People's party paper. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1891-1898, 1893-12-08
The Wife's Picture.


The Wife's Picture.
"Free Concert Hall" is the sign
that hangs above Tom Aliens place
on Market street; but the only songs
that are sung there now are the dirges
Of poverty and the songs of the IN
employed. The topical singer, gand-
lily alfred, has been replaced by the
small army Of men who are glad to
sleep on the bare floor and to be
sheltered from the inclement weather.
1t Is true that some of the men who
stay there are tough characters, but
there is many a poor fellow sleeping
there who, last November, was sleep
ing between clean sheets in com
Portable bed. Robert Hagan, who is
! the bar tender who issues "foor
tickets" with every glass Of beer,
said:
"People may say what they please,
but the most of the men who sleep
here now are men who have never
had to do such a thing before. The
thieves and professional tramps al
ways have better place to sleep than
on the bare floor. A full-fedged
tramp could not be induced to sleep
in there unless he was caught down
town in the rain or was too tired to
hunt another place. There are too
many barns open where the hay af-
fords a better bed than this but the
workman who is not used to tres
passing would rather sleep here than
to crawl into barn. He knows that
if he is arrested he can prove where
he was, and then he is desperate and
does not care very much whether he
lives or dies. A tramp values his
life very highly and it would surprise
many people to know how well some
of them live.
DOES NOT DRINK.
"The men who come here are men
who have not learned to beg, and
who cannot find any work to do.
There is a man over yonder who is a
good bookkeeper if his penmanship
is any criterion. He says that he
is capable stenographer, also, and [
| believe he is. When he first came in
here he bought q glass Of beer and
asked me to drink it, saying that he
was not feeling very we'll and that he
did not want to drink any beer that
night. He has been here several
nights, and, just to try him, have
offered him whisky, gin and beer,
] but he does not drink"
The young man pointed out by the
barkeeper was sitting near the stove
with his chm resting on his breast.
He was the picture of dependency,
and his thin, haggard face told the
story of misery and want. His clothes
were badly worn, but he kept them
we'll brushed, and but for the down
cast look and general appearance of
detection no one would have taken
him for soldier in the army of the
unemployed.
For the purpose Of testing the
truth of the bartender's statement
that he did not drink, the young fell
low was asked to have some liquor.
In place like that a man who de-
clines liquor without presenting some
sort of excuse would subject himself
self to ridicule, and the Young man
replied:
HIS WEES PICTURE.
"No, I thank you, sir. | am not
feeling very well this evening, and I
will not take anything"
An effort to get him to tell how
he happened to be there was enef-
fectual. He simply said that he did
not care to discuss the circumstances
which reduced him to want, and add
ed that it was a matter which could
not possibly concern any one except
himself. He moved some distance
away as if afraid he would attract
further observation, and later in the
evening was seen looking at photo
graph of a young and pretty woman.
There were only few persons in the
room, and he was not aware that he
was being scrutinized. He looked
at the picture intently, occasionally
moving it nearer and then farther
from him to get better view.
"That's his wife, said the barten-
der. "She is somewhere back East,
and he gets letter from her almost
every day, but the other day learn
ed that he did not have a postage
stamp to mail a reply. [ gave him
one and that fellow thanked me Just
as if had given him ten dollars.
lie has more gratitude in his compo-
sition than [ have in mine. III had
young wife and wanted a stamp to
write to her I'd get it if I had to
steal it, and that id quick, too"
That was the bartender's solution Of
the question, "Shall I steal or shall
I starve?"
Woman Suffrage.