Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1869-04-09
havsssaisal)sat aletprpsssssssssSa4l had not
evidently intended TO add to his other
crimes that worst Of all, wife-murder. q 4
,Tea-Drunkartls,

any mention OF this class Of inebriates!
and yet the'drunkards on tea are just as
surely sapping the foundations Of life, as
the devourers of whiskey or gin. That
women only OF mostly, are the Victims
does not lessen" the Importance Of my
statement. I.say mostly, for have in
my recollection two literary men Of note,
who primed themselves on strong, green
tea, without sugar or milk, for any lite
rary effort, when overtasked nature flag
ged. One f'themo became in 'conse- Z
quence, subject to distressing fits, and has
since deceased. .hoiaq noiamioiG"
But it is the women who practice this
form of inebriatioh, Of whom 4 wohld
now speak. Theworking girls, the seam
stresses, the tenders in shops, who, being
able to pay but slender price for board,
get badly-cooked, poor food; and III con- ?.
sequence, often three times day, call "a
for the fatal "cup- 81 tea, which for the
moment sets them up" as they call it,
and enables them to shoulder again the,
load they have dropped, till another ,fitu
of exhaustion overtakes them, worse
than the preceding, to be followed BY = =.
repetition of the same pro-temn remedy. !
Then follows indigestion, headaches,
sleepless nights, and the usual long train
of miseries, which any physician who
has ever been called upon to prescribe
for these overworked, underfed uinnfortu-
mates, will Immediately endorse. Tea to
the working girl. taken in, this = way, IS
like the "corner grocery drink" to the
working man, and just as deadly in its !.
results, as if it sent her reeling through
the streets, as rum does him although.
she neither sees, knows, nor would admit
it, any more than he would. Sometimes
when you speak to them about It, they
reply" But must have, something to
keep me up; Ihave no appetite for food:
/ am so tired all the time, and tea makes
me feel so good"
The old plea of the drudkard, the
world over Look at these weary. wo-,.
men, with dark circles about their eyes, :,
nervous to insanity ready to cry, at !,
the slightest notice-the blue veins on
their temples looking as if they, were,
painted outside the skin. Look at ,their, J,
long, thin, sick-looking fingers, from
which all the spring and elasticity of
youth have long since departed, See
them swallowing pills by the dozen, and
trying every quack medicine aAoat, In
stead of resisting the enemy which has
done all or two-thirds the mischief i'ga'
Of course the world over, bad food is
the sworn ally of drunkenness in every /,
shape, and these poor girls have much to
contend with in that shape. Therefore
| am glad that boarding houses are
springing up for this class where whole,
some food is prepared in clean, we'll
ventilated dining room; where they can,
escape from the loatbsome tenement
houses, with their horrible odors, aud
their inevitable meal Of salt pork and
cabbage, for which they pay all their,
earnings. Not long since I visited such
an establishment, and partook myself Of
the sweet, well-baked bread just emerg-.
ing from the oven. 1 saw the laundry
room; / saw the bathing-room where !,
cleanliness of person could be secured
saw the little, white, counterpaned beds
where they could sleep safely, and breathe
while they slept. I saw the ample sit d
ting-room, where there was a piano !,
where were files of the daily papers
where ladies and gentlemen sometimes
visited them of an evening, and made.
them feel as if they were not waits in !,
this great city, for whose rise or downfall
no one cared.
| said | shall never meet working
girl again but shall tell her of this
Working Woman's Home, in Elisabeth
street, N. Y, where for $3.50 week
at a less price than they often pay for
shelter and food-they can secure re-
spectacle, clean, safe home, with the free
use of bath, with good food, and have
their washing done for them, provided it
does not exceed eight pieces week.
As looked at the neatly dressed girls,
dropping in at nightfall, one after the
other, sitting in groups in the large sit
ting room, chatting, sewing or reading,
l thought, oh how much better, how
much safer is that than walking the
streets when their work is done, or being
shut up in little filthy box of a room,
the expense and bad air of which must
be shared with another unfortunate girl,
similarly situated.
And, though the "cup of tea" is to
be had at the Woman's Home, the whole
some, palatable food accompanying it,
renders its abuse uDnecessarv T copnot