The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-10
Joe. His Mother and the Rabv.


IT'S a queer world" said a New York
physician as he laid the morning paper
aside, according to the New York sun.
What prompted that original remark?'
asked a visitor.
We'll l was just reading an account of
a stabbng affair, and it suddenly oc-
CURED to me that I had known the man
who did the killing" The doctor settled
back in his chair and drummed on the
table with his fingers, and the visitor ate
his omelette and waited for the story.
After few moments it came.
when l first began 10 practice ] did an
immense amount of charity work. Every
fellow does that at the start for expert
ence, and later he keeps it up for human
ity's sake. I had pretty good success with
children and made quite a name down in
the tenement districts-and incidently
spent most Of my pocket money on my pa
TENTS. That was before the day Of free
sterlized milk for sick babies and dozens
of institutions for the relief of the poor.
"One summer a woman began bringing a
SICK baby to me. A small boy about three
years old always came with them and
seemed TO be fairly strong and well, but
the baby was a pitiful little thing with
thin white face and big, blue eyes, with a
look of pain in them. The woman seemed
an ignorant honest soul, and generally
wore a thick dark veil to hide black eye
to figure out a thing like that, you know,
but she never spoke of her husband or
complained, so l didn't ask any questions.
She brought the baby often, and each time
II locked mere waXen and scrawney, but 1
couldn't find out that the child had any
disease and all the symptoms pointed to
a lack of nourishment. Al last one morn
ing l said 10 the mother that I believed
the baby was starving, and that l didn't
intend TO allow her to leave the Office I'M
I'll she had told me the truth about the af-
fair. She looked stubborn for a moment
and wouldn't answer, but then the tears
began TO roll down her bruised, discolOred
cheeks, and she confessed that she didn't
have enough food to give the baby. She
worked hard, but her husband drank and
took every cent she made and beat her
every day into the bargain. She was fond
OF the brute in spite of all that, and told
me a long story about the heavenly ma
ture the fellow had before he began TO
drink SO hard 1 told her she ought to go
to court and complain of him, but she
wouldn't listen to that and abused me
roundly for advising a wife to turn
against her man.
Finally l told her I would give her a
quart of milk every day. l wouldn't give
her the money because l didn't covet tho
privilege of buying bad whiskey for the
husband; but l would pay the nearest
HIN uCppt 10 supply neF with quart a
day. That would feed the baby and leave
a little for little Joe, who didn't look quite
SO well as he did when the two first began
calling on me. After that 1 didn't hear
any more about the case for a week or
two. Then my friends turned up again
The baby looked worse than ever, and
the woman's face was a patchwork in
blue and green, but little Joe was
quite rosy. l didn't understand. The ba-
ny was in a bad condition and l did what
l could for it. After / left my Office
went down TO the milk depot. The man
said my woman had had her quart OF
milk every day.
Il puzzled over the thing that night
The next morning the trio were at my
Office. The baby's blue eyelids were closed
and [ thought at first that it was not
breathing, but found a faint flutter. 1
couldn't see any reason for such a state
of things, so, once more, 1 led the woman
into my private office and shut the door
Then | said:
about this ard you've got to tell me
what's the matter. That Dabys starving
to death and l want to know what you We
done with the milk.
THE woman looked scared and turned
pale between bruises. Then she gave a
sort of wall and jumped up. still holding
the baby.
No, the baby didn't have the milk
she said in a frantic sort of way. I gave
it TO little Joe. There wasn't enough TO
feed them both and Joe began to get sick
and l loved him better than l did the
baby. l amt had a crust TO eat myself,
but l couldn't let Joe die. The babys on
~ a girl, and if she does live she'll be un-
happy like me- and l don't love her like L
Go Joe l thought both of them were go
ing 10 die, and l couldn't live without
Joe. so l gave him the milk and just let
the baby have a little. May be you think
l amt suffered watching the baby, but I
couldn't spare Joe. l couldn't. Some
day he'll be a man, and I'll be proud of
him. A man can do anything, but a girl
would just do what I've done. Joe shan t
die
'She was screaming the words out and
seemed almost crazy. The thing was aw-
full; it made me feel heartsick
Why, you idiot, l said. Why didn't
you tell me? Ia have looked out for Joe
too
Just then the baby opened its eyes
great, uncanny, weird eyes in the tiny
face. 1t Stared a me in a miserable way
that made my heart come into my throat.
Then all the light died out of the eyes,
but they still stared.
There was no use saying anything
more to The mother She sat down and
looked at the baby in a quiet, stunned
way. Then she reached out and put one
arm around little Joe and held him tight.
told her l would keep on paying for the
milk as long as she wanted it, and she
and Joe and the Faby went home.
Il never saw them again. When l went
to the house they had moved, and no one
seemed to know where they had gone.
Joe's the fellow who has just murdered a
man in a Bowery saloon. I wonder what
the girl would have been. It's a queer
world"
Song of the BattIeship Suckers.