The Portland daily press., 1871-11-10
DAILY PRESS,
PORTLAND "a
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1871.



In all the myriad pages of fiction there is
no more pathetic story than that of the two
little girls who threw themselves into Inc
Androscoggin at Lewiston, Friday. anna
Woods. despairing cry, "What shall ao-A
have no money and nowhere to stay" has
more than the pathos OF fIhe bfluge OF
Sighs.n sThs Song OF the SHIRT does not
speak to us SO appealngly as the same poor
child,s remark that she "had no friends or
home or anyone to take care of her." and that
she was "going to kill herself" Dickens and
Victor Hugo, with all the profundity of their
noble sympathy for the poor and suffering.
never wrote more heartrending words than
those, of the working girl of fourteen. who
,"'wished she bad home and somebody 10
like care OF her." The most imprisoned or
a;or that ever protested against the wrongs of
the poor from the top of blazing barricade,
never uttered such a scath;ng reproach as
Anna Wood left in the two ten cent bills she
pinned to the ribbon of her hat when she fed
gladly TO the arms of death TO escaps the
p, weary weight of this unintelligibe word.
, AWO yOuuS Sfiio lhsap On3he W w ~ SSboOi,
unable to bear an operatives Or domestic's
hard life, drifting about the streets of a city,
g.; going twenty hours without food, and finally
jumping into the river, e7cue, az, Il
,tGg This tragedy was even more distressing
3 than that which happened in Portland the
next day, when the senior member Of. the
Cumberland bar iroze to death, in an old
sshanty where at The age Of ninety,four he liv-
y ed alone and uncared for The old man, who
has complained bitterly in his later years of
4 the pebbles and snowballs of mischievous ur-
chins, had less reason to reproach the world
q than the two young girls who were driven out
=, Of 1t BY misfortune at the very beginning of
their career.
The manufacturing companies of Lewiston
are among the most humane and liberal cor
porations in the world. They divide large
dividends, but they are SO public spirited, give
SO generously for the support of education
and public worship, and unite so earnestly
with the better class of citizens in supporting
the temperance and other reforms, that they
almost disprove the old saying that "corpora.
tions have no souls" Yet we see that the
condition of operatives even in Lewiston MAJ
be as bad as that of the pauper workngmer
and women in the most heartless English
town. No doubt the case of the two girl. was
an exceptional one, but it is dscouragine
enough to think that sdch tragedy could
occur. Maine is destined to become a
great manufacturing State. The end of anoth.
er quarter of century will see tens of
thousands added to the number of its people
engaged in mechanical industries. What is
to be their condition? How will it avail, SO
far as the masses are concerned, that the
State becomes prosperous by additions to its
wealth, if something is not done to make the
situation of the producers of that wealth hap
pier, more intelligent, more virtuous and
more comfortable? The first aim of the
State should be to place all its people beyond
the reach of such intolerable misfortunes as
we have been considering, by giving them the
protection OF good education. In our opin.
ion the matter of reforming, strengthening
and enlarging our school system ought TO
take precedent of the question of encourag-
ing manufactures even, if this last enter
prise is to be set on foot for the benefit of the
hbering multitudes, instead of the favor ed
few. The educated, selfreliant working
man or workingwoman is healthier growth
for any State than the millionaire. Let us
make sure of the former-the latter can take
care of himself