The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1850-04-18
The Cheap Goods System.

ed, provided with work Tor the ensuing
day, when the latter placed the contents
of her bundle before Cranch. who had
commenced examining it as he had
the others; suddenly. whilst he was
pulling al seam lit must have been
gently, as he himself declared baby
might have pulled harder, a stitch gave
way, and the work came mdone to the
extent of half an inch or thereabou,s
Here then was an awful depravity !,
here was mean attempt TO Swindle
him (Cranch.) and through him. the
public. out of five farthings, the price
tor which she had agreed TO put good,
durable, and lasting workmanship in
the shirt. Why, at the very thought.
il required the utmost strength of the
travelling cap to keep down by force
the few grey hairs that still remained
beneath Ii;
So great crime against the COM
mlnity must. as he well knew. be fol-
lowed by some mete of punishment !;
so, after casting a look, in which
remonstrance and disgust were equally
mingled, towards the offender, he drew
from his waistcoat pocket small pair
of scissors, with which he commenced
unripping the remainder of her work.
"Oh sir! do permit me to sew il up
here. shall be able to do it in one
minute," calculated the poor creature.
at the same time endeavoring, but in
vain, to arrest the progress of the scissors
which was rapidly undoing the whole
Of her previous days labor. II can
assure You, sir,n she continued in an
imploring manner, "that am very poor
indeed, and every stitch | set is an
object to me, and although work and
toll from morning to night, have sick
little brother at home who has no. had
mouthful OF food pass through his lips
since yesterday morning. Poor thing!
she looked as though her fast had been
even longer.
I'VE are all subject to i'll health"
observed Cranch, meekly, as he pro-
ceeded to unrip another seam.
.'Oh my God.D she exclaimed. wiring
ing her hands, q he will siarvew
"Starve! what do YOU mean by that ~
asked Cranch sternly: "do you intend
to insinnate that am in the habit of
paying my hands so badly that they are
in danger of starvingp
I,did not say so," sobbed the girl
"Fm not deaf.n said Cranch; then
turning to Tuff, who was busily engaged
in making repaS1 off the crumbs OF his
dinner of tho preceding day. which he
had at that moment pounced upon. and
which, by some extraordinary fatality
he had previously overlooked, he added,
"just refer to the books, and see what
sum this person earned last week.
.Did l hear you say, only four-and-
eight pence nsaid Cranch, sharply,
and laying particular stress on the
first word, which Turf had made use Of
in his previous answer, in order to make
the amount appear, if possible, less than
it really was.
Poor Tuff turned as red in the face
as the spots on the handkerchief round
his neck, and declared, in whisper,
that he didn't recollect making use of
that word.
There, then,n said Cranch, turning
round, and addressing the pale girl,
who had sunk into chair, and was
sobbing bitterly "last week you earned
no less than four shillings and eight
pence; an amount equal to Including
Sunday eight pence day, and yet you
talk of starving; why, its base %
II can assure you, SIR" she replied
/" that what Eve said is all the truth
My poor brother is very ill, and / have
had nothing to give to him, and /
myselffeel so weak for want of nourish-
ment that | can scarcely sit in my chair
to work.
'Stufrw exclaimed Cranch, "eight
pence day is enough-nay, more than
enough to make any one comfortable
.The pugnacious young woman here
interrupted him by wondering aloud
whether he kept himself on that amount
per day, at which sounds of suppressed
laughter came from the end of the
warehouse where the Glengarries were
employed, and a strange noise issued
from the back of Tufts desk, just where
he had, at that moment, bobbed down
his head,
"At the present time,n Cranch re-
sumed, without taking any notice of
the interruption; "it is, laid out with
economy, equivalent to little fortune.
1t is now clearly decided by the highest
authority that three ha'p'orth of bones
is quite sufficient to make three plentiful
soup dinners for working man and
large family
"Lorw exclaimed the pugnacious
young woman: even the three Glengar-
Ties and Tuff, who overheard the start
ling act, could not resist paying a tribute
to the genius of him who first discover
ed ii, by making use of the like ex-
clamation.
"But that is not ALL" continued
Cranch, with the air of person who
was about TO communicate wonderful
fact; q it has since been discovered that
wooden spoons are extremely nourish-
ing, and if you stir the soup well while |
it's boiling with one, a pen'orth of bones
will suffice, as il gives it rich vegeia.
Bile quality. A company, called the
Economic and Hospitable Feeders, are
about to establish soup-kitchens for the
r IL -.