The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1892-06-30

A group of Pathfinders, sitting in
the parlor of the Driskill waiting for
some late members, had strayed OH
into curious and uneYplored paths,
when one of the number CHANGED to
quote that worn out axiom:
"a woman, dog and a pear tree,
The more you beat them the better they be-"
Instantly there was fiutter OF in
dignation and buzz Of protest.
Cheeks flushed and eyes flashed, ana
more than one was heard 60 declare
that such q sentiment was an insult 10
womanhood. There was one, how
ever, that insisted that the sentiment
expressed in the lines was true. 1.-The
best women in the world" she. said,
'are women whom their husba nos
abuse. Nowhere else will you find
such sweetness and patience ana
heroism as in these wo-
men whose husbands are
drunkards, or men who treat their
wives with hardness and neglect.
Even aside from harsh treatment
women need to be controlled. They
need to be domineered over by men
who are stronger and more masterful
than they" And after this treason
able speech there was such an out
burst of protest and denial that the
Pathfinders could scarcely hear any
thing more, but at last sounded from
one quarter, "Men need control, too,
great deal more than women dol"
and from another quarter came the
gentle tones that poured oil on the
troubled waters, cit seems to me-"
they said, "that it is question of
mutual self-control, and not of domi-
nation on either side. Men and wo-
men who rule themselves do
not often need any outside in
fluence And after all that is
merely another name for common
sense in the home" she added cheer
ily; and the momentary storm having
been lulled, the pathfinders went on
with the order of busin ess.
Nv
Because we of the south are long
way from any of the real poverty and
heartrending restitution of the ccun-
try is no reason why we should be in
different to the suffering that does
exist within the limits of the United
States. In our own cities we see the
children, rich and poor, attending
school, dancing along the sidewalks
with the flush of health in the cheek
and the fire of youth in the eyes, and
it is hard for us to realize that
there may be other children not
quite so fortunate. And yet in New
V0ply nitX W h nh hoe Cnont thnI1o-
ands to aid the Russians, the commit
tees sent to investigate the true con-
dition of child life in the slums, found
pictures more horrible than Dante
ever dreamed. They found that 5000
children in that one city are making
envelopes at IL cents thousand
Other thousands are feather shippers.
working ten hours day in close, foul
Easements. A great multitude, many
of them only years old, are making
paper collars. "a grandmother of 80
and child of sit side by side strip
ping tobacco, the hands of the little
one covered with sores and her
face waXy pale. Hysteria,
epilepsy, nervous disease in
many firms, wait on this work in
which the fumes of nicotine take the
place of oxygen Think of this,
mothers whose little 4 year-olds are
babies yet, rocked to sleep on your
breast at night; think of these babies
of the slums working ten hours day
to keep the wretched soul in the dis
eased body!
Legislation seems powerless to
affect the after, says the committee,
and the only hope for the children of
the slums is in aroused public feeling,
and in clear understanding of what
price we must some day pay for every
defrauded body and starved sui.
Whether worker or outcast most
needs help many a locker Oh has cues
| toned, for often the outcast fares the
better, and knows, even at the worst,
some Joy of living. AS for us, it will
not do to stand afar off or pass by on
the other side aud say it is no business
of ours. 1t is the business of every
man and woman who has a heart to
be touched by such a story; and when
every OF of US does his duty the
children will be turned out of the foul
| SuopS anu SlNOu q Oh"hO0 III 'iO'
Nv
He loved his wife with all his heart,
and meant to write her nice, long
letter; but he was in hurry, so he
sat down and drummed the letter out
on the typewriter, pet names and all.
He said just the things he would have
said if he had written with pen and
ink, and said them just as we'll; and
yet what dc you think? In a few
days here came telegram, and when
he tore it open anxiously, fearing bad
news, there was this message staring
at him: "Don't you ever dare write
to me on the typewriter again." And
the husband was somewhat discom'
flied, but as for the Home Corner it
was glad. This is a busy age, but in
the midst of the uproar there is still
time for the old romance and the
sweet poetry of love that makes the
world go round. Love letters on the
typewriter, rronosais by telephone
away vii Ia them! They are part and