St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-04-22


W the outset they had the
* ieaiouSyof man to contend
with. and now various
II < well-meaning reformers
!. I: !. !. ]. !: /
3 propose DISCRIMINATING
:N= Them for their own good.
/ IL When girls first made
u III their appearance on the
r. * street selling papers, a
~ ~ howl of rebellion went
|>iN up from the neWsboyS,
~ who with one mind de-
LIT ~ clared, Ambitious wo-
Nv LA man must be learned her
[4S.,-SS~-s place" NeWSboys are
natural born monopolists. They fight
like tigers when one of their own sex
seeks 10 push his way into their trade.
But for a girl to do so was adding insult
to injury. They attacked the courageous
girls who made the attempt, stroye 10
drive them off the street and would not
let those who took up thelr
stands in restaurants carry nv. OF on
their business in peace. Iillle
Isaacson. one of the prosecuted,
tells with Joan OF Are expression III
one eve and the mild resignation OF an
early Christian martyr in the other, how
crowds of BOYS lay in wait for her when
she emerged from the restaurant
at night. and that but for the inter
yention of the police she would have
furnished the material for a funeral in
the beginning of her career. When 1t
become generally known last week
that the girls had been ordered to quit
selling papers on the streets, there was
high glee among the boys. "Ha! he!
we've II have to go to washln' dishes,
where we've belong" cried one young
Arab to a couple of the prosecuted,
passing peacefully along the street.
''Are you glad the girls are ordered
off?'' Pauline asked batch OF boys III
front of the market. You bet we've
glad,'' they exclaimed in chorus. and
one of them cut a pigeon wing III his
delight.
"Well, why are you glad?" she ques-
toned. further.
"Awh, they cuts us boys out. Feiiars
all buy of them cause they're girls"
And "cause they're girls the HUI
name society would relieve them from
business, Susan B. Anthony, Dr.
Mary Walker-all the assemblage of as
piring females, come, let us mingle our
tears together! How long, 0 Lord,
shall this state OF affairs continue? How
long. 0 Lord, shall '"cause they're
girls cripple the energies and Justify
the
PERSECUTION OF PROGRESSION
in the female gender? Till every man
on earth is dead and buried? Then
have at them, my lOvelieS, have at
them! Strike. strike but don't hurt
them.
Irrespective of class, condition or
color. the Humane society last week or
dered girls to quit selling papers Oh the
streets. Mr.. HutchinS, general agent
of the society. gives as the reason for so
doing that the girls are getting into bad
company; that the men who patronize
them are unduly familiar with
them; that certain ruin Stares them
in the face. and with the sublime
faith of reformer, lie believes all this
will be changed by stopping their bust
ness operations On the streets. Just
how this is to follow, as effect follows
cause, he was not prepared to say. De
tails are no concern of refOrmerS. He
only hoped that somehow the action
would result in getting the girls into
schools. "There are altogether too many
girls growing up and getting married
without knowing anything" he said,
intimating desire to snatch neWSgirls
from the combined horrors OF matri-
mOny and ignorance.
If the Humane society does not Swal-
low camel OF two within the next
month, Pauline will eat whole menag-
erie herself. The diet has been pre-
dicted for those who strain at gnats.
Every privilege is bound to be abused
by some individuals, but that in no wise
justiiies its withdrawal from all. There
are castles among the neWsgirls which
seem to have been entirely
overlooked. These young business
women do not number more than
seven or eight OF these seven or
eight girls, all but three are known as
the rag picfcrs." These children,
ranging in years from five to thirteen,
live in wretched homes on the flats.
According to their stories, they are
variously afflicted in the kind and num-
Der of relatives they possess. One has
q sick mother, another a sick father,
another carload of small brothers and
sisters, and still another suffers all
three of these Inconvenience. and en-
dures from day to day sick mother. a
sick father and seven brothers and sis
tiers younger than herself. The little
girls pick rags during the morning, beg
and, in what ways they can, get
money enough together to buy stack
of evening papers. These they have
streets. The
ARISToCRACY OF NEWSGIRLDOM,
Jennie and Minnie Reimers and Tillie
Isaacson, tell with no attempt at con-
cealing their diSapproval. that the
''rag-plckers' go INTO saloons TO push
their sales. that when they can not sell
they beg, and that the entire proceeds
of their efforts they sink in pop. beer,
crackers, taffy-in word in ri0tous,
rich living. When the ''rag-pickerS"
were questioned as to what they
will do, now their paper-selling
is prohibited, their reply was ''Dun
no." varied with ''Pick more rags,
s'pose," ''Sell matches, mebbe." Not
one seemed to have any idea of
turning from the error of her ways into
school house, and if the one ancestor
of these children who could be located,
it is known only to herself and the ac-
complished inguist who can under
stand her iaw-breakable tongue.
The ''rag-pickers'' established the
practice of girls selling papers on the
streets, but Jennie Reimers was the
first girl to lend dignity and respecta-
bility to the trade. She began opera
tionS some two months ago, and was
soon followed by her sister Minnie,
and by Tillie Isaacson. Tillie
Isaacson is a sorry-looking body aged
thirteen. Her face gives evidence that
she, and her fathers before her, have
found this hard world to live in. Like
some of the ''rag-pickers," her relations
are her heaviest burden. Hermother is
an invalid and her father is blind in
one eye. She has five brothers and
sisters. Two of her brothers are her
competitors, and she tells without a
shade of exultation that she makes
more money than both of them together.
She says sometimes she is so sick she
can hardly stand up, but she works just
the same, getting down town from her
home, Oh Marion street, at O'Clock in
the morning, and concluding her even
ing's work at or 10 o'clock. She speaks