
Bjtting into words the thought that had been in my mind 
ince the first day I began to work in the tenements, "the 
treet-cleaners would begin in the tenements, where the 
yeatest number would be benefited. In a democracy | 
rhere the majority is supposed to rule, human life should 
le considered before property — babies should be more | 
[ahuible than empty houses." 

**I see 'em starting to clean the streets in the tene- ' 
nentsi" the thin gu-1 jeered. 

"If they don't you'll eee tenement people living in those 
lalaces, and the people from the palaces living in the tcne- 
oenta," the stout girl retorted passionately. "They done , 
t in Russia and we'll do it here. Within ten years; I'm 
jving it to you straight." 

" Youse said it," the man in overalls agreed emphatically. 

I glanced into the faces of the sue persons about mo, 
rhe prescription clerk's features wore the mask of those 
Those mental attitude is I-hold-my-tongue-and-lct-you- 
!o>the-talkiDg. The eyes of the pale boy at the uodsf 
'ountain were like smouldering fires ready to flame with 
uiy powerful emotion. The square jaw of the man in 
Jveralla reminded me of a bull-dog. Of the three women 
the stout girl alone possessed the faculty for logical reason- 
ing, yet the other two, once their emotionH were oroumd, 
Kould outstrip her, run ahead of her, leading a mob to 
bum, kill, destroy. 

"They've done it in Rusda; we'll do it here." It wM 
llJBly evident that the five agreed with het aHK:c\.uni. 



I 



234 FOUIl YEAES IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Ten years between our present condition and revoltt 
tion I Her one alternative 7 — that the government st 
sacrificing the masses in the interest of the classes. Th 
reign of terror in France, the red horror in Russia — wU 
would it be in the United States when our turn came? 

On my way to the offices of the A. S. P. C. A. that after 
noon I saw that the dead horse had been removed and tlu 
asphalt carefully washed clean. 

"The animal society's got rich swells behind it. Our 
children ain't got nobody." The words of the sIumbroi»' 
eyed boy at the sodarcounter rang in my ears. 

At that time influenza hung like a cloud no bigger thaq 
a man's hand over New York City, from which it wouli 
spread over the whole Union. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE SCOURGE 

Whenever I think of the influenza epidemic in Now York 
City there flashes before me a series of mental picturca, 
pictures so indeUbly stamped on my mind that I believe 
they will go with me to the grave. In each of tlicm, in 
all of them, I see myself walking through the slumn of the 
great city as through the VaUey of the shadow of Death. 

But unlike the valley through which Christian paased I 
could not make out even the narrowest of safe pathwayi. 
Bo far as my vision extended my next step might plunge 
me into the ditch wherein the blind lead the blind, or into 
■ome bottomless quag. And always over me, over the wbolo 
d each of these pictures, Death spread his black wings. 

In none of these pictures do I see myself ill with influ- 
mza. Yet I had it. According to my diary I remained 
b bed one day, took five capeuka, and hod one meal 
brought to me by a young music-teacher who occupied the 
room under mine in Miss O'Brien's Greenwich Village 
rooming-house. This young woman had a muaic olaM !n 
New Jersey, from which after a lesson she returned with 
a slight cold. Within twenty-^our hours idw had an uo- 
uistakable case of the "flu." 

Bemg the only other woman roomer— Hildegarde Hoofc 
liaring failed to make her tea-rooni go had gone to lire ia 
hex basement — it fell to my lot to aee that the mniie- 
leacher did not starve. Mornings before going to woik I 
*ould go to Kzth Aveaiie and buy food and medidnwi to 
W her during the flay, and tvtmogt on my retuni from 
^ork I would again go topping, pettiog wfaai wae a to m 
■ttry to make ber w^ ecofortaUe. 






226 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Just when she was able to crawl out of her bed I craidi 
into mine. Besides a few outstanding facts, all the deta 
of my attack of influenza have been rubbed from 
memory. 

But nothing can ever erase, or I believe make less viy 
my memory of Bellevue Hospital during those terrii 
heart-breaking months — packed beyond its doors nei 
admitted patients had to wait in passageways on stret< 
ers resting on chairs or other makeshift props. No 
person may be turned away from the doors of New Yor 
great city hospital; room must be found for them howei 
crowded the wards, however overworked the nurses and I 
doctors. How those nurses and doctors worked during 
influenza I how everybody connected with Bellevue work( 
To remain on duty, going without sleep and snatching a f 
mouthfula of food when opportunity offered, was not « 
sidered worth mentioning — ao many nurses and doctors 
more. 

While the pressure on Bellevue's staff of social serv 
workers was very great, far above normal, it was not 
continuous. Though their days did stretch into the ni^ 
they did finally get home for a few hours' rest and sle 
There are persons who claim that Miss Wadley, the hi 
of the social service department, did not leave her dt 
during the entire epidemic; — that day and night she 
there at the telephone, listening to pleadings from pare 
that she send assistance to sick ones left at home, or to 
demands of persons half-mad with anxiety that she loa 
for them some one dear to them who had failed to reti 
home. 

For that — the imexplained disappearance of 
was one of the hideous features of the epidemic in the t« 
mcnt districts. The workers of a family, scourged on 
the additional necessity of having sickness in their he 
circle, would start out of a morning when they themsel' 



THE SCOURGE 



227 



sit ready to drop. During the day, while at work, they 
rould drop and be talten to a hospital. Even had their 
Doployers, or fellow employees, the inclination to notify the 
unlly of the stricken one, they would not be able to do 
1, because in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred they did 
ot know their home address. 

Because I was not a trained nurse Miss Wadley set me 
3 work running down missing parents, and putting children 
rphaned during the epidemic out to board. It was while 
taking up the parents of Francisco LaCastro that I was 
ret brought face to face with the puzzling dread caused 
y a person dropping out of sight. Miss Wadley was noti- 
sd by the hospital that Francisco, though able to leave 
te hospital, had not been called for by his parents. She 
lined the case over to me. According to Francisco's 
itrance-card, he was three years old, and lived at a cer- 
in number on Sullivan Street. 

Accustomed to tenement conditions, on reaching the ad- 
■ess I set about looking for the janitor. After much 
locking, the door was opened by a tiny girl. Yes, her 
other was janitor— here the tiny mite began to sob. 
rom her sobs I learned that a policeman in a hospital 
agon had carried her mother off. Furthermore, that her 
tlier had been in a hcKpital, but was out and had gone to 
ork. Also that three children older and two younger 
lan herself were still in the hospital. 

One of many pecuUar featiires of tenement-dwellers 
I that few of them know the names of their neighbors, 
flTcn when on intimate terms, A janitor knows the names 
)f the persona occupying flats in her house because, on 
receiving rent, she has to give a receipt. This house on 
Jullivan Street was occupied exclusively by Italians. 
"^Ugi) J called at every one of the twenty-four flats no 
°® Coai^ **^ ^^ anything about the LaCastro family. 



Ot 



'^^ 



fifth floor my knock at one of the doors was not 



228 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

answered. Deciding that this must be the flat occup 
by Francisco's parents, I made a second trip through 
house looking for some one who could tell me anyth 
about the persons who lived in it. After many questi 
I finally learned that the silent flat had been occu; 
the family of a man who brought home bread each olj 
"grand bread." 

Nobody could tell me what had become of the man 
his wife, only that two of his children had been tal 
away by their grandmother. Where did tiiis grandmot 
live ? Then recalling that a notification had been sent 
Bellevue to Francisco's parents, I went after the poetm 
Fortunately, I found him on the block. He gave me 
address on Bleecker Street. 

I found the grandmother, an ancient Spanish dame, i 
with the aid of a five-year-old neighbor learned that i 
was treasuring six, to her unreadable, communications fr 
Bellevue. Five of these were black-bordered, and 
nounced the death of her daughter and four of that da 
ter's children. Francisco was the only member ot 
daughter's family left. 

"But your daughter's husband, Francisco's father, i 
has become of him?" I asked. 

When this was translated to her she shrugged her shi 
ders. When I asked my five-year-old interpreter 
the old woman's shrug meant I received another shrug 
my pains. Near my wits' end I hit on the plan of tal 
both ancient dame and interpreter to the bake-shop on 
street floor of the house. 

"Sure, I can speak to 'em," the young Russian woi 
behind the counter assured me. "I speak ten langui 
and about as many gibberishes." 

Through this woman I learned that Francisco's fa 
had gone to work the same as usual one day about 
weeks back, and had never again been heard from. He 




THE SCOURGE 



baker's helper, that everybody knew, but not one of them 
add tell, or even make a guess, where he worked. Only 
M of his children had been taken to the hospital before 
k disappeared. Again that shrug. 

jUie next instant there came a wild jumble of sounds. 
IB ignorant as I was of Spanish I recognized that the old 
roman who was filling the door of the bake-shop was 
tnnng that other old woman, Francisco's grandmother, 
kiraa the other grandmother, the mother of Francisco's 
1^. 

She called down vengeance from heaven to punish the de- 
nctors of her son. He had not left home, deserted his 
taiily because a new baby was expected, nor because his 
West boy had been taken to Bellevue and the other chil- 
ten were ailing. Then wringmg her hands she bewailed 
Ib loss of her son; she had worked, she had brought him 
D America, and now he had been murdered by some un- 
aown enemy. How was she to find her boy? 

This last wail being directed to me, the only American 
a the crowd of about one hundred collected about the en- 
fance of the bake-shop, I asked the Russian woman to tell 
W about Francisco. On being made to understand she 
latched the handful of Bellevue notices from the fingers 
'her son's mother-in-law. Though a poor woman with 
[> money in bank, she hurled back at her rival, she would 
ie care of her own flesh and blood, she would go at once 
t Francisco. 

Without the formality of getting either hat or coat she 
arded the next surface-car. On returning to Bellevue 
earned that Francisco had been turned over to his grand- 
ttber. Writing out a history of the case I marked it 
eed. 
Some ten days later, between eight and nine o'clock of 

iening, there walked into the reception-room of the 
service department a man so thin aad ^&Ve ^k&.\) \vo!b 



230 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

for the blackness of his clothes and the brown of his hw^ 
might have been almost invisible. He asked to see 
wife and fom- children, all in Bellevue. 

Had he spoken to the man in the entrance office? 1 
and been sent to the social service department. T 
meant trouble^the straightening out of some tangle 
perhaps, breaking the news of a death. 

Those of us workers in earshot stopped what we 
been doing to listen. When the man gave his ns 
LaCastro, I realized that it was my task, and st€( 
forward. 

Did he know that his mother had taken Francisco ha 
I asked. A wan smile and a flicker of light in his lustK 
eyes as he told me he was glad to hear that. The it 
who had gone out from the New York Hospital ahea 
him had come back to tell hhn that his wife and aE 
children had been taken to Bellevue. 

Yes, that was some time ago, soon after he cam 
himself in the hospital. He wasn't feeling very well i 
he left home that morning, and later when he faintfl 
his work the boss had him taken direct to the New " 
Hospital. Would I please tell him in which ward he H 
find his wife and four children. 

I read him a part of Francisco's history, giving the 
of each death. After a brief sUenee he asked if — ^i 
might see them? Would he find them in the mo? 
Feeling sure that he would be allowed, I started bai 
telephone, to find out if he must go around to the Tw« 
ninth Street entrance. 

He called me back. There was a flicker of the i 
light in his eyes that had shown when told that hia m< 
had taken Francisco. Where was his baby? His 
was about to be confined. There must be a baby. 

That meant going more deeply into the caee. 
telephoning back and forth I was told: 



THE SCOURGE 231 

"lived less than two hours." Od giving him this addi- 
Eaonal blow I turned again to telephone the morgue. 

"LaCastro?" the voice at the other end of the wire 
rjuestioned. A short wait followed. "LaCastro, mother 
and baby, buried together, and four children. Yes, all 
buried the same day." 

The expression of that man, not his face alone, but the"" 
Brbole man, remains stamped on my memory as typical of 
the tenement-dweller before the war^ — his meek acceptance 
tjt conditions, his humihty as he thanked me. Sometimes 
I have wondered if Lazarus may not have thanked the 
ric^ that licked his sores with the same expression, Lazarus 
starving, with feasting and plenty smrounding him. 

Another hunt on which Miss Wadley sent me had a 
■Qtnewhat different ending. In this case the missing per- 
kOD was a baby of about eleven months. The mother, 
lifter seeing her husband and five older children taken to 
hospitals with influenza, had finally succumbed herself. 
Wow, after being in Bellevue some twelve hours, she missed 
ma baby. What had become of her baby? It was up 
||d me to find out. 

< There came a time when I all but gave up hope of find- 
•ing out. It was near the middle of the day, after I had 
imn down everything that had the slightest semblance of a 
Ucw. It was in a tenement below Brooklyn Bridge, one 
"H those tall, narrow tenements, jammed between other tall, 
■ow tenements. Dark and smelly, with crooked stone 
teps and slimy stone walls. The flat in which the family 
ived was on the next to the top floor, and by much search- 

E I discovered a woman who knew them, and who also 
1 speak enough English to tell me aU she knew, Hav- 

~ b^un with this woman, after four hours' fruitless search 
|i came back to her. 

Jure, she would show me the flat in which the Kousch- 
zky family lived. She had been Ihexe ^\v&u 'Ooa asa- 



232 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



balance came for the mother, and the officer had faandi 
her the key. Having failed to learn anything by otb 
means I thought there might be a chance of getting her 
remember some fact, some clew overlooked or forgotta 
by taking her into the flat. 

We had hardly set foot in the rooms before her baby 
the top floor began to yell. Mother-like she was out a 
running up the stairs before I caught my breath. Realid 
that there was nothing for it but to wait, I dragged a chi 
to the one window showing a light nearest daylight, a 
sat down. 

I was so tired that I must have dozed off for a second 
two. Something aroused me, and listening I became ca 
Bcious of a faint sound, something in the room stinind 
The door of the flat was shut, the sound was between d 
and it. My heart in my mouth, I rose noiselessly to m]j 
feet and stood listening, listening hard. 

The sound was more distinct though still faint. It 
as though something, something soft was being dri 
across the floor. Listening breathlessly I located the soi 
and turned my eyes toward the bed. 

The dirtiest baby I had ever seen came crawling 
No floor-cloth was ever dirtier than that youngster's clotl 
And it was as full of chuckles and coos as its clothee 
of dust. Never a cry nor a whine. It cooed when I spd 
to it, chuckled when I took it up. When the nei^b 
came racmg back and gave it a sup of her baby's milk 
gurgled with delight. 

If my memories of the influenza epidemic could all a 
as my search for that baby did ! There would be no 
line of coffins before a church in the tenement districts i 
ing for burial. Neither could I call to mind a closed < 
leading to the front room, the one room in the flat in wbi 
there was outside air. 

The mother had died in Bellevue, two small childroi 



THE SCOURGE 233 

■till there. The two older girle— both had been working 
fcaefore stricken down by the "flu" — refused to go to the 
bospitaJ, stubbornly remaining at home. It was my second 
xrisit — made not because it was part of my work, but on 
my own initiative, in the hope of persuading them to go 
Xv & hospital. FaiUng in this, I asked: 

"Why don't you girls go into the front room? The 

■^rindows open on the avenue ; you'd get outside air. That 

«Durt is no wider than a well." I waited. Both girls cast 

■~'~,vm their eyes. Then I added: "I can get the woman 

.t door to help me move your beds." I made a move 

■^ ard the entrance-door. 

The elder of the two sisters threw out her hand. There 
-was an expression of desperation in the gesture that brought 
ae quickly to a halt. 

Father's in there," she said, in a soundless sort of tone. 

Your father?" I questioned, and for a moment fancied 

ke had gone mad, for I distinctly recalled that they had 

1d me of their father's death, how he had insisted on going 

their mother's funeral and, catching more cold, had died 

bat night. "Your father?" I repeated. 

■'It was Bridges, the undertaker," the younger gir! whis- 
jend. "He laid father out, and — and when he found that 
rihat we didn't have enough money to pay for a funeral, 
I Bald — he said he wouldn't do no more." 
JJter all, is it more heartless to refuse to put a dead 
in his grave when money is lacking to pay for a 
lineral than it is to put living persons out of their home 
money is lacking to pay the rent? Many, many 
were di,sposses8ed in the tenement districts of New 
during and immediately after the influenza epidemic. 
was a great to-do made about undertakers taking 
itage of people's misfortunes. How about tenement 
Is? I have seen enough of tenement conditions 
know that the landlords, as a cla^, aie b&tt^t o*^ ve^ 



234 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

this world's goods than the tenement undertakers as 
class. 

I am grateful that as an inspector of dog licenses for tl 
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animi 
I saw the tenements of New York under more normal co 
ditions. Though I remained in this work more than tl 
years, and came to know my district about as well as ti 
average New Yorker knows his back yard, there are hoia 
the door-alls of which I dreaded to cross: the house 
which I found a dying mother trying to suckle a do 
baby; that in which I struggled with another mothi 
driven mad by fear for her children when her husband 
his job as a street-car conductor; and yet another in whi 
I witnessed the return of a father from prison to his shafe 
tered home — his flat stripped of all that could be sold <ri 
pawned, his two children in Bellevue, and his wife and nei^ 
bom baby on a bed loaned by a neighbor, both dying, j 

Did Dante picture a blacker hell than the slums of Ne(| 
York City during the influenza epidemic? In all tharf 
months of dread, sufl'ering, despair, and death never oma 
in those tenement districts did I meet or hear of a FroteH 
tant minister of the Gospel. J 




CHAPTER XVIII 



JIST DOGS I 



sl Of all the positions held during my four 
are in the underbrush none appealed to me so much as 
at of license inspector for the American Society for the 
wention of Cruelty to Animals. It was ideal for my 
Bpose — learning conditions in the tenements as actually 
isting, meeting the tenement-dwellers in their homes 
id as fellow human beings. 

If the job were an easy one I would be more chary about 
aking such a statement for fear all those persons living 
' being in Greenwich Village, who refer to themselves as 
ife villagers," would descend on the manager of the 
. S. P. C. A. as boll-weevils take possession of a field of 
>iing and luxuriant cotton. 

To prevent such a disaster I state definitely — a license 
Ipector for the A. S. P. C. A. earns every penny of his 
her salary. It is a house-to-house, rain-or-shine, freeze- 
sunstroke job. It means going up and down [^stairs 
m eight^thirty in the morning to five in the afternoon, 
lerever a dog is kept there must the inspector go. 
Sdy duties as a social service worker for Bellevue Hospital 
ik me all over New York City— East Side and West 
le, from the Bronx to the Battery. As inspector for the 
S. P. C. A. my district extended from the north side of 
at Fourteenth Street to the south side of East Seventy- 
th, from Madison Avenue to East River. 
;t included some of the oldest, most dilapidated, and 
(liest of filthy tenements to be found in the greater city, 

te of the newest, best planned, and btaV V«^\. "c^ 
235 



y 



236 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

the model tenements. It also included many homes | 
well-to-do person.? and many palaces of multimillionain 
It was & fair slice of the greatest jungle of civilization. 

If there is a nationality on the globe not represent!! 
in that district, I never heard of it. It is a district in wMd 
anybody from anywhere may be met any day. Readin 
my diary it would seem that I met somebody from eveij 
where almost every day. That is, with one exceptioo- 
I never met a Protestant minister of the Gospel. 

Every profession, every trade in every walk of life, W 
never a Protestant minister of the Gospel. 

The work was quite simple. On entering a tenement I 
would hunt up the janitor. 

"How are you, janitor?" I would greet, and the rough* 
and more dishevelled the woman the more courteoudj 
sympathetic I would make my tone. "I'm your inspeoW 
and have come to go through your house." Invariably (i 
this announcement an expression of concern, sometinul 
amounting to consternation, would flash into her faei 
Then, always hastily, I would add: "I'm calling on all A 
dogs in your house. How many are there?" ' 

"Oh, dogs!" she would exclaim, and the troubled expiBlj 
sion would be wiped off by a look of relief, sometimee by I 
smile. 

Often, instead of replying to my question, 
protest her regret that I was not some other variety 
insjjector — one who would make the Guineas up-stairs 
throwing garbage out their windows, or maybe reprove 
drunken Irishwoman for cursing her. Once I let her 
on her personal woes and it meant a half-hour hold 
for me. i 

The woes of a tenement janitor are many and various 
like setting traps on the stairs whereby she may fall im 
break her neck, or pelting her with rotten ^gs. This 
was a favorite method during the war of dealing with ji 



3 



JIST DOGS! 



237 



fais suspected of German sympathies. However high the 
»8t of living might soar, an ample quantity of xmfresh 
SKB could always be found among Italian tenants to chase 
' German janitor to her lair. 

Jist dogs I Once past the janitor and provided with the 
lonber and location of all the dogs in her house I made my 
ay, knocking at the doors behind which was supposed 
< be a dog. 

"How do you do? I'm your inspector," I would greet 
e person opening the door. "I'm calling on your dog." 
As with the janitor this statement of my busine^ pro- 
iced a reaction pleasing enough to put the person, usually 
e woman head of the family, in a good humor. Almost 
variably she invited me in to rest or wait while she rum- 
aged through various boxes and tin cans, searching for 
T dog's license. 

It was when I accepted her invitation that I got real in- 
rmation. Chatting about the family pet led naturally  
intimate details of her family life, her neighbors, their ' 
bs and wages. 

Some day, perhaps, a dog-loving writer will make a 
wk about the exploits of dog heroes. Once he or she 
igins this work they will find many trails leading into 
.e tenement homes of Greater New York. I foimd sev- 
al real heroes among the dogs in my district. 
One handsome collie had saved his mistress and a six 
ODths' old baby from being burned alive. The woman, 
[vmg been unable to sleep for some time, was given a 
ircotic and fell asleep in the middle of the forenoon. An 
»ur or so later she awoke: the dog was dragging her from 
ir bed by the hair of her head. He had literally torn 
if night-dress into rags trying to arouse her. The room 
IB stifling with smoke and her bed in flames. 

i fire was supposed to have been started by a smoker 
^ upper story of the apartment-house throwing the 




238 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

butt of his cigarette out the window and onto an awnu 
over the womaQ's window. From the awuing the curia 
caught, and from that her bed. 

In the next apartment a woman had put her six moni 
old baby to sleep and had gone up-stairs to visit a nei 
bor. A bit of the flaming awning was blown through 
window and Ughting in the baby's cradle set its pillow 
fire. 

This was not a question of self-preservation on the | 
of the dog. He was in the streets taking his morning 
when his mistress took the narcotic. KJiowing he w( 
return shortly she left the outer door of her apartment t 
The dog, had he been actuated by an instinct fcff i 
preservation, might easily have fled from the flaming r 
and aroused the house by his barks. Instead he risked 
own life to drag his mistress from the jaws of death. 

Another dog hero Uved on Avenue A: To hirn fate 
not so kind as to the collie. When scarcely more thai 
pup he saved the life of a child. It is true the child 
unknown to him, and his saving it was treated as a Ci 
happening. Out walking at liis master's heels on a Suni 
afternoon, he chanced to be passing at the instant tha 
two-year-old child, having climbed on top of the one pi 
wall separating the island of Manhattan from the wat 
of East River, fell in. 

"Right in after it went Buster, quieker'n a wink," 
master, a little old cripple, told me when I paid my 
call on this hero. "I'd taught 'im to jump in the r 
after sticks. I guess when he heard that baby's splash 
thought it was a stick. He was right there when 
comes up, an' got his teeth tangled in her skirts some! 
The way he paddled with those front paws of his'n. 
kept his grip till they could get a boat to 'im and take 
baby. Then Buster swum back to shore. He w 
far gone 1 had to help 'im land." 



JIST DOGS I 239 

fWhite listening to the old man I was seated in his shop 

I the rear of one of the oldest and most dilapidated tene- 

taents in my district. Besides being the janitor of the 

mement he was a mender of pots, pans, and all things of 

The comers of his shop were heaped with a mis- 

neous collection of metal articles, useful and oma- 

ntal, most of them of brass, copper, or wrought iron. 

["I mends 'em and brushes 'em up a bit when work is 

' he explained, while tinkering an old brass kettle, 

ding a leak near the gracefully curved spout. "It's 

prisin' the price some people will pay for that old junk 

1 I nibs it up a bit. 

"Don't need to have no clock down here," the old man 

!Dt on, enjoying my interest in his dog. "Ten o'clock, 

elve, three, and six, sharp, Buster comes for me. Them's 

5 times my wife takes her medicine — she's bedrid, been 

ike that twenty years. I used to try teasin' Buster, made 

Uke I didn't hear 'im bark. He caught on. Now he just 

puts his head in that door and barks onct and back he trots. 

Jfie knows that's bis job, I guess." 

^^V'Ss job?" I questioned, not understanding the tinker's 

^^^ Having finished mending the kettle he put it to one side 
and took up a grinning black face — part of an old wrought- 
iron fire-<log. 

"Takin' care of my wife. She can't move nothin' but 
iier hands, an' not them real well." He was rummaging 
through a box of old metal parts, trying to find a screw to 
fit the hole at the base of the grinning face. "I props 'er 
Up in bed momin's and gives 'er 'er breakfast. Buster 
Uoes the rest — gets the comb and brush for 'er; when she 
finishee with 'em he puts 'em back on the table." 

Having found a screw to his liking he held it between his 

Bth while he scraped the hole with a bit of wire. 

"Italian woman and her daughter — tUe^ beeu \i^ra:; ^sa. 



1 



240 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

our top floor near thirty year — is the onliest onea Bi 
will let cross that door-sill whilst I'm out. The postmu 
He chuckled, as he fitted the screw in the hole. "Bl 
hears 'is whistle and meets 'im at the door and takes 
letters. Julie, my wife, says he knows when there's 
letter from Jack." 

Having fitted the screw to the grinning face he b^an 
work of fastening it to the lower part of the fire-dog. 

"Jack's our grandson. He's somewhere in France.' 
Unconsciously he heaved a sigh that sounded almost lild 
a sob. "Soon as Buster gives a letter from him to Julis 
without her tellin' 'm nothin' he trots down here for 
He knows I wants the news quick as the letter 
Buster knows." 

Coming in contact with bo many dogs, day alter daj 
winding back and forth in and out of the dirty halls 
crooked stairways of the tenements, memories of Buster aa 
the lame tinker were rubbed from my mind. Among th 
bunch of complaints handed me one morning at the ol 
was a pencil scrawl about a dog that was terrorizing 
neighbors around an address on Avenue A. 

When the door of the flat was opened to me I found 
myself confronted by the lame tinker, with Buster at ha 
heels. Behind them in the duskiness of the room I mada 
out the helpless figure of the wife, propped up in bed aai 
combing her hair. 

"This can't possibly refer to Buster," I told them, as II 
handed the scrawl to the old man. 

"Crooks," he assured me, and having read the letter ii> 
passed it on to his wife. 

"This is the only house in this block that hasn't beM 
broke in," she piped, her voice thinned by weakness asi 
much suffering. "It's Buster. Crooks can't git by 
dog." 

"It's a wonder they doTi't ■poiaan him," I told tho^ 





JIST DOGS! 



241 



Bcalling the number of dogs whose deaths their owners 
ttributed to poison. 

The old tinker glared up at me, a shrewd twinkle in his 
Id eyes. Then s miling he waved one hand toward his wife. 

"It's her," he said, with a chuckle of appreciation. 
When he was a pup she trained 'im. He won't touch 
jthin' 'thout it goes through her hands, not even from 
,e. When I goes to the butcher's and buys 'im a bone, i 
; won't touch it until she tells 'im to." 

"Tell the lady 'bout the pile of boiled sponges yousB ] 
eked up in the yard," the sick woman reminded him. 

"Sure! I muster picked up a hundred, fust and last, 

I the yard between this house and my shop. You see 
lister sleeps in my shop nights." 

"Will a sponge boiled in oil really kill a dog?" I asked, 
9 I had heard so often since beginning to work in the 
snements that such was the case. 

The old man's face ceased to twinkle; Julie cast down 
ZT eyes and picked at her bed. i 

"It does worse'n kill 'em," she told me in a piping whia- 
er. "It make's 'em pine away and they suffer so, howlin', 
juinnin' with pain, until you're glad to see 'em die." 

"You see it's the sponge swellin' inside 'em," the tinker 
ipplemented. " When you boils a sponge it natu'ly shrivels 
p to a hard knot. The dog gnaws it to get the oil, — swal- 
)ws it. There ain't nothin' to be done unless you take 

II 'is insides out. We lost four that way before we got 
luster." 

Though I received four other pencilled scrawls written by 
he same hand I paid no attention to them. The matter 
ided from my mind. When I covered my district I turned 
bout, and again beginning on the north side of East Four- 
eenth Street, worked my way up-town. When I reached 

i tinker's address I crossed the little back yard and 
fed in the door of his shop. 



I 



242 FOUR YEARS IN THE XJNDERBRUSH 

He was busy mending a leak in an agate saucepan. 

"You see I'm back again," I announced cheerfuHyJ 
"No use asking if you have renewed Buster's license.' 

"Ye8. I got it out," he replied, and though he pauac^ 
in his work long enough to glance up at me he did nol 
smile. 

Such a different tinker I Something must have goi 
wrong, I glanced about the little shop. The place hi 
been stripped. Except for the saucepan, a couple of poK( 
and his tools, all on the work-bench at his side, there was 
evidence of his trade. The heaps of old brass, copper, a 
wrought iron that had filled all the comers were gone. 

"You've had a clearing out," I said, letting him see i 
looking about the shop. 

' ' Thieves," he replied , in the sajne colorless tone. 
"Broke in and carried off everything. These are new. 
He motioned to the few tools beside him. 

"Where was Buster?" 

"I had him killed." 

I could not believe my ears. And the tragedy of tba 
man's eyes I 

"You had Buster killed! What had he done?" 

"He hadn't done nothin' but what he had oughter dCH- 
what I'd taught 'im to do." His tone reminded me of 
dense fog so saturated with grayness. "He bit a port 
man." 

Pushing aside the two pots I took my seat on his worl 
bench, 

"How did he happen to bite the postman?" I askedi 
thinking it might do him good to talk his trouble out. 
thought Buster and the postman understood each other?' 

"He was a new postman, one of them fresh guys. Busta 
barked at 'im, and Julie called to 'im — warned 'im that thi 
dog would bite. 'Stead of 'im doin' what he was told h 
tried to step into the room." He straightened up and 
eyes flashed with pride. *'^MB\ftT ■^mx»srA. "ao. '"^ke*., '« 



^ 



JIST DOGS! 243 

tore his shirt ofFen 'im. I wish to God he'd a tore his liver 
out, BO I do." 

"If he didn't draw blood why did you have him killed?" 
I demanded sternly, for in spite of my sympathy with the 
old man it appeared to me that the dog hadn't had a square 
deal. 

"The postmaster wrote me a letter," he answered, as 
he fumbled in an old leather wallet. 

It was on the official paper of the Post-Office Department 
of the United States, and was signed by the postmaster of 
New York City. Coldly official, it informed the old tinker 
that unless he got rid of the dog he would have to get his 
mail at the general delivery window of the general post- 
office. 

"I tried to get 'em to leave my mail in the store next 
door, or with a friend in the next block." He shook his 
bead. "It was get rid of Buster or go to the general post- 
office." He paused, but seeing that he had more to say I 
waited. "If it hadn't been for Jack's bein' somewheres 
in France, I'd a gone to the general office. Jack's all we've 
got, an' it didn't seem right we should risk not hearin' from 
'im, or" — he paused and swallowed hard — "or the govern- 
ment in case anything happened to 'im." 

Killing so faithful and intelligent a dog without a more 
serious attempt to placate the "fresh guy" seemed a dread- 
ful act. But knowing the helplessness of the ignorant 
poor in New York City, I realized the injustice of finding 
fault with the old tinker. 

Halting in the door of the shop on my way out I glanced 
back at its empty comers. 

"I suppose the persons who wrote me those complaints 
against Buster did all this," I remarked. "It didn't take 
tfaero long to find out that Buster was gone." 

"They sandbagged the woman on our top floor the night 
after Buster was killed." 

Amazed I turned and stared at the old tinker. 




244 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"You don't mean the old Italian mother, who waa 
ing and saving to get money to return to Italy and (Ue 
her old home?" I finally questioned. 

The tinker nodded. He was scraping the bottom of 
pot preparatory to applying solder. 

"They most worked theyselves to death, her and 
daughter. Done piece-work nights and Sundays," he 
me, glancing up from his task of blowing on the cl 
in liis little bucket with his little bellows. "The 
was goin' back, had drawed their savin' out the bank 
day, an' was goin' down the next mornin' to pay for 
passage and get the balance of her money changed. Sk 
stopped in on her way up to say a few words to Julit 
she always done that evenin's comin' in from work. 'Bol 
half an hour later her daughter found her in the hall 
side their door. She'd been knocked senseless and 
clothes 'most tore off looking for her money." 

There was a short silence and the old man began to ti 
with the pot. 

"Where is she now?" I asked. 

"On the Island." The solder being melted he applied 
it to the hole in the bottom of the pot. "They kept ha? 
in Bellevue tUl they seen there wasn't no chance of cun/ 
her. You see, it's her brain," he explained as he wiped hill 
hands on his bedticklng apron. "Some of it oozed onl] 
where the sand-bag broke her skull. It stands to reason in 
never can have right good sense again, and one side of ber'll 
paralyzed worse than JuUe's." ] 

Tommaso was a brindle and white mongrel. Though M 
had never rescued a woman, a baby, or any other hi 
BO far as I learned, from a violent death, I number him 
among the dog heroes of my district. His master 
mistress, Mr. and Mrs. Pasquali Dominie, were both 
tives of Italy. Meeting for the first time in New York 
were married at the City Hall August 9, 1898. TvrenI 



JIST DOGS! 245 

years, one week, and five days after this happy event I 
paid my first call on Tommaso. 

Crouched in one corner of the family's basement kitchen- 
living-room-bedroom, he was trying not to watch too 
greedily the spoonfuls of thin porridge and the hunks of 
Italian bread being taken in alternate swallows by the five 
youngest of Mr. and Mrs. Dominic's eighteen children. 
Being a gentleman as well as a hero he rose on my entrance. 

"Go way, Tommaso. Come in, lady; he don't bite," 
Mrs, Dominic greeted me. 

On my accepting an invitation to take a seat Tommaso 
returned to his corner, and did his best to show me re- 
spectful attention while keeping watch for his hoped-for 
share of the food— the licking of each child's bowl, with a 
morsel of its bread. 

"He a good dog," Mrs. Dominic assured me. "He take 
nothin' 'less I tell 'im. Lueretia, why you scrape your 
bowl? Give it to Tommaso. Good Tommaso." 

Like a gentleman Tommaso accepted the offered bowl as 
though unconscious that the lickings had been scraped out, 
and without remarking on the total absence of his share of 
Lucretia's bread. In spite of the too evident joints of his 
back-bone and the prominence of his ribs he refused to give 
■way to the cravings of his appetite. 

Day after day he sat among those children, watched them 
take food which might have been his had he been a hero 
of lesser caliber — made a snatch and fled to the fastnesses 
of crooked stairs and dark hallways surrounding him. 

Ah, Tommaso ! I know what appetite suppression means. 
I know how it feels to watch other persons eat food of 
which you stand in need, I served as waitress in a fashion- 
able hotel on the boardwalk in Atlantic City. Jist dogs — 
both of us, Tommaso ! 



CHAPTER XIX 
FAITH OF JUNGLE-MOTHERS 

"How did the war affect the tenement-dwellers?" 

That question has been asked me dozens of times. 

The happiest persons I met during the war were in i 
tenements. Also, I will add, the most unreasonably 
happy and discontented person I met during that pei 
was in the tenements. 

Shortly after eight-thirty one sunshiny morning, 
just enough nip in the air, I was hurrying along E 
Twenty-sixth Street sorting over a handful of complai 
when a hand clutched my arm. Glancing up as I i 
brought to a halt my eyes stared into as discontented 
mihappy a face as I had ever seen. 

"Where are you going?" the woman whose band t 
clutched my shoulder demanded, and the movement of '. 
lips breaking up the expression of discontent somewhal 
recognized one of the best known of American won 
novelists. 

"How do you happen to be out so early?" I ooimta 
"I remember your telling me that you never allowed 
thing to break into yom- mornings — that you always w< 
until noon." 

" Work !" she exclaimed, throwing out her hand in a 
ture of despair. "What's the use of work? I can't se 
line — not one line. They only want war, war, nothing 
war. War! I'm sick of it. Why will people read abl 
the war?" 

"Because we've all got somebody at the front, I reel 
— sons, brothers, husbands, sweethearts, or at least a frien 
I replied, trying to make my tone pleasant. 

There could be no doubt about the woman' 




FAITH OF JUNGLE-MOTHERS 24X1 

ftte of mind, whatever the cause. There were deep fur- ' 
ws between her brows, and the lines at the corners of her 
■es looked more like turkey feet than those of a crow. 
"I have not," she exulted. "Not one drop of my blood 

in this war. My family don't believe in war. We " 

**Fve always noticed," I cut in, "that you conscientious 
njectors to war are damned careful to live and own prop- 
ty in a country that does believe in war." 
My cheeks burned, and I have an idea that I closely 
aembled a spitting wildcat. But I had listened to all 
that sort of talk I was going to swallow from Hildegarde 
ook and her "we villagers" ilk. 

"My dear !" she exclaimed, and I saw that my one poor 
tie cuss word had shocked her. "I had no idea that you 
It 80 — so keenly about — about the matter. If I had, of 

"Well, I do feel keenly about this war. I feel keenly 
itii every drop of blood in my body. There's no use 
Bcuasing it. You were ^)eaking of your work. If you'd 

» publicity work " 

"Publicity wofk? I'd be only too glad to, but they say 
re DO training." 

No training 1 A woman who had written a half-score of 
ipular novels, a number of short stories, and a multitude 
articles ! — no training ! 

"But did they know who you are? Did you give your 
tme?" I adrad — the idea that this woman did not have 
ffident training as a writer to do publicity work seemed 
o height of absurdity. 

She shook h» bead. She had tried evoy organizatioD, 
e assured me. At the be^nninc of boetilities she mtg^t 
Lve gotten a poeitioa in WaafainKtoa City, but the aalaiy 
Bmed too analL Now Ae regretted having refused that 
if she had only known thai the war would last so fax^ 
at peopte would oootinDe to read ooij war 



^tat 




248 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

She was over her bead in debt, she told me. Every ] 
of property she possessed had been mortgaged up ta 
hilt. If the war continued she would be on the street, 
out even a roof to cover her. What must she do ? 

Yet when I told her what I was doing I saw the suri 
in har eyes change to contempt. It was all right ( 
through the tenements, even to live in them, for the 
of getting material. To live there for the sake of mal 
both ends meet, to make my Uving, or even to take m< 
for my work I That was another matter — put me q 
beyond the pale of her respect. 

When I assured her that, beginning at one dollar a 
I had worked my way up to ninety dollars a month, I 
that the last amomit sounded good to her. And I also 
that even as the salary offered by the government had 
been large enough to get her to work for her country, 
dollars was not sufficient to cause her to foi^et her "i 
tion" as a novelist. It was a case of debt rather I 
dishonor. 

Suddenly she discovered a reason to take a hurried 
parture. I felt no inclination to detain her. While 
ing my way from a dollar a day to ninety the month I 
learned 

"I am the master of my fate, 
I am the captain of my soul. 

The chiefest of many reasons why tenement-dm 
appeared happily content during the war were: First, 
who had sons, brothers, husbands, uncles, sweetlieart 
cousins to the remotest degree in the service felt that 
were doing their duty, a proud duty, to their com 
second, workers were receiving a living wage, a vast 
jority living decently for the first time in their lives; 1 
they believed, they sincerely believed, that they van- 
ing to "make the world safe for democracy. 




ccHrnnced that the United States had estend 

their soos acnxB the Atlantic "that gOT«m- 

peaf4^ by the pe<^, for the people shall 

the earth." The^ believed it as they b»- 

befiered in th«r own existcaecs. 

who had fxxne to the countzy as 

that Ameiiea had actually becooM the 

ft wuiae d Land of their dieam& For hadn't 

to see thev own sons man-h down Fif th Aveaos 

to AouMer with the sous ol money kings? Didnt 

~ iters, on cocoing borne nights, t«U of the dau^tar 

money king woridng in the same room, acto- 

txdexs tnax ho-? 

had lived to see the stigma tak«i oCF woriu A 

was a human eouI, r^aiUless of the "guinea's 

nv was won they believed that condition wouM 
lat the S008 and daughters of the rich and 
. would continue to work eboutder to shotikier with 
They bciiered that the dowof^ of German im- 
I meant an end to human coot\ism in the United 
• gOTemment of the [leople, by the people, for th« 

many times did I see the light that nev«- was on 

]Biid shining in the eyes of a tenonent mother as 

me of her scm sleeping under the popines in 

I't as if he didn't hare to go souw time. We all 

he would tell me, with swimming eyes as her work- 
fingers twisted her gingham apron. "He couldn't 

le a better wsy — for Ms country. He said that 
when he was leavin'. 'Mother,' he sa>'s to roe the 

he was home from camp, 'mother, I wants you to 
that you won't grieve none if — if I goes West. We 
to go some time, and a fellow couldn't go a better 



I 



250 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRti 

way than for his country, I wants you to promise 
mother.'" 

I believe two of the happieet persons I ever nxet w& 
old Jew and his wife. Going through a tenement, a dece 
kept housCj I was directed by the janitor to a flat, 
floor front, east, as containing the only dog in her h 
without a license. A tousle-haired woman with a ( 
face and grouch opened the door. 

"Naw, I ain't got no dog," she said, and she tria 
shut the door in my face. Being warned by the jai 
had put the toe of my shoe in. 

"What do you call that behind you? — a horse?" I 
as a yellow-and-white mutt, almost as ill conditiono 
the woman, jumped down from the bed in the alcova 
stood at her heels. 

"Git out from here," she railed at the dog as she a! 
a kick at it with a foot incased in an unlaced run-down I 
without a stocking, "'Tain't mine, I wouldn't teB 
no lie. I'm too much of a lady to lie about a dog 
belongs to my son; he brought the mutt home i 
camp before they aent 'im away. I'm just keeping it 
'im." 

"Is your son in France?" I asked, for at that time 
ing a soldier in the family was the touch that made 
whole world kin. 

She shook her head. "They've sent 'im to sn 
trainin'-camp down South." Then recognizing the 
of sympathy in my voice, she threw open the door 
invited me in. 

It was the dirtiest flat in a decently kept tenement-! 
that I had ever entered. There was plenty of substl 
furniture — chairs, a round oak dining-table, a good 
table, and an abundance of cooking utensils and crod 
Dirt ! The floor was strewn with newspapers, 
bread, potato-peel, dirt, and more dirt. 





FAITH OP jungi;e-mothers 



251 



;ems like they oughtn't to make me pay license for 
>n's dog an' him a soldier?" 

hat's a nice dining-table," I parried, for in spite of 
[irt if her son was her sole support I was willing to 
ter time to take out a dog license, 
ing Irish, at the mention of her table she began to 
„ That was not to be compared to the one in her 
room. The furniture in her front room was some- 
; grand. All the furniture in her flat was of the best, 
lever having been a believer in "cheap John stuflf." 
I like to show me her front room if it wasn't that 
I, her husband, was such a one for throwing things 
id. 

1 my asking if her soldier son were her only child, I 
ed that she had one other living, a boy of twelve, 
husband "worked for the city," got thirty dollars a 
. But what was that to support a family on. Seemed 
I rich city like New York oughter be able to pay better 
8. Also it seemed like the government oughter pay 
I to the family of soldiers, to make up for taking them 
r. Her son, besides making good money as a plumber, 
"in politics" for weeks before and during elections; he 

I than doubled his wages by working evenings. 

I I was taking my leave she had the grace to apologize 
ler "things bein' strewed around." She used to take 
lure in her Bat, she assured me, but now that the 
e had run down so there was no use wearing herself 
Tying to keep things up. 

Vhat caused the house to go down so?" I inquired, 
ling around the well-swept hall and stairs. 
■ewB," she rephed, indicating the flat above her own. 
one let the janitor know what I think of her, takin' 
 Jews in the house with decent Christians." 
cause of Eleanor I have a soft spot in my heart for 
Eleanor was my desk-mate during my first Wq 



L 



252 FOUR YEAB3 IN THE CKDERBBI^H 

yean in the hi^ achot^ 9ie was a few years dda tfai 
I, todeed I looked upoo ber as quite a yotmg lady; bvt^ 
thought thai, and I never hare changed my mind, that* 
was one d the loveliest and moet beautiful ^ris I b 
ever known. So one could object to inring in the ha 
with Eleanor. 

Once when living in a New Toxk hotel I had aeoi tlM 
peretms, umuistakablj gentle people, turned awaj 
there were no rooms. After they l^t, the room-fjeik 
in^y remarked on the gall of "such people," thinking thcg 
dip in, when tbey knew that hotel never took Jews. Th 
Sea Foam, I was told by the head waiter, would let em] 
room stand empty before taking in Jews. 

Recalling all this I determined to see the Jew whM 
canning had caused this t«iement-bouse to deteriorate n 
hopelessly that a dirty-faced Irishwoman should lose besrt 
and ambition. Though the janitor bad told me that tfat 
dog on the third 6oor had a license, I climbed the stairs. 

The man who opened the door might have stepped bun 
the pages of an old illustrated Bible. He was small, oti^ 
and slightly bent. He had a long gray beard, wore a blad 
akull-cap, and heavy horn-rimmed spectacles rested on tk 
bridge of his long hooked nose. The dressing-gown wUih 
he wore over his coat had a purple lining. 

On learning my business he invited me in — oh, I miot 
come in and see their dog, their grandson's dog. The flit 
contained three rooms, an alcove, and a tiny hall. In 
front room, at the end of the tiny hall, I found the old 
mate, and like him she might have stepped fresh from 
p^es of an ancient Bible. 

She also wore her dressing-gown, more gaudily cdoni 
than her husband's, over her clothes. It was a chilly day. 
and unlike the Irishwoman, who had a coal-fire roaring 
in her stove, they had no heat excepting the sun shioiiil 
in at their two front windows. 



rheflit 
IntU 
jnun 
om tifl 



ibouthdfiMtfliqfci 
t un 1 ip f iM J i t m 



OTish hcB^ I rim- i 1^ I ^ 




k a»te% 



S«M. 



■»«) 



»«»l* 




mustitaj. 
It was for fliev | 

■ome so opimttBi 

ao^ on tibEV bosK. Sailr I ^tv^^t I 

hem in ckiidnK to Ae kikk if tkr^M^ 
aa soltfiers 

TbenHalt 
ioD. Tbfyhi 
D«Dt th&t tfaev ] 
B'es, he had been 

Thenthesc 

^be fear, that uogud Ukm* ands. It vss aoK tir Iwcs 
Uiey pushed it asde^ It wm for Us eoimtiT-, "liwiif 

While apping their grape-jvioe and divi^( Hiy ns^ 
Bake with the black-and-^an dag, the emM» for ny nM^ 
I learned kut by bit that this grandson was all tlifx lud' 
Ever since the aecidait throoi^ wluch the oM uutu Kit4 IIm 
sight of one eye this young man had been practiraUy Um^ 
Bole support. 

On my suggesting that tbey must nws hi:i «''*IM^ bolK 
tntsband and wife quickly dissented. No, tboy had tb« 
gDvermnent's allotment. Besides, — thi' old woman Rlaniwi 
■t the alcove in which I saw a narrow bed piUxl hifih with 
feather mattresses and pillows, — she kopt a btvmlor. Ywi, 
it was her grandson's room, and the boanler was her grand" 
ion's friend— a good young man, though not strong and 
handsome like the soldier who had been citoti for bravery. 

Unwillingly they admitted that iiwrv biul Imhui a tlmv, 
just at first, when Uncle Sara was not so pmnipt u they 
had hoped he would be. Their allotiueut waa Vote. Yw^ 



254 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

it was more than a month, but what could you expect 11 
so many soldiers on the* pay-roll ! The old grandmoi 
had applied to the Red Cross. Since then they had I 
no trouble. I 

That was the key to the situation in the tenements a 
ing the war — the Red Cross. But for the Red Cross fl 
lions might have suffered, and perhaps thousands actia 
starved. While Uncle Sam was occupied with gettind 
Bghting machine ready for action, the Red Cross stea 
into the breach and saw to it that the families of his fij 
ing men did not suffer. | 

A dozen times a day, during the war and after peace 1 
declared, I entered homes that had been kept togethaj 
the Red Cross. It is the one philanthropic organizaJj 
against which I heard no complaint, not one. 

Strange as it may seem, the one human being agal 
whom I never heard a word of censure was President Wil( 
In spite of the abuse heaped on him by the newspapers, jj 
the continued faultfinding of their richer fellow citizen 
never heard a tenement woman mention President Wllfllj 
name, or refer to him, except in praise and gratitude, j 
pictures in the tenements were almost as numerous as tl 
 of the Virgin Mary. ' 

To the tenement woman Pre^dent Wilson was the ll 
who won the war, brought their sons back home, I 
stood for a continuation of Democratic conditions as es 
ing during the war. Hundreds of tenement women | 
me three reasons why they wished Mr. McAdoo in ' 
White House. 

The first was always because he was the Prmda 
son-in-law — as Mr. Wilson couldn't have a third term i 
thought "they" ought to send his daughter's hi 
Their two other reasons were: he had started the i 
wages, and had been the meajas of lowering the ] 
coal. 



FAITH OF JUNGLE-MOTHERS 



255 



'ter the nominations, when my talk with tenement 

len turned to politics, I used to ask for an opinion of 

nominees. Speaking of the man chosen by the Demo- 

i they would reply: 

Seems like they mightVe done better'n get a man 

^d divorced the motiier of his children. Don't look 

k to me." 

)litical parties, take notice I The tenement woman has 

te. 



258 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

service department — every one of them the children 
foreign parents — both parents. In only three cases 
parents could not be classed as paupers. 

Those three — one was a Finn, a printer; his wife died 
he was ill with flu. So soon as he got on his feet he 
his baby and offered to pay for what had been done fw 
The second was an Italian bootblack, father of five 
dren, whose wife died in Bellevue. He not only 
assumed the responsibility of his children as soon as 
were able to leave the hospital, but politely declined 
financial assistance and advice from the social 
department. 

In the third case the father was a Spaniard and tk 
mother an Italian. Their flat was practically stripped d 
every piece of salable furniture before they could be itt- 
duced to allow themselves or any one of their children t» 
be token to Bellevue. On my first visit not one of them 
had a change of clothes. There was one bed, and two mat- 
tresses on the floor. Two ragged sheets, spotlessly cleaOi 
were all they had in the way of covers, though it was then 
the middle of a cold winter. There was a table, two chairs, 
a wood-stove, and about a half-dozen pieces of crockery— 
every one of these articles was broken. The pot and sauce- 
pan, though old, were whole. 

The committee allowed me twenty-five dollars to spend 
for that family. Every penny of it went for housdiold 
furnishings. Later, when I got my fingers on a few eitT» 
dollars, I called at the flat and offered to spend it for 
clothing. Courteously but firmly the mother told me that 
her husband had said they had taken enough; she must 
not accept any more help. 

The parents of every one of those one himdred and thirty 
seven children were defective, either mentally or phyac^J 
sometimes both. Even in the three non-pauper famtUtt^ 
the bootblack was a ciip'pVe, th,e Fum tubercular, and tlB 




A PEST-HOUSE? 



taiian wife of the Spaniard had had both breasts removed 
ecause of cancer. 

I did not record the histories of those cases because they 
rtse in any way unusual. They are a fair sample of the 
ases given to any and every social worker on the staff of a 
lospital where the patients come from the slums of New 
fork City. Of all the cases I investigated — ^nearly three 
nmdred — as a social worker, there was not one child of 
American parentage — all of them the children of immi- 
?snts. 

For thirty days during the summer of 1920 I kept a 
word of the nationality of the families on whom I called 
D the capacity of license inspector. Of the one thousand 
ad six families talked with, eighteen had both parents 
imerican. In twenty-one, one parent was American, 

Be it understood that when a family claimed to be Irish- 
Lmerican I rated them as Irish. There were a lot of such 
!um in my district. To my way of thinking the propa- 
anda carried on by such individuals is much more danger- 
us to American institutions and ideals than that spouted 
y the few I met who claimed to be Bolsheviki. 
Some of the most dangerous persons met during my four 
ears in the underbrush, to American ideals and institutions, 
ad entered the country after the declaration of peace, 
our of them were prostitutes of that class known as street- 
alkers, for the time being or until, as they expressed it: 
"I meek von reech haul." 

The fifth, having already made a rich haul, chanced to 
e visiting her pals when I called. All of these women 
ere attractive to look at, all claimed to have come to this 
wmtry to join relatives, and all were preaching the down- 
11 of constitutional government. They were here to get 
oaey, and they didn't care how they got it. 
They all belonged to one of the oppressed peoples of the 
rth. They were all Poles, or claimed to be. 



260 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 



But I do not blame the immigraDtB, neither for _. 

nor for what they do after they get here. The preaent ecl 
dition of the country is the fault of persons like mys# 
Americans born and bred, the descendants of the men n 
women who planted our colonies, fought and won tfa 
Revolution, and founded our government. 

Proud in our own conceit, we have allowed the contti 
of the country, handed over to our keeping by our fatha 
to slip out of our hands. Like a pack of second-rate shq 
keepers we have lost all initiative, and assimiing an a 
of lofty indifference, pretend to be unconscious that U 
parvenu establishment across the street has taken all tl 
trade that used to belong to us. 

Why, there waa a time when we got so exclusive, tl 
whole pack of us, that we boasted: 

"No gentleman will go into politics — such lowassoclatea. 

Then Theodore Roosevelt came. Being President of Uu 
United States became almost as aristocratic as tooUng i 
coach or breeding dogs. And in a government of tltt 
people, by the people, for the people. To see the result (^ 
that un-American snobbishness one needs only to read i 
list of the men holding the highest political offices in out 
largest cities, , 

The descendants of the men and women who settled Ufu 
country and foimded the government are as scarce as heu/] 
teeth. J 

It is also the fault of us original Americans that iTnm 
grants have not become Americanized more rapidly. Ha 
could any one, you or I, become familiar with the ideals ai 
aims of a, Bedouin Arab if we had never come In speakii 
distance with a Bedouin Arab, could neither speak n 
read his language, and only caught a glimpse of him caret 
ing by on his camel ? 

Take the residential districts of New York City, for I 
stance. As soon as an, immigcwit ■m.oveK in, what ia knoi 



A PEST-HOUSE? 



261 I 



bs "fashion" moves out. It is that habit of running hot- 
ooted from the immigrant that was the beginning of New 
fork slums. And not alone in New York, it's all over the 
Kiuntry. 

In the small city in which I am now writing, the most 
keautiful, the best-drained, and healthiest section is being 
leaerted. Wonderful homes with orange and grape-fruit 
^rees in full bearing are being given up, their owners moving 
io a newly settled and less desirable quarter. All because 
af "the Latins" — Cubans, Spaniards, French, and Italians. 
"But what is the matter with the Latins?" I asked a 
woman who had complained to me that her husband had 
rrfused to break up his home and move to Hyde Park. 

"Oh, they're disgusting," she assured me, her face as 
Expressive as her words. "The women do all their own 
housework, and they have so many children." 

Two great crimes— ^Joing housework and having children. 
Small wonder that the mother of George Washington lay 
Idt & hundred years in an unmarked grave before any one 
«7er thought it worth while to write her life. She not only 
1>ore and brought up a houseful of sons and daughters, but 
she did housework — she ground and stuffed sausages for 
family consumption, and she wore an apron. 

When told by a pompous courier that His Excellency the 
C(Hnmander-in-Chief of the American and French Armies 
was on his way to pay her a visit, she replied : 

"Tell George I'll be glad to see him. Sukie, go bring 
me a clean apron." 

Now we've gotten so snobbish, we the descendants of 
that sturdy old stock, that the sight of a woman next door 
wearing an apron makes us nm away. Having run as far 
>8 posBible, we turn around and find fault with that woman 
and her children for not imbibing American ideals. 

It is our fault that in our country the iromigration ques- 
tion has developed into an emergency — if from an asylum. 



262 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

for the oppressed peoples of the earth the United States fau 
become a pest-house. 

After stating that I con^der stopping immigration at 
least for a tenn of years an urgent necessity to the hetdA 
of our country, it may seem useless to answer the second 
the two questions propounded at the beginning of 
chapter. But I would like to write briefly of a few of 
nationalities with whom I came in close contact during 
four years in the underbrush. 

Jews and Italians are verj* attractive when met in 
homes. Among my fellow workers I often heard J( 
spoken of as "dirty Tykes." Now I never succeeded in 
learning just what "Tyke" means. I never found any 
who was sure about the spelling of the word. They won! 
assure me that it meant a Jew, but why a Jew they coid 
give no explanation. 

So far as my observation went, the Jews of the 
are not a dirty people, far from it. Some of the cleaneil 
best-kept homes that I entered were those of Jews — Genu 
Jews, Russian Jews, Polish Jews, and Jews the country rf 
whose birth I never learned. 

Never, in all my four years, did I receive a rude wrai 
not even a rude glance, from a Jew. I never beard a Jewii 
man speak roughly to a woman or a child. 1 never had 
Jew lie to me about having a dog, or claim a license «b 
be had none. 

In my work I met many Jews, some mere children, w1 
seemed to me marvels of quick, straight thinking. At finll 
this was a source of surprise— persons so humbly placediJ 
having had so few advantages, could think and decide  
wisely. I 

As a rule they met a crisis bravely, and I never knew oM 
to flop over, a spineless, helpless, human jelly-fish. Tba 
is the supreme difference between the Jew and the oUn 
nationalities met in the tenements. For months that diffn 



A PEST-HOUSE? 263 

e ehiefest of my puzzles — why did the Jew 
■ays come up with his wits about him? 
)uring the influenza epidemic I saw the remaning rem- 
it of many families, on learning their condition, lose the 
rer to think or plan for a future— fathers, with a lapful 
?ouiig children, would become as helpless as the youngest 
Iheir brood, an older child left with one or more younger 
ers or brothers. Even when they returned to work and 
re earning the money that supported their dependents, 
y needed and begged for the counsel and advice of the 
iai worker. 

t was never so with a Jew. Being a Jew means know- 
how and attending to his own affairs. That is the way 
line to look at it. And after months of observation and 
[■h thinking I found what I still believe to be the reason 
that supreme difference. 

he Jew has always thought for himself, acted for him- 
, depended on himself. So far as I could learn there is 
sock a Jew is forbidden to read, there is no thought he 
r not entertain. He has no one on whom to cast his 
Jens, he can gain absohition for his sins from no source, i 
ether he wins or loses is up to him, to his own chax- 
sT. He stands face to face with his God. 
he Italians — my other favorite tenementrdwellers, for I 
line sincerely fond of many of them — are a laughter- 
ng, destructive race. Many of them are far from neat 
3ming from the slums of their own country and landing 
he slums of New York, their standard of living is low. 
een in their homes, among their family, they are charm- 
They meet their visitors on that visitor's ground, 
wever gruff was my reception, once I spoke, explained 
visit, my reception was invariably cordial. However 
y and disordered her flat, however many children might 
lolding her skirts or squirming over the floor, the Italian 
oan would always insist on my coming in. 



264 FOUR YE.\IIS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

Even though she could not speak a word of American, 
would throw open her door and try, bowing and waving, 
induce me to enter. Often I did enter, waiting for some 
a neighbor or a child, to act as interpreter. To prev( 
time from hanging heavy on my hands she would show 
her family album, birth, marrii^e, or death certificates, 
some other such treasures. 

Unfortunately, the Italians as met in the tenements hi 
too many mental or physical defects. I cannot recall 
talking with an Italian woman who did not mention i 
relative iu some philanthropic institution. Having all 
been poor, they struggle out of poverty as they can; 
when they do not succeed they accept their conditi 
gracefully. 

To the Italian, poverty does not possess a sting. I belil 
it stings a Jew — being poor. 

During the congestion in the tenements I got my 
views of the national characteristics of the various peop 
among whom I worked. Though a horribly imcomfoi 
able period for the tenement-dweller, it was intcnsdy 
teresting to me. It was as though after hearing a pie« 
music correctly played you again listened to it with 
pedals down. 



h chapter xxi 

Hdrcing the goose to lay more dollabs 

'Twt:l\-e persons and two dogs living in three small 
ims, and one of those a dark kitchen. How packed with 
md^humanity and sound I" That is, provided greed 
an inalienable attribute of humanity. 
It was greed, and greed alone, that forced those twelve 
raons and two dogs to live in such well-nigh insupport- 
le conditions. The story as told me was like this: 
ki the time that Congress declared that a state of war 
irted between this country and Germany, Mr. and Mrs. 
rUiur Bruno, both American bom, and their four chil- 
en, lived in the flat in wiiich I afterward foimd them. At 
It time their flat consisted of a dark kitchen, a front room 
tfa two windows looking on Second Avenue, and two 
Qight bedrooms, each with a window looking on a by- 
JTte^ court no wider than a well. 

Due of these twilight bedrooms was occupied by Mr. 
i Mrs. Bnmo, the other by their grown daughter and 
 schoolgirl sister. The two sons, one at work and the 
ler at school, slept on a couch-bed in the front room. 
'We was thinking about getting a flat with more room," 
■s. Bruno explained to me. "Both my boy and girl was 
king good wages. When I told them Fd found a place, 
y both told me they was thinking of marryin'. No use 
rrin' and bavin' an extra room on your hands when your 
r and girl marry." 

3oth did marry and both young husbands enlisted. Aa 
lonsequence when they were called to camp both young 
rcB came to Uve with Mr. and Mrs. Bruno. In time 
|2i Toung wives gave birth to a baby, 

I went well until the owner of the flat-house deter- 
205 



266 FOUR YE.\RS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

mined to get higher rents. Five dollars a month was 
raise charged the Bruno family. Though the old 
grumbled he paid the raise. 

Two months later he received notice of a ten-dollar-* 
month raise — the cost of living was so high, the owner a* 
plained, that she had to have more money. A few month! 
more and yet another raise. This notice was served jiiil 
after the birth of one baby and before the birth of tM 
other. With one young woman just home from the I 
pital and the other expecting to go any day, the family 
in no condition to move. 

With Mr. Bruno the only worker in the family, for thi 
allotment due each of the young wives had not been pai^ 
ten dollars more rent meant starvation. The two childrt( 
boy and girl, were taken out of school and put to 
Then- wages made up the needed ten dollars a month 
gave something over to meet the rise in the cost oS all 
necessities of life. 

Shortly after the birth of the second baby the teoi 
owner made a tour of inspection, looked over her pro] 
As described by the occupants of her tenement she wi 
lai^e, "fleshy" lady. All agreed that her clothes, 
diamonds, and automobile were "grand." As an addiUm 
evidence of her grandeur, besides her chauffeur there W 
seated another grown man in uniform, whose only dut^,! 
far as the women and children living in her tenement ocnil 
understand, was to hop out when the automobile atapffi 
and hold open the door. 

When collecting the next rent the agent of this propert 
owner informed each tenement that at a certain time n 
house was to be repaired and the flats made over. 8 
flats were to be made on each floor where before there fal 
been four. Each flat was to be sharer of one dark rooB 
so that the new flats were to contain two rooms eacfat' 
kitchen and bedroom. 



FORCING THE GOOSE 



267 



On being questioned the agent declared that he had not 
en told anything about rent. But the tenants, convinced 
tat by giving up a room they would lower their rent, buB- 
itted to the alterations. 

When rent-day came the same anaount was required of 
ten. Thojfe who objected were made to leave. Mrs. 
Inino, before expressing her indignation, went out to find 

flat into which to move her family. She told me that 
ite looked for two weeks, paid car-fare, and ahnost wore a 
BIT of good shoes out without finding anything better, or 
igood. 

"Father got an offer of night-work — it wasn't easy for 
tn, beginnin' at his age — but the pay was better, and him 
i^in' days give us more room nights," she said. Then 
til a shake of the head she added: "We thought rents bad 
We as high as they could go, secin' that folks had begun 

kick f^ut *em, Jesus ! Less than three months the 
)Bnt comes round again and ser^'es another notice of a 
ise — we had to pay more'n double for these three rooms 
^ we'd paid for four when we moved in," 
'A few days after this raise in rent Lucretia, the daughter, 
Sued that her husband had been killed somewhere in 
iBDce. Work being plentiful she got a night job — ^pay 
'''■ hctter and it left more room in the beds at night for 
iif the family employed during the day. 

: II.' cost of living continuing to soar, the son's wife got 
job to supplement the government allotment. Because 

the higher pay she too took night-work. Within a short 
Tie she was back in the hospital, both she and her baby 
The doctor forbade her working at night. Urged 
r- mother. Lucretia also got a day job. 
.\t the end of the war the son came back, and Mrs. 
runo once more started out to look for a flat, a home for 
IT son aad his family. Until such a home was found it 




268 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

night-work. Just when the old woman gave up her 
for a flat as a useless waste of time, her son's "buddie 
came sailing into New York harbor with his French wif< 
BOon to become a mother. 

With true Italian hospitality young Bruno not ori 
brought his "buddie" and his French wife home, but ii 
eluded their dog. The young Frenchwoman went I 
Bellevue, her husband found work, and Mrs. Bruno a 
out to find them a living place, anything in the way of 
roof-tree from a cellar to a garret. 

When I last called on the Bruno dog the hunt for a flat, 
a room, a cellar, was still being made. While Mrs. BruDU 
was doing her best to find a vacancy she told me thll^ 
because of the money she would be sorry to have "buddie* 
and his little family go. 

"It's the rent," she told me. "Everj'body's woridn* 
exceptin' me and Marie, She hasn't been out the hospiul 
long, and there's her baby to feed. All gets good wi 
Why, my youngest girl gets twenty a week. I'm as 
ful as I knows how, but the rent — - She's chargin' us f( 
times as much for these three rooms as we used to pay 
four." 

Any one who believes that tender-heartedness meaaf 
woman, or that all women are tender of heart and cri> 
science, had best never investigate the ownership of tew' 
ment-house property in the slums of New York City. Thd 
filthiest, most dilapidated tenement-houses I entered wtrt 
the property of a woman, a human slug who, from tlw cradll 
to the grave, never did anything more than dress aol 
eat. 

"I don't know whnt ^his city's coming to," she onceMJi 
to me as she waved an opened letter. "Here's the HeaM 
Department ordering me to put toilets in my houses, Whj 
I scarcely get enough to live on from those houses as it is. 

'You Uve at an expensive hotel and dress rather 



FORCING THE GOOSE 269 

■UBvely," I suggested. "If, when you go off this 
ttnm'er " 

I won't do anything of the sort. Why should I sacri- 
ce myself to provide a lot of filthy foreigners with lux- 
Besides, they don't want them," she asserted posi- 
Svely. "They've never been accustomed to such con- 
■eniences; they'd as soon go in the yard." 

Ever ask them?" I inquired. She was old enough to 
» my grandmother, so I didn't wish to hurt her feelings, 
iough I did long to get her to look at the matter from the 
ienant's point of view. "How long since you've gone 
irough those houses, seen the condition with your own 
gros? How long?" 

Not since mother's death. We used to live in the front 
house, you know. East Third Street was fashionable then." 
Bhe gave a list of neighbors and friends who had owned 
homes within a few blocks of her property, most of them 
names prominent in the history of the city. "Mother and 
I used to Uve on those houses, had money to do as we 
pleased. Now they order me to put in toilets. I'll do no 
BQch thing — unless they force me to." 

She was forced to. After getting estimates from several 
contractors she finally got a bid which she considered 
"reasonable." Acting against the advice of her renting- 
agent, she accepted this bid. The man did the work, she 
paid his bill, and a few weeks later was notified that all the 
toilets had dropped through the floor. One of them in 
falling struck one of the tenants, who threatened a suit for 
damages. 

That is the first cause of the slums of New York City — 
iMperty-owners like that woman. 

In my district as inspector of dog licenses I met with one 
^esment-owner who did not increase his rent during the 
sousing crisis in New York. He owned ten or more houses 
■f six or ten flats each in the lower part of my district, and 



270 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

between First Avenue and the river. They were so mv 
better kept than the property surrounding them thai I 
instant I put my foot in the door I recognized them 
belonging to this man. 

The last time I called on the dogs in those houses I « 
assured by the janitor and the tenants that they had n 
had a raise in rent for more than ten years. In several 
this man's houses tenants and janitors told me there hadl 
been a change in more than twenty years. One jam't 
who had cared for one of his houses for thirty yean bi 
she hadn't had as many as a dozen new tenants in all tli 
time. 

Though I tried several times to see this house-owns 
the sake of asking him how he managed to make mnu 
when every other real-estate owner was piling on rent, 
never got any nearer him than his sister, who lives wi 
him. This woman assured me that her brother did mi 
his tenement property pay, pay well. 

Her brother had found, s)ie told me, that keeping I 
houses in good repair, and under the care of a courteOB 
clean janitor, insured his keeping respectable tenants. I 
respectable, she explained, her brother meant persons ■) 
held down their jobs, paid their rent promptly, and did n 
make a business of destrojdng the property. He took 
any nationality so long as they were the right sort of p( 

SODS. 

The enormous increase of crime, the so-called "crilD 
wave," was brought about by congestion in the tenemai 
districts more than by any other one cause. Children s 
young people, being forced out of their homes by ow 
crowding, spent their evenings on the streets, or in « 
public place open to an empty pocketbook. 

It was impossible for parents to keep track of their cl 
dren, boys or girls, once the child got large enough to 
around alone. Often this was a relief to the mother of I 




FORCING THE GOOSE 



271. 



lunily. especially when her brood did not get on harmoai- 
Kisly. 

"I'm glad to see 'em go," one tenement mother confided 
«me. "Yet I can't tell youse how anxious I am until I 
fit* 'em back. There ain't no room for 'em here, sorappin' 
Md all but fightin' like they does; but once they're out of 
By sight I dunno who'll git 'old of 'em, or whojo they'll 

In the upper part of my district I crossed the trail of at 
Net a dozen different bands of juvenile thieves. One hand , 
rhen it first came to my notice was made up of t wo girU, 
either of them fourteen years old, and both daughtont of 1 
?BI)ectable, hard-working parents. 
Thpse two children began by playing hooky from Hchool, 
iaibing fire-escapes, and taking »mall articW from flatfl 
here the windows hati been carelessly left unfattteiKMl. 
ifowing bolder, they would strip a flat and lug the p«iiitinit», 
^(littg, clothing, and small articles, acro«H the roufH tu 
different street, thence to a comer in a cellar which they j 
**J found temporarily unused. 

Both of these children were noticeably goml-tixiklilKi 
"1 the day I met them carefully and comfortably dnipwrd, 
- was in a tenement-hounc in which the janitor livint iii| 
'" Jnp floor. Bcmg a bit out of breath after ellriibing J 

(lights of steep stairs, I halted in the pawNnjptway ho- \ 

knocking at the door of the janitor's lliit. 

; I stood there the door leading to the roof opnmHl, 

uvo girlfi enteretl, each with a bundle wrapp^l lu n ' 
 ■r. The house was profoundly ([uiet, and limy wpro j 
pre than half-way down the Mtairs Iwfore lliey wiw nin. 
j"Our mother sent us to carry home tlii» wiwh," mm of | 
tem said to me. and she indicat.c<l th<« imui\\i\n. 
"Wb&t were ynu doing on the rottf!" I linked, rfiiire \»l** 
i by her explanation than I had liei'n by their ap)M>nmner<. 
) live on the top floor," (the reipUed, ivnd v»lUv».i\vt U\», I 



^feUv 



272 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

slightest hesitation. "It's easier than going down 
many etairs." 

"H'ml" the older girl sniffed. "Who likes to a 
bundles like these through the street ? Folks laugh at i 

Stepping aside I let them pass. Then as I watched the 
make that flight I called down to them: 

"Tell your mother next time not to make your bundk 
so heavy. Let you make two turns. Neither of you 
strong enough for that load." 

The janitor proved to be an old acquaintance — this be 
my third or fourth call on the dogs in her house. Shei 
a gossipy Italian woman, and since she last saw me nu 
things of importance to her had happened. She 
on my coming m and sitting down. 

After inspecting her new baby and admiring the [4 
tograph of her brother in an Italian uniform, among dC 
subjects I chanced to mention was the hope that she wo 
not allow her little girls to tote huge bundles of wash aei 
roofs. I then told of the two children who had passed 
in the hall. 

"Jesus !" she exclaimed excitedly, "They break 
Angelina's flat last week and stole all her fine clotb* 
Day before they break in a flat on the avenue and steal) 
man's watch." 

The story in a nutshell was that the two children ha4 
within six days, entered and robbed two flats. Whea 
saw them they were evidently escaping with plunder fn 
a third. 

"I tell my man," the janitor added, after giving 
details of the two robberies, "he must get my dog UooA 
My dog more use than the police. What the police do ft 
me? — way down on the street — my dog he stay 
When I go I tell him: 'You stay.' Nobody come in 
my dog's here." 

Later I heard o! ttieae \.^q ©s\ iQhbera at least a di 
times. According to \ateT te^oiX:^ "Ode^ \ia& uxs^ssJ^, 



FORCING THE GOOSE 



273 



^Pbnexed by, two young men. One report was to the 
Ettliat the parents of one of them had taken the matter 
with the police in the hope of finding their child and in- 
dng her to return home. 

h some of the best built and cared for tenement-houses 
that section of my district, there was not a door that had 
t been jimmied. Janitor and tenants agreed that most 
this was done by boys, scarcely more than children, 
ey also agreed that a dog was the best and only protec- 
a against these thieves. 

crossing the back yard on my way to a rear tenement in 
lower gas-house district, I once noticed a lot of writing 
a fence. It was in chalk, and had the appearance of 
ng freshly done. 

'Mary will go too" and "Seen you was" were two sen- 
ec6 that attracted my attention. 

Vhile waiting for my knock at the door of the rear tene- 
Qt to be answered, I saw a young man, a lad, saunter 
) the yard, read the writing, and then hurry out. As I 
! leaving, having seen the dog's license, another boy 
ntered in, read the writing, and hurried out. 
?he dc^-owner, on catching sight of the second boy as 
entered, drew back and out of his sight. When I asked 
an explanation, she assured me that the writing was 
work of a gang of young crooks. She said everybody 
,he two houses knew about their writing signals on that 
K, but dare not interfere. When I proposed to rub off 
writing, she became alarmed and implored me not to 
ch it, not to walk on that side of the yard, or show that 
iw it. 

lot being a very gullible woman, I set about questioning 
itors and dog-owners in that vicinity. According to 
98 persons that gang was only one of many infesting that 
Sion. Several of them told me that she was in hourly 
ad of learning that her own son or dau?jh.teT: ■waa^^afc-TOt- 
ofsuch a gang, and a criminal. Mwaya ^^Qjei "wai^ "^ms:- 



274 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"I can't keep track of 'em. We had to take a board 
in to help us pay rent. Evenin's there ain't room here 
us all to set down, much lees have company. Young fo 
must have company." 

The persons responsible for these conditions, the te 
menfc-owners, were ninety-nine out of every hundred we 
to-do if not hugely rich. Their claim that it was the h) 
cost of labor and materials that forced them to n 
in my district at least, was a lie. 

During the last nine months of my service as 
of dog licenses I made a point of asking in every 
house I entered, what repairs had been made during tl 
past six months. According to my diary I found ninet] 
two houses where painting or repairs had been made 
the expense of the landlord — ninety-two in the thoufAlid 
and tens of thousands, of tencment^houses in my district 

The vast majority of them not only made no repurs 
any sort, but they cut down expenses. One nice little liii 
was to discharge a janitor to whom they had been payi 
a few dollars above the rent of her cellar or basement fli 
After forcing her out or making her pay rent for her qi 
ters, the agent would pick out a tenant, usually one willl 
small family, and notify the woman that she was to do 
janitor's work, scrubbing, sweeping, and keeping track 
tenants, and her husband must do the repairs. For tl 
they would be allowed five or six dollars a month on 
rent. 

It was either do it or get out of the house. As there 
no flats to be had, the man and wife had to do as til^ 
were bid. 

In one case of this sort the price offered was mx ddlsi 
a month taken off the rent, and the husband, a plumbd 
was not only to do all repairs in the house, but 
furnish his own material. 




WOLVES AS SOCIAL LEADERS 

.USE I found social service work unsulted to my 
does not mean that I think such work unnecessary', 
It that I in any way disapprove of it. Quite the con- 
rary. While I deeply deplore the condition that makes 
Uch work necessary, the condition exists, and should be 
bet so long as it does exist. 

Social service workers are as necessary in the slums of 
!?ew York City as doctors and nurses in a pest-house. As 
i saw conditions, the social ser\'ice worker should always 
Je a graduate nurse, a mature woman of wide experience. 
iKten she has the duties and obligations of a physician 
ilirust on her. Now, I make the above statement because 
t my experience. 

' Had I been a graduate nurse I would have been very 
ftoch more valuable as a social service worker — thougi 
>erhaps not so keen an observer of conditions. The effi- 
lient social service worker has to accept certain conditions 
IB well-nigh unalterable. She is a human bemg — there is 
i limit to her streDgth, her power of endurance, her time, 
Lnd alao to the amount of money she has to spend. 

She must devote her mind as well as her time to the case 
n band. She cannot be running ofT at a tangent, untangling 
lie affairs of an entire tenement-house when her call is on 
me family— up in Harlem or under the Brooklyn Bridge 
ihere are always other sufferers awaiting her attention. 

As an instance, take the rear tenement on East Twenty- 
eventh Street, where I found the floor of the street^level 
lat rotted away, and a pool of slimy, filthy water. The 
lack boll, the floor of which still remained, oi al WaaV -^^a 



276 POUR YEAB3 IN THE CNT>ERBRT^H 

not entirely n>tt«d sway, had been used as a toilet-^ 
eiUy by persons paaeiiig aloog the streets. 

Entering that tenement, vhSe looldng for the janttot, 
found a baby, leas than tvo years old, playing in tb 
filth. Of course it had smeared it over itself- It m 
horrible. Unspeakable I 

A social service woifcer oonld have taken that baby I 
its mother and given her a lecture on hy^ene. I did 
stop at that — while standing by ha to see that she | 
the baby a proper scrubbing and dean dothes, I not c 
got the bistorj' of her and her family, but I held over 
head the threat of the Society for the Prevention of CnielQ 
to Children. Once the baby vas decently clean, I put tl 
mother on probation under the sur\'eiUance of the aei 
dog-owner in the house — there was no janitor. 

At noon I spent practically the whole of my luncb-bn 
tdi^ihoimig the Tenonent House Department and tl 
owner of the bouse. To both I described myself as 
writer, and t<^ them that unless they wished to see 
photograph <d that Btreetr4evel Sat, with a description < 
that baby as I had found it, in the Sunday papers, that fin 
must be fixed and the house cleaned up at once. 

As for that mother — I kept my hold on her for ma 
than a year. Xjooking back over my records I find tbst 
had, first and last, ei^teen mothers in my district on sad 
a probatioD. One was an Irishwoman living in a fildt 
tenement across from the morgue. She knocked a dd^ 
down in my presence — a Lttk emaciated boy of not ina 
than six >'ears. 

When I remcnstrated with her she told me that it vi 

her rhikl, and she wookl treat it as she chose. ViYisn 

start«>d fur a polkesnan she changed her mind — ^begaii i 

and shed crocodile tears while protesting her Ici 

Um ehiM. As loBg as I was working within wallcui 

I uaad to go onee a week to see that she lived 





WOLVES AS SOCUL LEADERS 



277 



her i^reement. At first I used to make her strip the 
y to make sure there were no bruises on his body. Later 
oiled once a month— never at the same hour nor on the 
me day of the week. 

One odd characteristic about those women, they always 
m to like me. Among my best friends in the tene- 
ents I number several women whom I, at one time or 
bther during my four years m the underbrush, threatened 
"leport to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to 
ijldren. That society, like the A. S. P. C. A., is known 
every dweller in the slums of the Greater City. 
Fhere were occasions when I did not stop at a threat. 
Pent to the nearest telephone and, calling up the society, 
(orted the case. In every instance my appeal was at^ 
ided to immediately, and handled to my satisfaction. 
« first time I had occasion to call on this organization 
S in behalf of four young girls, sisters. 
rh^ were as beautiful children as I have ever seen in 
I same family. It was because I remarked their surpris- 
E good loolts that the janitor of the house in which they 
ed, and in whose rooms I foimd them, begged my pro- 
!tion for them. 

Bhc, that janitor, was tubercular, and ready, dressed, and 
titing for the ambulance to come and take her to Belle- 
k Looking for dogs I called at her flat. On learning 
r condition I expressed my sympathy, then added : 
''Yet how (ortimate you arc to have four such lovely 
ni^ters." 

"I would to God they were mine," she replied, and both 
t vmce and the expression with which she looked at the 
Bdren attested her sincerity. "Mary, take the children 
to the kitchen. I wanter speak to the lady." 
Mary took the children into the kitchen, and the janitor 

Sheir story, 
father was a Swede and their TuaWiet kd. \ti.^- 



278 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

woman. About a year before I met with the children 
father, a skilled machlniat, had been killed in the shi 
where he worked. Because of this accident his wife 
ceived seventy-five dollars a month. 

According to the janitor's story, which was verified I 
three tenants in the house, every month as soon as tl 
woman received her cheek she went on a drunk. N 
satisfied with drinking, she would bring strange men to i 
flat — men as drunk and degraded as herself. On bu 
occasions the children had taken refuge with the janitflf. 

The night before my visit this woman had retuna 
after an absence of several days, with two men. Findi 
her eldest daughter, under thirteen years of age, in 
flat, she refused to allow her to leave, ordered her to spa 
the night with one of the drunken men. The child '^ 
escaped from the room in which her mother had locked 
with the drunken man by the fire-escape. 

"I'd die happy if I only knew somebody would !oc4 afl 
those little girls, see that they come' to no harm," I 
janitor added, after telling me their story. 

This was during my first summer working in the te 
ments. How hot the sun was that day! The can 
Twenty-third Street were not running, because of a hl« 
ade. I did not know that there were such long blocks 
New York as those between First and Fourth Avena 
seemed that day. 

The ambulance from BeUevue might come for that ji 
itor at any minute. With her gone those little girls wa 
be at the mercy of their drunken mother and her beMi 
companions. Those three blocks seemed miles long, 
the sun ! I was dripping with perspiration when I i 
the offices of the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 

It was Saturday and they were short-handed, the man 
chai^ explained, both of which facts I knew to be ti 
If it could go over until Monday or later in the day. Pla 



WOLVES AS SOCIAL LEADERS 



279 



t in front of his desk, I stuck to my point. It was 

, it must be attended to at once, 
used to do the best he could, and I left him try- 
late his workers, to send them to the address, 
(the tenement, the care were still standing motion- 
ttie middle of Twenty-third Street — I found that 
■dance had not arrived. That gave me an idea— 
BIppeBJ to Miss Wadley. 

Blot a case for a hospital social service, I knew that, 
Wzed that as a big stick the social service depart- 
Bellevue had cousiderable weight. Though I did 
P that it would be needed to make the Society for 
■Dtion of Cruelty to Cliildren function promptly, 
Rrmined to be on the safe side. I web not taking 
Kth those girls and their drunken mother. 
Itronder Miss Wadley was out. The worker in 
■the office, the only one who had not finished her 
F that day, consented to do all in her power. We 
er seen each other before, but she took my word for 
telephoned urging the children's society to prompt 

|i o'clock the wagon of the society stopped before 
3it» and two agents went in. There was no 
B to follow them. The ambulance from Bellevue 
, so the janitor was there to report condi- 



? the hideous features of that case was that the 
lat woman who had become no better than a 
rtonged to a respectable family — all of them, ex- 
her, persons of refinement and education, 
ler case that I reported to the children's society was 
a man who was breeding dogs in the presence of 
w As soon as I struck the block I was told about 
la Polack, who was "shaming" the neighborhood. 



280 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

begged me not to go near this man, or the houses of wh 
he was the janitor. 

I went and I met a dog whose eyes were on a level 
my own. It was with this huge animal that he had tcr 
ized the women and children on the block. When 
called the dog out he expected to see me beat a hasty 
treat. 

He did not know what I had learned about myself, 
rather about my clothes — they had become so permes 
with the scent of dogs that the animals alwaj-s siuffed 
over and then proceeded to treat me as a long-lost fric 
This tall black-and-white giant of a dog rubbed hia mia 
against my shoulder, then taking his seat at my side, sai 
gled his head under my hand. 

The man was impressed, but not sufficiently to cause h 
to change his mind. He had declared when I first eata 
his flat that he would not get a license for either of his tin 
dogs, and he dared me or anybody in New York to try 
make him. He was just one of the thousands and teas 
thousands of blustering immigrants of low mentality tl 
come into our coimtry every day. He was a huge bn 
himself and imagined he could cow everybody with iriM 
he came in contact. 

On finding the nearest telephone I reported him to 
children's society for indecency in the presence of cliil<iw 
Then I reported the filthy condition of his flat to the Heii 
Department, and on meeting a policeman farther along' 
block I told him of the whole performance. Having b 
a member of the Woman's Police Reserve about a yetfi 
had learned when to appeal to a brother cop. 

The next morning as I passed along that block it 
to me that everybody in sight wore a broad grin. 15 
enemy had been routed. The Health Department i 
him clean his fiat, an agent of the children's society 
him a visit, and the officer on that beat bad threatowd 



m 



WOLVES AS SOCIAL LEADERS 281 

3 him to court if ever be caught his dogs on the street 

iout a license tag and a muzzle. 

lie second largest dog in my district lived in a win©- 

sr on East Twenty-ninth Street. A pencil scrawl came 

ne complaining that a dog at that address had no license. 

s writer of the scrawl demanded to know why an honest 

Q like himself had to pay for a license while the crooks 

he cellar did not. Needless to say the honest man forgot 

ogn his name. 

it was late in the afternoon when I set out to investigate 

I wine-cellar. I had deciphered the name and number 

i was starting down the steps when, almost as if by 

\^, the pavement swarmed with gesticulating women 

i children. 

ka unusual feature of this writhing crowd was that no 

e made a sound. Not one word did they speak. But 

ey made it plain that I was not to go down to that cellar. 

"Why not?" I halted on the second step and demanded 

a woman near me. "Why not?" 

"Sieilians," she whispered, indicating the cellar. "Black 

Bid." And laying hold of my sleeve she tried to pull me 

ck. 

"I don't care a whoop," I told her. "I'm an American." 

id down the steps I went and into the wine-shop. 

Having entered every saloon in my district I literally did 

it care a whoop about a place in which only wine was 

Id. It proved to be larger than I had expected — wide, 

ep, and so dark that the faces of the men seated at the 

Itheet tables made me think of the flame of a lamp when 

m through a chimney black with smoke. 

So far as I could make out in one quick glance around 

«e were a number of small, round tables at each of which 

ire seated several men. All of these men appeared to be 

inking, and many of them playing some game. 



282 FOUR YEAKS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

demanded, as I came to a, halt about two feet within 1 
door. 

Pandemonium I My entrance had not been noti 
At the sound of my voice it seemed to me that every i 
in the cellar sprang to his feet. Several chairs were 01 
turned, and at least one table. In that moment I uM 
Btoctd why Italians are called guineas. Those men soun 
for all the world like a flock of guiueorhens when threati 
by a hawk. 

They swarmed about me gesticulating and potter-ract 
It was so much like a scene in an Italian opera that I foj 
to be afraid and became cross with them for appea 
so stagy. 

"Now, don't try to start any monkey black-hand b 
ness," I warned them crossly. "This is New York, I 
I'm in a hurry. Your dog's been complained about, ; 
I've got to see its hcense." 

"Oh, dogl" a voice at my elbow exclaimed, and d 
stepped from behind a curtain that I had not noUce 
person whom I still believe to be the handsomest womj 
have ever laid eyes on. 

In that underground half-light she was superb. Nl 
if not fully six feet tall, her figure reminded me of a 
fectly proportioned pine sapling^as graceful and as nab 
Her dress was of some black-gray filmy stuff that, fal 
in soft straight folds, accentuated her height and bid 
with the duskiness surrounding her. Her face was a '. 
oval, her slumbrous eyes were as soft as black velvet, 
nose slightly Roman, and her lips a delicately chia 
cupid's bow. 

She ordered the men to stand back, and with a wai 
her hand signalled to them to right the overturned I 
and chairs. Then drawing aside the dark curtain i 
behind which she had made her sudden appearance, 
called the dog. It came bounding out, a great black bl 
its head almost on a level with my shoulders. 



mM 




It was then I noticed for the firet time that I j 
I unusual attraction for dogs. This ferocious-looking 
kimal, in spite of the orders of its mistress, insisted on 
Iffing me over. This ceremony finished, to the surprise 

the woman and the men looking on, the dog rubbed 
Emnst me and tried to lick my hand. 
When I took my seat at a near-by table — the woman 
Iged me to have a glass of wine with her — the dog stretched 
self out beside me and rested its head on my knees. 
"You must be good to dogs," the most beautiful woman 

New York City told me, speaking with a soft lisping 
went, after she had tried in vain to coax the dog to re- 
im to its bed behind the curtain. "1 never saw Dante 
) like that with a stranger." 
"Named for your great poet?" I questioned, for the sake 

leading her thoughts into other channels. Though I 
id not at that time the remotest idea of what ailed the 
(g, I saw that its show of confidence pleased her and 
red the men. I had no intention of acknowledging my 
norance. 

"You read his poems!" she exclaimed, bending ea^rly 
ross the Uttle table. What wonderful eyes she had! 
;d teeth like evenly matched pearls. 
Had I been a social service worker I could not have 
ent so much time sipping indifferent red wine and chat- 
ring about Italian poetry even with the most beautiful 
Mnan I ever saw. With Mr. Horton it was all right^I 
duced the woman to license her dog. It would take a 
■ave, thrice brave social worker to report such an inci- 
mt to her committee. 

All social workers, so far as I was able to learn, are guided 
f a committee— the power behind the throne, or perhapa 
might say the ball and chain attached to the foot of every 
ttiaJ worker, 
fi^eourse no conmaittee intentionally renders null and 



284 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

void about fifty per cent of a worker's accompUEhmeiil 
Neither do I imagine that a ball and chain inteutionallf 
trips up a convict at every other step. A ball and dm 
is insensate metal, it cannot learn. The membera of (In 
average committee supervising philanthropic work in New 
York City differ from a ball and chain in that they (all 
not learn. 

They know nothing about "those people," yet they neva 
hesitate to advise the worker how to treat them, how muA 
money to spend for them, and where. In no case muft 
the spending of so much as a nickel be intrusted to "tboa 
people." That is one of the chief duties of a social worker, 
laying out the amount allowed by her committee on ead 
specified case. 

On one case I was allowed twenty-five dollars. Afti 
buying comfortables and several pieces of second-hain 
furniture there were a few dollars left over, less than five 
I consulted with an experienced worker — ^might I not ban 
the amount to the mother of the family ? 

"My dear!" she exclaimed, her tone and maoner i 
though I had suggested setting fire to the hospital. "Yo 
mustn't think of it. The committee would not like it 
Think how good they were to give you twenty-five doUai 
for one family." 

Not to give money is, I admit, an excellent general ml 
But how about the worker's judgment and knowledge ( 
conditions ? In this instance the family were gentle peep 
of good character. Besides the expense of maintanin 
eight children under fourteen, the father had paid for tw 
long and expensive attacks on his wife — she had had hot 
breasts removed because of cancer. Almost immediate^ 
after her second operation the family was stricken wit 
influenza. 

For the sake of spending those last few dollars judiciouaj 
I had to follow that educated, refined, and half-&i< 



WOLVES AS SOCIAL LEADERS 



285 



ound a shop — after she selected articles, cheap bits of 
ockery, knives and forks, I paid for them. There never 
OB a sheep-killing dog that felt sneakier than I did when 
e left that store. 

This is only one of many, many such instances that come 
I every social worker. What would have happened to 
y group of workers had we followed the advice of the 
nnmittee woman who wanted every man out of a job, or 
ho was working for low wages, sent to Hog Island, it is 
ifficult to imagine. ' 

At every meeting of that committee it was: "Why don't 
3U send him to Hog Island?" "Isn't that a case for Hog 
dand?" or "He should go to Hog Island. I'm reliably in- 
inned that they are offering a dollar an hour and can't 
!t enough men." I heard so much about Hog Island that 
used to be afraid I'd get to gnmting. 
The majority, if not all, of the men that particuJar com- 
ittee member wished shipped to Hog Island were the 
there of large famiUes; several the only surviving parent, 
trerybody who knows anything about social work in New 
ork City knows, or ought to know, that keeping a tene- 
ent father of a numerous family on his job is one of the 
liefest problems of all philanthropic workers. He is only 
o willing to drop out of sight, get a young wife, and leave 
8 old wife and her dozen or so children for the city to 
ipport. Ten to one such fathers are of the desirable citi- 
EDS who come to us via Ellis Island. 
What committee members refuse to loam is that "those 
xjple" are himian beings, with hearts and sensibilities, 
hey can love, and they can also hate, "even as you and I." 
Now to compare a sympathetic gentlewoman, the bearer 
a respectable name and the mistress of hundreds of 
lousands, perhaps millions, of dollars, to a thief, the robber 
' a poor-box, may seem an exaggeration. If so, it is in 
,vor of the robber of the poor-box. He gets a few pennies, 



286 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

a dime or so, and if caught is sent to prison as the i 
contemptible of thieves. 

She saves two or three or five hundred dollars annual 
directs how other persons' money is to be spent for 
needy, and gains the praise and respect of a circle m( 
extensive than her acquaintance. She neglects, forgeti 
call it what you will — her dues as a committee member. 

If she were to do such a thing in any club in New Y( 
City she would be dropped from the list of members. 
must pay her annual dues or get out. As a member a 
committee dispensing the funds of a philanthropy she 
pledged to pay a stipulated amount. That is the G 
condition on which she is selected. 

I made a point of cultivating the acquaintance of (K 
sons handling the funds of five leading philanthropic 
ganizations in New York City. All five of these perso 
assured me that if the members of their committees woii 
pay their dues their organization would never have a sha 
age of funds. One of these women told me that she 
tended to give up her position because she was sick 
working with such persons, devising ways and means 
making up the deficit when there should be no deficit. 

Yet these persons have the supreme effrontery to 
with a committee and dictate how money contributed 
the public for the sick and needy shall be spent. If th 
possessed unusual experience or a name of value in dra 
ing contributions they might be excused. So far as I coi 
learn not one of tliis class of human cooties possessed eld 
—just a colossal egoism and a contempt for "those peop] 
by means of whase misfortune they seek to climb to scM 
or professional prominence. 

Stealing from the poor of the slums of New York C 
means in the summer sick men and women and little bab 
shut in stifling flats, drawing into their system with evi 
breath the stenches of sweltering weather, their su£fea 



WOLVES AS SOCIAL LEADERS 2S7 

d dying far lack of ioe and f lesh air. In the winter it 

^ans the old, tJie sick, tJie hdj^ess starving and frwBQg 

death for lack of food and a handful of ooak. 

During the war when philanthropic assodatioDs w«« 

vpping up like mushiooms and hanging out ihesr ^gns at. 

ery street-ccnmer and in every vacant room, a means was 

und to protect the public and see to it that our %htjf^ 

en got what was intended for them. The men and 

omen who do not pay their dues as c(Hnmittee meoiba^ 

a philanthropic organisation have no right to a voice 

administering its funds. They are stealing from the poor 

id deceiving the public 



CHAPTER XXm 

LEADERS OF THE HERD 

It was a cold, bleak morning during the Novemba 
1920 that my work as inspector of dog licenses took me 
an old tenement-house on a cross street between Avi 
A and Exterior Street. On learning that the janitor lil 
two flights up, back, east, I climbed the stairs. 

The janitor's eight-year-old daughter was in chaj 
She was a polite little girl and reminded rae of a plant whi 
having struggled up in semidarkness, had gone to seed 
early. She thought her mother would be back soon, 
told me, and held the door open for me to enter. 11 
placing a chair near the cold kitchen-stove, she invited 
to sit down. 

On my eyes becoming accustomed to the duskiness I 
that there was something on the bed in a little closet 
room that opened into the kitchen over which the li 
girl was hovering. The child's anxiety was so evida 
urgent that I instinctively left my seat and hastened 
her assistance. 

The something on the bed was a fragile little scr^ 
humanity about a year and a half old. I am not a trail 
nurse, but even I could tell that the spark of life in 
frail body was fading rapidly away. Questioning the li 
girl I learned that she really did not know where her mot 
WKs. She had been left to mind the baby, and that 
all she knew. 

The filthy conditions of the flat of three small r« 
would have made me know without seeing the little 
that its occupants were either Irish or ItaUans. A gla 




LEADERS OF THE HERD 289 

ild assured me that they were Irish. Knowing the 
ting ^n. of that race, I jumped to the conclusion that 
lother had gone out and got dnmk. 
ere was no fire in the stove and no coal in the rusty 
ucket beside it. The little girl said neither she nor 
&by had had any breakfast. It was so evident that 
ftby was dying, that I had to do something. I rushed 
e door of the front flat on the same floor. 
3susl" cried the Italian woman who answered my 
E, as soon as I explained my errand. "Ain't she got 
yet?" 

s, the janitor had stopped at her door on her way 
more than an hour ago. She had said her baby was 
r, more quiet, had not fretted so much during the later 
of the night. She was on her way to the grocery to 
bucket of milk for the baby and a Uttle something 
3r own and her daughter's breakfast, 
wever untidy an Italian woman might be I alwaj-s 
I a heart in her bosom, and that her hands were ready 
;lp. This one, while talking, jerked up a milk-pail 
leld it bottom upward over a cup. Not a drop. How 
y her children were! If only they had left a few 
3ws for her to heat and give the janitor's baby. Then 
ing up a panful of coals she hurried after me and into 
mitor's flat. 

ming the pan of coals over to the Uttle girl, she fol- 
1 me to the bedside. Crooning half under her breath 
)ent over the still httle figure. At first it seemed 
rt, gone, its breathing was so faint, 
rowing at me a swift glance of consternation, the 
in turned on the little girl. She must get on her coat 
: poor, half-frozen little mite was wearing the only 
she possessed — and run down to the grocery. While 
ig she snatched the pan of coals from the child's hands 
ded to gouge down into one of her stockings. 



290 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

As the Italian woman drew a crumpled bill from Iw 
Btockmg the door of the flat opened, and in stepped th 
janitor. Her face was wreathed in smiles, and both hant 
concealed by the ends of her shawl. The Italian womai 
extending her hand, demanded the milk. 

The janitor, throwing aside her shawl, displayed a shoi 
fat candle. She had been to church, she explained com 
placently, had burned a candle and prayed to Saint Sow 
body — I did not write the name of the saint to whom 
prayed in my diary — for her baby. Her baby would 
well. Oh, yes, it would surely get well, for she had sp 
the balance of her money for another candle. 

Then without so much as a glance at the dying child 
she hurried into her front room, and having lit the 
placed it before the gaily colored picture of another sab 
While «he was doing this the last breath fluttered awl 
from her baby. 

When the Italian woman told her, convinced her tla 
the baby was dead, such shrieks ! Shriek after shriek. 8 
alarmed the entire house, and persons passing in the stit 
stopped to ask the reason. 

I know negroes by the hundreds. I have known bi 
lived among them all my life. Of them all, hundreds, th( 
was only one who would have done such a thing, piniw 
her faith to a burning candle. That one was an old, di 
legress. She used to try to hoodoo persons. 

Once, about twenty years ago, under the st^ps of 
ironing-room at home, we, my brother and I and the negr 
children about the yard, found a conjure-bag of her raakinj 
It contained the claw of a ground-mole, a few hairs, said 
be off a dog's tail, two cow-peas, and a scrap of bacon riol 

How the negroes laughed at that old woman ! Youn 
and middle-aged they jeered her. They asked her wha 
she thought she was going to do by such foolishness. Wi 
did she think was afraid of her conjure-bag? Whoi 



m 



LEADERS OF THE HERD 



291 



ttnbled angrily back at them they only laughed the 
ider. 

3dd how one will change. When I first went to work in 
! slums nothing impressed me so favorably as the educa- 
Q of Irish children. I used to see them on the streets, 
the tenements, the little girls in white, with long white 
Is and flowers, and the httle boys with a bow of bright 
boa on one ami, and a gay-colored picture-card. The 
lee of all of them so happy, so uplifted. 
I do not recall a parade during which one or more of 
tBe newly confirmed children did not come to me for my 
Sgratulations. As a member of the Woman's Police Re- 
ire I acted aa usher for all the parades that took place 
j Saturday and on holidays. Besides directing a boy 
Nit in the seating of persons, it was my duty to keep 
ildren from crowding into the street and running wild 
er the bleachers. 

It was while doing this that little boys and girls used to 
be occasion to show me their cards — each one pointing 
it his or her name among those of the class printed on the 
ride. Some of them would read aloud their verses to me. 

I of them seemed supremely happy, so sure that in be- 
DUng connected with their church they had done some- 
ing of which they had every right to feel proud. And I 
in fully agree with them in that attitude. 

II so impressed me at the time that I wrote Doctor Percy 
tickney Grant, rector of the Church of the Ascension of 
'ew York City, asking why Protestant children were not 
pHlght up in the same way? — why Protestant children 
joe not taught to feel at home in their church building ? — 
ii^ they were never on sucii charmingly friendly terms 
i"! (heir minister as Roman Catholic children were with 



• ■lected Doctor Grant because he seemed to me to be 
; only Protestant minister in the city of New York who 



292 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

was even trying to understand conditions among the 
of the Greater City, to learn their point of view. I 
not one of his parishioners. I do not even belong to 
same denomination. 

In his reply he gave me a reason, and I judge tha 
did not wholly agree with me as to the desirability of Prt 
tant children being so trained. Now, after seeing to 
this early training leads in the slums, while I do not tl 
it as desirable as I once did, I still feel that all evange 
churches miss their greatest opportimity when they ne( 
children. 

Among the many snarls in which I found myself 
a memorable one brought about by my ignorance. T! 
on the staff of the Bellevue social service I had occaaio 
call several times on the same family, watching the 
valeseenee of three children, all of whom had had I 
monia following an attack of influenza. 

The mother, an intelligent and neat Irishwoman, 
plained that she could not keep the medicine prescribe! 
one of these children. The youngest member of her fai 
a two-year-old baby, persisted in drinking it. She 
scolded and punished the baby, but in spite of all 
could do it had drained three bottles of the medicine. 
it was a question of keeping it out of the reach of the I 
and yet having it where the mother might easily lay 
hands on it, I glanced around her two bare rooms. 

"Here you are!" I exclaimed joyfully, and reachi 
little above my head I removed a little plaster figure 
a little shelf in the comer. "This is out of your b 
reach, and your saint can stand over here." So say: 
stood the figure on a corner of a lower shelf. 

That was a terrible mistake. The woman snatcha 
little figure and placed it back on the high shelf. No 
would ever forgive a person who moved it from a h 
to a lower shrine — I think she said shrine. Her agit 
was genuine. 



LEADERS OF THE HERD asS 

I left her on ber knees, telling her beads before that 
tie unbeautiful figure of plaster. She was explaining to 
e saint that it was I, not she, who had committed the 
bne. She implored the saint not to curse her or her 
liklren for my deed. I'm not at all sure she didn't call 
e a devil. Another woman did, all because of a scapular. 
X had learned about wearing scapulars, for a cousin of 
y mother married a descendant of Charles Carroll, of 
BJToUton, and I grew up with their children. Of course 
Ley all wore scapulars, so beautifully embroidered that I 
scd to advise them to wear them outside their clothes. 
Cid while this grondng up together was going on I went 
► school with Clarence Horton. 

Clarence was a son of our nearest neighbor, and at school 
a was famous for two reasons — he wore a httle bag of 
ieafoetida around his neck and he ate goose-eggs, hard- 
aled goose-eggs. Because of the goose-eggs nobody 
kred to trade lunch with Clarence, and because of the 
aeafoetida nobody would sit with him. However we might 
e enjoying ourselves, when Clarence joined us we went 
laewhere. 

During my service as a social worker I called at the flat 

 a woman who had been a Bellevue patient. Her baby 

" - sick and she had not had an opportunity to go out 

Ret the medicine ordered by the doctor, because he 

rautioned her against taking the baby out and letting 

■kr; more cold. I offered to hold the baby while she ran 

li*^ comer drug-store and got the medicine. 

.hi' child was feverish and very fretful. Soon after 

:ig it on my lap I noticed that it was tugging at a dirty 

•■;: around its neck. To the string I found attached 

■"' '.t 1 took to be a dirty httle bag. Instantly there flashed 

I my mind memories of Clarence and his bag of assa^ 
la. Snapping the string I dropped the whole arrange- 
iinto the coal-bucket. 



J 



294 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

When the mother returned I explained to her that tyi 
dismfectants around a baby's neck really did not do it 
good. And I told her that I had taken it off the baby. 

The woman was wild with terror. She snatched t{ 
baby from me; said I was a devil and her baby wi 
surely die unless she could remove my "spell." Gral^la 
in the coal-bucket she fished out the scapular, and Id 
of all I could say or do out she went — taking the baby to 
church. 

That broke me all up. Respect for the faith o! albi 
had been hammered into me from my infancy up. 
were never allowed to go to a negro camp-meeting, becaa 
my father feared that we might laugh or do somet 
even innocently, that would hurt the feelings of the 
shippers. 

Besides, I was brought up to respect Roman CathdJ 
just as I was all other denominations. My father 
graduated from Georgetown University before he entert 
William and Mary. And my brother nearest my own 
went to a Catholic school before entering college. 

No one can truthfully accuse me of animus against it 
Catholic Church or against the Irish. Besides my Caiw 
cousins, some of the best friends I ever had were Cathdi 
and natives of Ireland. It was a United States scmW 
the owner and pubhsher of a notable newspaper, who 
me my "start" as a writer. He was a native of Irehi 
and a Catholic. He was one of the most intelligent peisd 
I have ever known, and the kindliest of gentlemen. 

It was because I had known these splendid persons, n 
tives of Ireland, and had been brought up with sud 
profound respect for the Catholic Church that my awakfl 
ing in the slums was so tardy and so \ioIent, To-day tf 
best explanation that I have been able to reason out 
that the great organization that did so much to Christiiri 
and civilize the human race has become like Lot's 



LE.\DERS OF THE HERD 



2d5 



pillar of salt looking eternally backward, salt tli&t has 
ft its savor. 

As I saw the Irish CathoUc in the slums of New Toric 
ere was no truth in them. They would tell me they 
no dog with the animal in plain sight, usually lying 
r the stove. When I called their attention to it they 
^uiJ swear by some few of their multitude of saints that 
bad strayed in from the streets, and in the goodness of 
leir hearts they had fed it and allowed it to stay and rest, 
"lien I proved by the janitor, other tenants in the house, 
111 by the dog itself that they were lying, they were not 
I ibairassed, not at all. 

There was no xise getting them to promise to come and 
kke out a license. I soon learned that there was but one 
£y, making them understand that unless that hcense was 
kJcen out within a stated time I would take them to court, 
inking over my records I find that Spaniards, Italians, 
zench, Bohemians, and even Polacks to whom I gave three 
MLths' time kept their word. At the time of my call the 
•orker of the family was on a strike, had lost his job, or 
■d aickness or some other misfortune that consumed his 
Bmings. Iq such cases I asked them to name the date 
*fore which they could get their dog a license. There is 
: a delinquent among the races I have named on my 



' hen I first started in I treated the Irish the same way, 

I bey soon taught me that it was casting pearls before 

I All the rudeness, the only rudeness I met in tene- 

^ was from persons who boasted of being either Irish 

' I i-nnnns. The Germans soon got a change of heart, 

l:i,st half of my four years in the tenements the French 

-i-'-mselves were not more courteous. Rude or courteous, 

» German is always neat, in his home as well as in his per- 

^. It seems to me the longer I worked in the slums the 

'Ore I discovered in the Irish to laugh at or deplore. 



296 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

I write of them as Irish because they were continue 
assuring me: "I'm Irish. My father and mother in 
bom in this country, and I was bom here. But I'm Irii 
me and my children, too." 

The little music-teacher who lived in the room u 
mine in Miss O'Brien's Greenwich Village rooming-hi 
explained to me the reason why the Irish have a conta 
for Italians. I told her of having stopped in the Italil 
church on East Twelfth Street and havmg seen a Libal 
bond button attached to the garments of the Virpii 
the ChUd. 

"Did it mean that some worshipper had made an oil 
ing of two Liberty bonds ? " I asked, and the idea seemed 
me very beautiful — combining devotion and patriotism. 

The little music-teacher tossed her head scornfully. 

"We Irish Catholics have nothing to do with I 
she informed me. "See how they allow the Pope 
treated. You wait and see how he'll be treated whoij 
comes to live in Ireland." 

"Do you think this Pope will do that?" I inquired, 
the thought was not only new to me, but it seemed 
probable as moving St. Peter's itself. 

"It will be done within five years, maybe within 
she asserted positively. 

Though that little woman was the third generation 
in the United States, she took it as an insult to be refe 
to as an American. And the threats she used to 
against the Democratic Party. Until I met her 
fancied that all my fellow citizens with Irish blood u 
veins were devoted Democrats. She strangled that 

She was something of a character, that young 
She possessed considerable musical talent and the pi 
of a good voice. Her family, with much self-denial- 
managed to send her to Rome in the hope of her 
a singer in grand opera. 



_^_i 



LEADERS OF THE HERD 



297 



me wore on the people in my district got to know 
1 talk more fredy. I sooq learned that the idea of 
le Pope in Ireland was not a figment of the music-tearh- 
*8 imaginattoD. I was UAd repeatedly that within a few 
iBTS he would be moved to Ireland. 

Boon after I went to live in the tenement on East Thirty- 
Est Street I got an even greater surprise. One Saturday 
[temoon a small, quietly dressed woman appeared at the 
itrance of my little flat — the upper half of the door being 
pen she stood on the piazza. She asked for a contribu- 
ion to build a church, and explained that she was taking 
ran five cents up. 

Now I belie\-e in the moral influence of a church build- 
\g. Even though the minister may not be of much sig- 
ificance I have found that in nine cases out of ten having 

church in a neighborhood lifts the tone. While working 
w the A. S. P. C. A. I seldom passed a church in the tene- 
KSts without stepping in, even when I did not have time 
9 fflt down. 

While I was getting my pocketbook the little woman at 
be door told me about the church for which she was beg- 
jiig. It was to be the grandest in the world, to cost more 
ion a hundred millioa of dollars. It was to be located at 
ffaahington, D. C. Then she added: 

"The Pope is coming over to dedicate it. When he 
icmes he'll never go back." 

I handed her twenty-five cents and told her that I hoped 
be would see to it that I got a seat in case I was able to 
• present at the dedication. She thanked me for my 
Qotribution, but very wisely, I thought, refrained from 
pomising me a seat. And I refrained from telling her 
bat I was not a child of the Pope's. 

After that many a time and oft I was assured that the 
'ope would come to live in the United States. For days 
Bibthe smashing of the windows of the Union Club the 



298 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

tenements boiled. The Irish were in transports of triumii 
The United States was only a "Greater Ireland," i 
Pope would surely come over here to live. 

On my inquiring on which steamer the Pope had bougi 
passage, the woman who had been giving me the glad \j& 
ings became affronted. She haughtily informed nie tin 
a battleship would be sent for him, with all our other batth 
crafts, great and small, to protect him from the English, 

"The Enghsh always have been jealous of us," I uk 
her. "I know they will, to the last man and woman 
them, swell up and bust with jealousy when we get I 
Pope over here." 

"It'll serve 'em right," she agreed. 

Miss Stafford once asked me about religions, other tli 
Catholic, met with in the tenements. During my ft 
years in the underbrush I saw and came to know mi 
persons, men and women, whom I would describe as "Gei 
fearing." They were loyal citizens and doing the hi 
they could with their opportunities. None of them d 
more than mentioned their church, none of them spcdce 
me of knowing or ever meeting their minister. 

One of these was the woman who loved much, the wom 
whom Polly Preston had the good fortune to meet and Ml 
to know. Though I lived in the same tenement with h 
talked with her day after day, I never heard her menti 
the name of her minister, or in any way got the idea til 
she so much as dreamed of his ever calling to see her. 

I used to see the man who preached in the church til 
she attended — walking down Fifth Avenue exuding 
and overeating. 

So far as I saw in the slums of New York City the Frola 
tant minister of the Gospel is as extinct as the doda Thei 
are preachers, at least one for every Protestant chuni 
Protestants hving in the tenements sicken and die, hut theJ 
never dream of receiving a call or so much as a wcad i 



LEADERS OF THE HERD 



299 



quiry from the well-fed individual under whose teachings 
ey have sat of a Sunday. 

During my four years in the underbrush I never saw or 
ttrd of a Protestant minister in the slums of New York 
tty, nor in a hospital. There never was a day that I did 
■t meet at least one CathoUc priest. During the influ- 
ksa epidemic they were everywhere, at all times, day and 
ii^t. They ministered to the sick, ofifered comfort to the 
Rang, and buried the dead. 

. Many, many times while I was doing social work I had 
■tiiolic priests to go out of their way to assure me of their 
illingness to help, to tell me where I could locate them. 
tey made no denominational distinction. Once when I 
ns calling on a patient at the Presbyterian Hospital there 
banced to be two priests in that ward of twelve beds. On 
heir way out both stopped and spoke to me, and gave me 
^ir addresses. 

Several times I had occasion to call on the services of a 
•^st. The response was always immediate. I never had 
^asion to call on a Protestant minister, for the Protestant 
lo finds himself or herself in the slums of New York City 
OQ learns that they must die as they have lived, unat- 
bded by a spiritual adviser. 



i 




CHAPTER XXrV 
THE GALL OF THE YOKE 

"The public be damned !" snarled a successful capital 
some forty or more years ago, a capitalist who himself 
been one of the public. 

For by the public he meant working people and all w 
are forced to travel with them. Other capitalists and na 
capitalists, imagining that his expression was a formula 
some way responsible for his ability to get money from tl 
very class he cursed, adopted it as their busiuess slogan. 

As a slogan it enjoyed a long life. It even went into o 
politics. There are persons who claim that it was for ti 
purpose of changing that habit of thought that Theodo 
Roosevelt formed the Progressive Party. Be that as 
may, the working people, having changed it 
adopted it for their own use. 

"Capital be damned I" shouted the working people, 
like the author of the slogan they forgot that they cum 
the very thing that put bread and butter into their dinnfl 
pails. 

That was the condition when I entered the underbna 
that November morning way back in 1916. The four ma 
eventful years in the history of this world have 
then. In no field has the change been so great as with tfal 
working people, working men and working women. 

When I stepped out of the underbrush, dining the ' 
few months of my work and life m the tenements, t 
slogan had been scrapped, thrown into a waste-basket i 
forgotten. 

"We must have our share" had taken its place with 
working man and the working woman. "We will h 
our share." 



THE GALL OF THE YOKE 301 

*There ain't no use of 'era telling us to look at Russia," 
306S cajpenter told me about three months before I left 
sw York City. "We are looking at Russia, looking at 
close and constant. That's the reason we workers in the 
nited States is bound to win out. We see the mistakes 
Bde io Russia, and we're going to avoid them." 
1 glanced at his wife and saw that she was nodding her 
sad in silent approval. Standmg over the roasting-hot 
K»k-stove she was serving her man and their five children 
leir lunch, after having placed a plate for herself in com- 
inent to a woman visitor. That visitor chanced to be 
i^-Belf, an inspector of dog hcenses. 

During the war, when good food was so hard to get in 
.-(II high-priced restaurants, I formed the habit of taking 
ly own lunch. In a little while I reahzed that this habit 
ad another value besides that of insuring me pure, cleanly 
lepared food^it enabled me to accept invitations to 
aeals with tenement-dwellers without embarrassment to 
fcem or myself. 

The day to which I refer on entering their flat I found 
^ family in the act of sitting down to their midday meal. 
wbss was not my first meal with the mother and school- 
iildren, though it was with the father of the family. 
Being at work on a building near his home he had come 
K io lunch. 

"Do you think wages can remain at their present level?" 
L questioned. 

He shook his head — his mouth being filled for the time 
*ing by boiled potato and roast beef. 

".\nd I ain't saying that we wanter keep 'em as high as 
Jiey are," he added, as soon as he could speak. "Things 
*il't go down as long as wages are as high as they are. 
Pie wants things to go down. It's ridicklus the prices we 
*8 to pay for the things we eat and wear when we're not 
- war. Food and clothes oughter be plentiful and cheap, 



302 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

but that don't mean that wages has got to be what \i 
was before the war." 

"What does it mean?" I asked, and I realized that] 
only the mother but every one of the five children w 
listening. 

"It means that we've got to have our share, that's wj 
it means." Though hia words were emphatic he wasi 
the least bit rude, for my being a wage-earner insured J 
sympathy with his point of view, "I'm tired seeing i 
missus skimp and slave, and not have a second frock 
her back, nor a second pair of shoes, like she done brf( 
the war. She's got glad rags now, not so many of 'em, b| 
I'm going to see that she gets more. Well, she can't 
more if the builder and contractor pockets all the pwfi 
while we workers hardly gets our salt." 

"It ain't that so much— my having Sunday clothes," tl 
mother put in, as, having helped herself to a boiled potal 
and gravy she took her seat. "It's the children. Theyl 
growing up and I wants they should have good food 
a chance to get through school before they goes to work 

"Through high school, mum," the eldest girl conectl 
"I want to be a teacher." | 

Another time I lunched with a family of which the fslli 
was a plumber and at table. It is an unusual occu 
or was at that time, to find the man of the house I 
home in the middle of the day, except on Saturday 
Sundays. 

"Yes, wages is coming down some, and I'm willing I 
should," he told me, looking over the rim of his aw 
from which he was drinking steaming-hot coffee, "fl 
I ain't willmg is they should cut from the bottcsn n 
than from the top. There ain't no sense in my bos l 
ing me two dollars for doing work on which he coll 
twenty or more from a house-owner. 'Tain't a fair diviao 
and none of us is going to stand for it." 




THE GALL OF THE YOKE 



303 



the education of their children came up. There 
Sfour sons, and the eldest was attending the Stuyvesant 
b School with the intention of becoming an engineer. 
I mother explained that she was loath to allow the boy 
mter for this additional training when he might have 

I bis working papers and gotten a good job. 

What's the use of us working if we can't get better for 
children than we had ourselves?" the husband cut in 
her plaintive fears. "I always wanted to do something," 
e^lained to me. "I wanted to build houses, I'd got 
lit handy with a saw and a hammer; they was all the 
ie I could borrow, when my father lost his job and I had 
go to work. I had to take the best thing I could get — 
per to a sort of half-way plumber. For a long time I 
sd to think I'd change, but the chance never come my 
y. I'm bound my boy shall, though." 
'We're for a minimum wage if they'll make it high enough 
i cut the maximum low enough," a young Jewess, an 
Mtor in a shirt-waist factory, told me one evening when 
ince brought us together in adjoining seats in the top 
lery of a Broadway theatre. 

'What do you mean by cutting the maximum low 
»ugh ? " I questioned. 

'The manager of our plant gets twenty-five thousand a 
it; I make around twenty-five a week, piece-work, you 
)w; but some of the girls don't get above twenty — can't 
up to my speed," she explained. "T'other day the 
istant manager let out a hint that wages was to be cut. 

II right,' I tells 'im, 'cut, but begin where they begm to 
n a tree — on the top. Just clip off a hundred a week 
m the manager, shave off fifty of yours, twenty-five of 
or assistants, and then I'll let you take one off me.'" 
'What did he say to that?" I asked, hoping that some 
ich would occur to prevent the curtain from rising on 



304 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

"Oh, he's a snitcher. He was getting something to o 
his chief — feeling our pulse," she smiled back at me. 

"You gave him something." 

"Sure. I gave him an earful. Next week we're g 
to have a meeting at the house of the girl who lives nei 
the shop. When the cut comes we'll be ready for them 

As the curtain went up I reached across and grasped 
hand. 

"Thank you," she whispered. "Maybe we'll mee 
another show and I'll tell you about our fight." 

The 1st of October, 1920, I gave up my position 
the A. S. P. C. A. and applied for work in the Store Be 
ful. This is reputed to be the largest and most beau 
department store in the world. I had been told tha 
employees came nearer receiving a square deal 
any other large shop in New York City. 

As I had begun my four years in the underbrud 
working in one department store, of wliich I have 
been able to speak a good word, it seemed to me only 
that I should try another. Not being an investigai 
wanted to make as good a report of conditions as I ti 
fully could. 

I can truthfully say that conditions in the Store Beai 
are far, far ahead of what I had seen and known it 
store where my experience began. Instead of one d 
a day I received seventeen a week, which, so far Bs I 
find out, wa.s at that time the minimiiTn wa^ for a 
woman. 

The one and only fault that I have to find with I 
Beautiful was put into words by one of the best and 
highly esteemed salesman in the department with me. 
had held his position for considerably more than ten j 
and had many customers who would allow no one d 
wait on them. 

"They're pressing us TpteVV^ \iMd" this man rema; 



THE GALL OF THE YOKE 



305 



ker reading a notice passed around among the salespeople 
 the department, telling them to report at a certain 
Irner of the department after the store closed. 
["What do you mean?" asked the floor-walker who had 
ikDded him the paper. 

[ "1 mean that they shouldn't ask us to remain after hours 
fgive our time free — when if we ask to get off early they 
barge us for it. This is the third time this week they've 
ipt us. Our time's worth something to us; these girls 
■Dt to go home. I want to go; you want to go. They 
bstn't press us too hard." 

Pouring my six weeks' service as a saleswoman in the toy 
ppartment of the Store Beautiful I had some business to 
stend to, and asked to get off. My request was granted 
Kme too graciously. ^\1ien my pay-envelope came I found 
Bat I had been docked one dollar and seventy-three cents. 
3iat was all right; i expected to pay for the time spent 
b my own business. 

[a week or so later the department was turned upside 
pwn, getting ready for the Christmas opening, Every- 
pdy came early and worked hard all day. When closing 
^ne came there was so much to be done that an appeal 
MS made to the salespeople by the floor-walkers — they 
pg^ us to stay and help get our counters in order. 
L I remained until nearly midnight, and not having time 
1^ go to my little tenement flat, I was forced to get what 
Dpper I could in a Third Avenue eating-place. It was 
lot much of a supper, but it cost me eighty cents. Count- 
Bg up my time I found that I had remained, helped in the 
Kiartment, just exactly the length of time I had taken ofi'. 
Naturally I expected to receive at least as much for my 
ime as the management had docked from my wages — my 
fork was done at night and the time taken from them was 
a the morning, when salespeople are least busy. 
Seventy-five cents is what I received. Their time was 



306 FOUR YEARS IN THE tJNDERBRUSH 

worth one dollar and seventy-three cents, mine seva 
five cents. Now that, as I see it, is the crux of the i 
between labor and capital to-day. Capital wants so ni 
more for itself, its own time, than it is willing to give h 
for its time. Labor is sick and tired of that ajrangenl 

Next to the condition itself, the injustice of it, the cl 
est reason for our social unrest to-day is Prohibition. 

So long as workers could stupefy their senses with lit 
there was a chance of staving off the day of reckoning i 
capital indefinitely. Liquor not only robbed the worki 
his mental power and his will to do, but it consumed 
earnings and left him too poor to fight to a finish. Lii 
caused more strikers to throw up the sponge than all o 
reasons put together. 

This is not an entirely original idea with me. I rece 
the germ of the thought from one of four prostitute 
whose table I once ate my Iimch. These young wo 
were aU Poles, immigrants who had come in soon afta 
end of the World War. They all spoke English sufficie 
to be easily understood. If I could approach their ao 
I would try to give verbatim a part of my conversation i 
them. Unhappily that is beyond my power. 

When I asked how they liked this country the pret 
of the foiu' shook her head, the tallest one made a face, 
shortest looked indifferent, and the stout one replied, 
assured me that had they known that Prohibition woul 
soon become a law they would never have come to 
United States. That was the reason they had left Ru 
The Russians, most of them, had stopped drinking beo 
they couldn't get liquor. 

It was then that the tall girl vouchsafed that the < 
should have known better than to have stopped his sol< 
drinking. He should have known, she insisted, thai 
soon as the people got sober enough to think th ey nl 
kill him and put an end to their oppressors. ^^^M 




THE GALL OF THE YOKE 

"It'll be just as bad over here in America," she added. 
'*If working people don't have liquor to keep them half- 
Boaked they blow things up." 

Months before this conversation took place Miss Staf- 
ford had asked me what, if anything, could be done to stop 
Ue Bocial unrest in our country. 

"Why, yes, as I see it it might be done," I replied, 
"Bum all the public hbraries and turn the country over to 
the CathoUc Church," 

Miss Stafford, being a Catholic, I knew this reply would 
tease her, cause her to dispute my assertion. Defending 
myself I felt sure we would hit on a more interesting sub- 
ject of conversation. Furthermore, I knew that though 
Bhe had been earning her hving for years, practically ever 
since she reached maturity, she belonged to a class that 
steadily refuses to consider themselves aa working people, 
a class that always takes side with capital. 

For work has become so disgraceful in our country that 
no woman with any claims to being gently born cares to 
be classed with working people. That is one reason why 
there are so many childless married women, and discon- 
tented women, married and single. Nine cases out of ten 
the one and only aim of a girl is to marry as soon as pos- 
sible — be she working girl or human cootie. And nine 
cases out of ten instead of trying to fit herself for intelli- 
gent wifehood and motherhood she only aims at catching 
a husband, a good husband if she can get him, but a hus- 
band she must have. 

This eagerness to secure a provider is not caused pri- 
marily by laziness, but to remove the stigma of working 
for their living. Most women who do not marry have to 
work for a living. Working for her living in our country 
puts a woman on a lower plane. 

An amusing evidence of this difference came to my at- 
tention while I was doing social service work. At com- 



308 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

mittee meetings, when the members of various committ« 
met to hear the reports of the social workers on the sti 
of the Bellevue social service department, the workf 
used to sit on one side of a long table and the commits 
members on the other. Under no circumstances must 
worker attend one of these meetings with her hat on- 
only the members of the committee wore bats. 

At one of these meetings when reporting a case I biq>- 
pened to refer to the committee as "you women." Th( 
expression of consternation that sprang into the face of tW 
individual obsessed by the possibilities of Hog Island 
Realizing my mistake, I made a little bow, including a 
the members of the committee, and corrected myself b 
saying "you ladies." 1 

How the Hog Island "lady" beamed on met 

"My dear madam, if the good God made a lady 1 
forgot to mention it," was on the tip of my tongue. Wh 
might have happened had I put that statement into woi 
is a matter of speculation, though I have always felt qui 
sure that I would not have kept that job another t 
months. 

Yet those social workers were a picked group of womi 
every one refined and well-appearing; all of them womi 
of unblemished character, as well educated as a majort 
of the women on the other side of the table, and with 
few exceptions all graduated nurses. Because they worki 
for their living the committee members objected to bea 
so much as mentioned in the same class — women. 

"I don't know but what I should marry," the 
who loved much said to me one day. I was edtting on 
door-sill in the Thirty-second Street tenement, with 
feet on her little piazza. "My sister keeps after me ta' 
She paused; as I could not see her face I waited. " 
never told me, but I know she don't like having me at 
house so much — not when she has company. She s&ys 



THE GALL OF THE YOKE 



^BSunes her, having folks find out that she's got a sister 
^^ <»r-kiiig." 

*"Has she offered to support you?" I asked. 
*'0h, no! She ain't able to do that. Her husband's 
■"^''el] off, but not rich enough to help me much even if I'd 
^t her. She thinks I should marry." 

* *How about the man?" I asked, trying to make my tone 
^ippajat, though I was far from feeling so. "Have you got 
'^^e ill sight?" 

*'0h, yes." Her tone was a picture of dejection. After 

^^ pause she added, almost spitefully: "He riles me so. 

^ "^Ivery time he comes here I want to jump out the winder." 

"^Viot her pause. Then pensively; ' ' He's a good man, 

^^ough. 'Tain't his fault I don't fancy having him around. 

-^e's -sober, never touches a drop, polite spoken, comes of a 

^;ood family, and makes money. His wages are grand^ 

^ighty-two a week." 

^^KStil] I held my peace though I knew that she was wai1> 

^^^K for me to speak. 

^^■"I ain't like my sister; I never was. I don't mind work." 
^H saw by her shadow that she glanced around her httle flat, 
^^feoUess in its neatness. "If it wasn't that folks look down 
^^■l you for working, I'd like to keep my job till I die." 
^Bfr^'Wliy don't you talk to the man as you have to me?" 

^P ""What for?" she cried, startled. 

^K "Sifted down to fimdamentals, marriage is a partnership, 
^■fitered in for the purpose of founding and supporting a 
^^hme and rearing children," I told her. "If you were to 
^^BU your manager that every time he came around you 
^^Hlt like jumping out the window, I think he would took 
^^Hpewhere for a forewoman. You have been honest with 
^^^burself, I want you to be honest with the man who has 
^^Bked you to go into partnership with him." 
^^r I've had girls by the dozen tell me: 







wo I'OUR YEARS IN THE UXDERBRrSH 


"I'm a lady now. I'm married and don't work." 


Ami I've hcani dozens of my fellow workers remark 


awioi; u fimiier working-mate: 


"Ain't (*h*j lucky ! She hadn't been workiii' no t 


hud)^' U'fon> she married." 


In no instance did the speaker mean that the woi 


refen^x) to did not. wnrk at h(Mne — onlj' that ^e did 


work f*,>r ytstggs. 


slave, do anything and ew 


thing nt home, 1 i 


IS she did not work for we 


she VHis ill a hi 


lady. 


So iHvudes d< 


irger share of capital accn 


tnxa their w( 1 




taken oft work I 


ihere is but one way to acci 


pUah tht«- 


as well aa every man to 


or to h»vc boeu i 


;er. 



CHAPTER XXV 

THE END OF THE TRAIL 

WoKK of itself is not hard. It is the conditions under 
Kch most work is done that makes it a hardship. Work 
ader good conditions is exhilarating. 
There never was a time m all my four years in the under- 
ruah that the work itself palled on roe. It was the eon- 
itions under which I was forced to work that made it 
bjectionable. One of my chief reasons for liking my work 
s BD inspector of dog Ucenses was that I was a free agent, 
»t bound by any hampering conditions. Each inspector 
Ws given his or her district, instructed as to their power 
tod limitations under the law, and sent out to get results. 
Kever once did the manager of the A. S. P. C. A. tell me 
fet I must do a given thing in a given way. The few times 
lat I found myself facing a problem about the handling 
f which I was in doubt, when I appealed to hira he gave 
le advice; advice, never instructions. I was always a free 
Eent at a hving wage. Though the wage could never be 
illed generous, especially for a man with a family, it was 
ifficient for me to hve on in a rooming-house or a tenement- 
It, and pay for a five-hundred-dollar Liberty bond. At 
le time that I left I was receiving one hundred and four 
lOars and car-fare per month — quite a raise in four years 
r an untried woman who began on aix doll&rs the 
eek. 

What we know as labor unrest is caused as much by the 
mditions under which workers struggle as the amount of 
age so grudgingly paid them. The imtangling of both 
;OBe knotty problems is in the hands of our women. 

3U 



312 FOUR "i'EARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

On the way they untangle those two knots, as I aee i^ 
hangs the fate of our country, the United States as w 
know it to-day — whether it lasts fifty years or fifty cai 
tunes. 

Now I know by actual experience what conditions 
before this country entered the World War. I watched 
the improvement that followed — larger windows made in 
dark rooms to improve light and ventilation; when this was 
impossible workers would be moved into better quarters. 
I saw lofts that had not known a broom or wash-pail for, 
years swept and garnished as though for a celebration. 

One reason for this was the coming of the girl who didn' 
have to work for her living- — the war-worker. I had maih 
agers tell me: 

"You're an educated woman — ah— ah— Why, to td 
the truth, I'm afraid you wouldn't be happy here. Our 
loft is not — not what we'd like it to be. Not very clean, 
you know." 

"What about your regular workers?" I asked lum, 

"Oh, they're different. They're used to it." 

At a munition plant in Hoboken the manager of a d» 
partment jumped at me as an applicant for work. He wai 
going to "place" me at once, and sent to the office for a 
pass. The emplojTnent manager happened to be in ft 
"cranky" mood, or so the department manager explaineil 
to me, and said he could not issue a pass until he had me 
investigated. I left with the understanding that an ii 
vestigator would see me that afternoon, and the managa 
ui^ted me to report early the next morning ready for work 

The investigator did see me that afternoon, and becsua 
I answered her questions truthfully she learned that I wS 
a college graduate. The next morning the employment, 
manager issued me a pass ivithout question, but wbeo I 
returned to the office of red-haired Mr. Black, the deptiV 
ment manager, he had changed his mind. j 



M 





THE END OF THE TRAIL 

"Why, you're a college graduate !" he exclaimed, leaning 
arward in his swivel-chair and looking for all the world 
ie a big frog ready to hop. "You wouldn't be happy here 

day. You just wouldn't stand it." 

Out in the passageway I chanced upon the girl who had 
oQducted me to Mr. Black's office. When I told her that 
le had refused to give me a job she stared, then nodded 
»c'r head. 

"'I mighter known he wouldn't take you on. He wants 
girls he can chuck under the chin and poke in the ribs and 
sail by their first name," she told me. "He's foxy, that 
red-head, he seen he couldn't make free with you. You 
30me with me. I'll take you to the employment manager. 
Be'll give you a job in the office, real Gentile work." 

But I'd had enough office work, so I refused her offer. 

When I applied at Store Beautiful the employment 
■nanager apologized for offering me seventeen dollars a 
"^eek. He was not allowed to pay more for an inexperi- 
enced saleswoman, he explained. When I accepted the 
joi) he quickly told me that there were many better-paying 
it ions in the store, and if I stayed he would try to fit 
liito one of them. Remember this happened after the 

./. Employment managers had learned the value of 
ftJucated working women. 

Now I'd as soon try to reason with a herd of jackasses 
18 with a selfish woman. It is because I learned during 
tky four years in the underbrush that American women are 
tot, as a rule, selfish when they understand conditions that 

have written this book. It is because I know by experi- 
!Bce that American women are, as a rule, unselfishly patri- 
otic that I am adding to the narrative of my experience an 
atpression of my opinion on that condition known as our 
•labor troubles." 

The United States is to-day the most powerful nation in 
:he world. We, its women, are the most powerful half 



314 FOUR YEARS IN THE UNDERBRUSH 

of the nation. Again we, its educated women of ni 
birth and lineage, are the most powerful group in 
half. 

It is up to U3 how our country is coming throurf 
period of labor troubles. Are we going to remain hu 
cooties, forcing our fathers and husbanda to beat down 
rob their employees for the sake of getting money to 
port ua in idle luxury? 

They, the men of the United States, have given us, 1 
womenfolks, the ballot and Prohibition. Not because 
wanted either, but because we, their adored womenf 
clamored for them. Every profession is open to us, 
line of work. 

What are we going to do with all this wealth of of 
tunity? 

Our sister, the working woman, believes in us. She 
her faith to us— her hope for her children and their fu 
Many, many times I had women of the slums as 
that "rich ladies" fought for suffrage that they might 
shorter hours for working women. And even more ^ 
they told me that the fight for Prohibition was fought 
won by "rich ladies" for the protection of working-peq 
homes. 

During the war we showed them that there was no \ 
we couldn't do, and wouldn't do, when it was necea 
During the war through us they realized what work 
with the stigma rubbed out — work was a badge of fad 
idleness a disgrace. 

To-day those women stand between us and chaoa 
slender cordon of hope, they are holding back the sui 
multitude of unrest. Their men have ceased to belie* 
any method of getting Justice except by violence. 

What are we going to do ? — measure up to the worf 
woman's faith in us, come out of our nests as cooties 
taking our place at her side as we did during the wai 



THE END OF THE TRAIL 315 

■r share of the work. Or are we going to remain human 
Mies, let that cordon of hope crumble, be swept away ? 

There is one thing as certain as the rising of the sun. 
I^we do not give, it will be taken from us. 

Were I a girl growing up to-day I would demand of my 
■Rots an equal chance with my brother. If he was given 
Is training — for trade or profession — I would have mine — 
tade or profession. I would insist on my obligations as 
rdtissen, a future voter, to learn the condition and the 
itteds of my country. 

How can a girl vote intelligently if she spends her days 
IriMkting on how high she can wear her skirt, or how low 
iie can cut her camisole ? That time is passed. We must 
niher keep step with progress or be swept away by the 
dass of women who have learned the lesson that we re- 
iiBed to be taught. 

Only motherhood — bearing and caring for a living child 
--•flhould excuse a woman from working for her living. 



lu 



r ^ '1 r T :» 

^ t . : . .J i c^ 



S3 ,/-^ 
COS 



17 



/Joo 



t 




STANFORD UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 

STANFORD AUXILIARY LIBRARY 

STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305-6004 

|650) 723-9201 

sakirc@sulmail. Stanford. edu 

All books are subject ro recoll- 

DATE DUE 

# 



JUNo#nn?