The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-10-23

it would be impossible to detect the orig
inal goods.
Their mother, unable to speak the Eng
lish language, beckoned to her husband,
at work in distant field, and | went in
to await his coming. On, such house!
l could not call it home. One room serv-
ed as living room, bed room, dining room,
ETC.. ETC., for the entire family of six.
1t was entirely devoid of any ornaments
and dark and gloomy with flies, smoke
and filth. At the window hung torn
quincy sack for curtain; bare walls,
bare floor, most des0late, dreary home,
lacking the very necessaries of life.
l asked the little boys if they attended
school, and in broken English they blush
iEgly informed me they had no shoes nor
clothes and could not go this winter
The man told me he lived in that part
Of the country six years and never had
no good luck yet" and couldn't see how
he'd make live" the coming year, and
went on to explain of the poor prices and
how his crops had been injured in various
ways; how one year his crop averaged
two pecks per acre. ETC., ETC., and con-
Guiding with, II tot l been Won damn fool
ven | leave old country, and now | know
| been Won; dis farmin' in western coun-
try amt vot dey tells me, and now like
go back I amt got Won damn cent"
He informed me he would have about
500 bushels when he threshed, and out of
that, at 40 cents per bushel, he must sup
pert his family, pay hired help, thresh-
ing BILL and, as he said, 1.-The son-of-a
gum that he bought the land of insisted
he pay up this fall, land now dis vas de
hardest fall 1 ever see."
Poor man! l couldn't blame him for
even preferring the "old country" to our
GLORIOUS free America" He attributed
his poverty to the elements and | asked
him if he didn't think our system of gov
eminent might have somthing to do with
it in causing low prices, etc. ooh, |
don't know; price vas awful lettle; may
be Cleveland, she make him so. | not
vote him-I vote Republican"
l began to extoll the virtues of the P P.
and asked him why he didn't cast his
vote with them. ooh, | don't think he
be much: | don't hear much about him;
l know some Yankee been on his party"
Such pitiable ignorance, and his child
rem coming up with the same dwarfed
minds!
And where lies the fault?
In neighboring field l saw little boy
of 10 years blowing. His little hands
locked pinched and blue with cold; his
body clad in scant garments, his feet in
great 'clumsey mans boots. | asked him
if he didn't find it pretty cold blowing.
"Oh, yes" he replied; Il have to get some
school clothes, though" And this little
boy l learned had actually hired out for
a pitiable sum to enable him to get some
clothes to wear to school, School had
already been in session month, and out
Of five months in a year in that rural
district he would, perhaps, get three
months.
Think of it! Poor, oppressed child
hood! Oh, it made my heart ache.
On returning home / saw an account in
a leading paper of well known wealthy
family that had given a birthday party
for their little daughters pet poodle at
an expense of several hundred dollars
My thoughts returned to those little cold
feet and pinched faces, and l thought of
what those few hundred dollars might
have done for them. And there was the
Scandinavian farmer on the one hand,
working hard from the first break of day
until late at night, and his family starv-
ing. On the other hand, the father of the
poodle dogs" owner, never working
day, never producing anything, yet liv
ing in luxury and plunged in the very
depths of foolish extravaganza.
My country it's of thee,
Sweet land of liberty
Yes, this is the state of affairs in glor-
ious, free America, all beneath Liberty's
flaming torch, beneath the dear old stars
and stripes.
There must be something wrong.
Reader, how do you vote? To put
shoes on those little cold, bare feet, or for
the poodle dogs birthday party?"
Q. H. B.
Lac uui Parle MINI.