The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-04-02
I HAVE ALL THE RIGHTS I WANT.
A TRUE STORY.

" IOOie appeared III inc kltcnen Oh
Helen Garth to do the usual Mondays
washing and cleaning.
Mrs. Garth was Il young hOuse-keeper
who, having followed the occupation of
schOol-teacher before marriage, had re-
service until practical knowledge would
enable her to properly direct hired
help.
Mary O'Toole had served Mrs. Garth
for six years, coming regularly each
Monday morning to do the washing and
such other service rs might be wanted.
She came from the hovei, the usual
abode of those of her occupation. For
years Mrs. OToole had lived with
drunken husband, and until she found
her hands burdened with four little
girls, the youngest of which was born a
cripple. caused by prenatal abuse of
the mother by the drunken father. BY
constant hard work and the donations
of kindly friends, Mary was enabled to
keep starvation and cold from her brood
of little ones. Because of faithful SER
vice, tins mother was never out of need
ed employment Ii was no fault of hers
that poverty and want stood, like Il wolf,
ever staring into the window other hum
bile abode.
She was one of the many unfortunates
who had not been accorded the right of
being well BON; one whose lines had
not fallen in pleasant places. 1t was not
unusual that Helen Garth, who was
much of Il philosopher, after hearing
the tales of woe, told by Mary, would
exclaim, with John Knox, when his at
tention was drawn to vagabond upon
| the streets of London: clad it not
been for the grace of God, there goes
John Knox" Helen Garth would ex-
| claim: "llad it not been for the grace
of God, | might have been Mary
O"Toole."
On hearing the abuse heapcd by this
drunken man upon his household, Hell
en- Garth asked, "why do You not leave
the vagabond, why will you live in the
same house and endure such treatmen mt?
With Il smile, born of sadness, Mary
replied: leave him! Where could |
90 that he would not follow? lam with
out money necessary To move from the
city, have no friends, | cannot enter
the courts for protection, for the law
does not recognize drunkenness, and its
attendant abuse of wife and children, as
II crime worthy of punishment. 1t is
easy To ask the question fyou do" but
not so easy to answer it," and with a
| sigh she worked OH.
On this particular Monday morning
Mrs. O"Toole appeared in her accus-
toned place little later than usual. A
new grief seemed To attend her, and
when Helen Garth tenderly inquired af-
ter her health, she merely said she had
had some trouble that kept her awake
much of the night before. About the
middle of the mornings work Mrs.
Garth noticed tears dropping from the
eyes of Mary into the suds before her.
Stepping to her side, Helen said
MARY, ! fear You are sick; | think
you had better put aside this work,
and rest"
Bursting into Il flood of tears. Mary
lifted her right hand from the tub, and
said: "My hand pains me some, but
that is not my trouble. My husband
came home last night about midnight,
and, in drunken fury, demanded that
| give him the single dollar that | had
saved from my weeks earnings that he
might fill the empty bottle which he
brandished over me. In my attempt
to ward off the blow, | raised my hand,
and you see it is full of bits of glass"
With sigh, born of deepest anguish,
this Irish mother exclaimed: GLOW ]
wish we Irish women could vote; we
| WoUlu Soou SiluI tic S;tlOOHS.
Helen Garth, protected by n loving
husband, never having been brought in
| pOroonai ,vIitaUt Win The curse OF llcenS-
| ed rum, was one of the numerous wOm-
en- "who had all the rights she wanted
Her conscience had never been awak-
ened to study the relation between the
ballot and the law.
With an incredulous air, she replied:
"Do you think, Mary, that wOman's
vote would change things much in laws
relating to the sale of intoxlcants?'
eyes" replied Mary, with an empha,
sis born of experience, there are Irish
women enough in this city TO close
every saloon, if they could vote. Wits
ky is the curse of our race" In an I'M
dertonc she added, "and not ours alone,
but in many of the palaces of this town
are heard the Oaths of drunkenness.
tell you, nothing but the votes of women
can ever put stop to such things" as
with whisk of the suds she gave force
tn her declarations.
The days work done, and the usual
basket of things that Mrs. Garth had
been in the habit of giving her faithful
servant each day as she departed, was
placed i'm her hands. along with the dol.
lar, the regular price paid for the work
Mrs. Garth relieved her heart of the
great indignation felt ON behalf of Mary
by telling her husband, at the tea table
of her experience that day.
A heavy snow storm prevailed the
night and morning following. In the
face of the driving storm, mt 8 O'Clock
the next morning. Biddie, the eldest
daughter of Mary O'Toole, stood ringing
the door-bell of Helen Garth. AS the
door was opened, Biddie fell upon the
neck of Mrs. Garth, and, amid sobs OF
grief said; "WOnt you come to our
house? My ma is dead!'
The story is soon told. The father
had returned home at midnight from
the saloon, and i'm u drunken rage had
again demanded the pittance earned by
his wife, that he might return for more
drink. Before this Infatuated man
mother and children fled, in scant cloth
ing and bare-foOted, out i'm the storm
that their lives might be spared. The
shock was too great, and the mother
was carried from the bed of snow, where
she had fallen, back into her howell
dead.
Helen Garth proceeded as hastily az
possible to comply with the request OF
Biddie. Upon entering this abode oil
sorrow, she saw misery and poverty al
around. The dead mother lay upon q
rough board. The four worse than or.
phaned children were huddled about
the old stove. Upon the entrance Of
Mrs. Garth, the screams that tried t.
call "Mamma" back to life would have
melted heart of stone.
The poor, miserable, diseased father
with idotic leer, utterly incapable o.
feeling the terrible conditions surround
ing him, stumbled tremblingly to Heller
Garth and said: "Give me a quarter,
want drink"
The mother was decently buried, anG
comfortable homes were found for the
little ones. Helen Garth demanded
that the father be tried and punished
for murder. To her utter Amusement
such Il request was met with derision
She found that tho written law took nc
cOgnizance of murders committed III
this had been. She found that the writ
ten law encouraged men and protected
them, in the name of "license," to pro
duce Just such scenes as this she haC
Witnessed. Men the perpetrators, WON
en- and children the victims. Man the
voter, the law-maker, woman the sub
ject, the slaye.
Can we wonder that Helen Garth
with her deep sense Ofjustlce, and WON
anly intuition, at once concluded tina
she chad not all the rights she wanted.
Can we wonder that the words of colo
Mary" came wildly to memory as Hell
en- Garth stood before the dead form 81
want to vote"
81 may have all the rights ] want,
concluded Helen Garth. "but ] have
not all that can make good use of 81
long as such scenes as these are posi-
bic under man-made laws" 1t was il
this death-chamber that Helen Gartl
renowned her life of ease and aimless
ness. and resolved to devote her
nolf 10 tho ouarthrnW of the