Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1900-04-12

" M, " IS q rO1nOn!' nc CflCU
b. crowded. Yet. though Mulberry
street is almost as poor as Broadway is
rich, the crowds are dcnser. and it is
not an idle throng either for on all
sides are evidences B thrift. All the
stores are occupied, every hallway is
converted into dminutive shop, and
there are stands at the curb, and even
in the middle of the street. loaded
with wares which the peddlers have to
offer The whole district being thus
converted into a market place, the pur-
chasers and passersby are forced to
thread their way now on the sidewalk.
but oitenest on the asphalt driveway,
over which latter. by the bye, there Is
never passageway for horse and
wagon.
Yet. except for very occasional
ably orderly. The whole is picturesque
from the very Quantness Of the sur
roundings. 1t all seems so foreign to
an American city, not even the Eng
lsh language being heard as one walks
by. I say the scene is picturesque,
but alas, not the women Raphael
and Corrcggio have taught us how beau
tiful the daughters of Italy may be,
but they could not have found their
models in such locality, where chill
drcn of ii are attired like elderly wom-
on and look older than they are. with
their colorless cheeks and sunken eyes,
which seek the pavement because OF
the stoop in their backs from carrying
burdens. How could beauty thrive
here?
MI Mitchell took in the general scene
az glance as he turned into the alley,
leaving the Kaleidoscope array of col
or behind him and passing into the
gloom beyond where all seemed color
less.
BE careful where you walk" came a
warning Com Preacher Jim just in
time to prevent Mr. Mitchell from
treading upon an infant crawling along
toward the street in state of nudity
which would have attracted attention
anywhere but in this neighborhood
where children who are nearly full
grown are often clothed with but Il
single garment.
At the end of the alley was a court
so called by courtesy, being in truth
but little wider than the alley itself.
\t the back rose up gauntly between
tnc main houses and the rising sun n
tall structure, erected in comparative
ly recent times that the greedy owner
of the ground might squeeze a few
more dollars from the pockets Of the
,t-ha Of hu ii
ness in this great "now land" is TO
herd with these who can nj least COM
prehcnd their own tongue. What mat
ter if this back tenement shut off both
light and air from the 20 or 30 fami-
lies living in the front houses? II you
should speak to the landlord about it,
he would reply;
81 do not compel them to remain.
If they do not IKE it, let them move
This is a free country"
A free country! Aye, truly Very
free when price is put upon the very
air,
An iron stairway running up the out.
side of the back tenement did double
service, serving both as entrance way
for the dodgers and as n fire escape, an
economic method Of obeying the law
which demands that these poor devils
shall at least not be burned alive
And, since the fire escape must be
placed on the outside, why waste val
uablo-that is to say, rentable-spact
by erecting stairways within?
Mr. Mitchell followed Preacher jim
up to the third floor where they rest
ed a moment on the landing while
awaiting some response from a lout
knocking upon the door
"The old woman keeps her latch or
to keep out intrusive visitors" explain
ed Preacher Jim as he repeated hi.
summons.
But after some time, there beini
still no sound from within, he turned
the knob. To his surprise the doc
yielded, and he led the way in.