The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1901-05-22

casionally she has u part of a Sunday,
but for the most part it is work, eat.
sleep, rise and work again from one
months end to another.
But I'm afraid to quit" Annie says,
Sfor fear l might not be able to fnd
another place where l could pay part
Of my board in work, and you can see
for yourself that | couldn't pay 1t all in
money.
MY clothes? About four years ago
had part wool suit Last Easter
made 1t over. It's all the good dress
I've had in heavy goods all that time.
l have to be awful careful with 1t. /
try to keep 1t as nice as | can, and
sometimes when / can get off l wear 1t
to church. The dresses | wear In the
factory don't matter. Anything will
do, and you'd be surprised how awful
cheap we do get things. I've heard
folks make fun of our things, and the
stuff we buy for everyday wear 10
cheap, and 1t fades and everything, but
1t is just as told you, we have TO keep
ourselves covered with what we can
buy-calico at or cents yard, 10
cent stockings and shoes and SO on"
What about hats and shoes and
gloves"
Gloves" she exclaimed. 81 don't
have any. I've a pair of % cent nit
tens for winter Shoes of course l
have to have; but, you know, there are
sales, and we have TO go on Saturday
nights, when the stores are open. I've
got on pair now that l paid 40 cents
for. They're not very stylish, but they
keep my feet off the street. Why, yes,
they wear pretty well. The reason
they sell so cheap is because they are
all out of fashion. When the square
toes are in style, we wear the pointed
toes, and when the pointed toes come
in we go for the square ones"
Other secrets of dress were revealed.
After the holidays In winter or after
midsummer, as the case may be- coats
and hats drop in price to almost ridicu-
lous figures. 1t takes a long time TO
save money enough 10 buy even the
cheapest cloak, and they are sold as
low as SO as the season advances.
Nothing nice, of course" said the
girl, "but one that Will keep me warm
and last a couple of winters. Cloaks
sell cheap when they are out Of style.
too, like the shoes. And hats! Why,
Pye bought n hat for 10 cents and
trimmed It myself with stuff l had.
You see, If you can buy remnants OF
velvet or ribbon you get them for so
much less. l wore an old hat till after
New Years, and then / got myself up
one for about 81. Why, at this time or
the year you can see ready trimmed
hats hanging in the store windows for
less than 81. Fifty cents a week is $26
year. If you just know that you
have to buy your clothes with that, you
Will do 1t. that's ALL but, tell you, we
don't have any frills on our pettlcoats."
Annie Smith doesn't know how long
her health will endure the strain of the
long hours OF labor, but she lives in
that hope of a raise" when she may
be able to pay full board and rest when
her days work Is done. Until then she
will work from early morn till near the
midnight hour. Maybe she will even
tually become of such use In the fac
tory that she will earn a fair amount
OF wages. Maybe some day she will
marry and have little home of her
own.
Meanwhile it would be interesting to
know what Annie thinks of other life
as she sees it, what she thinks OF the
girls she sees on their way to the thea
ter or dance, what thoughts come into
her head when, through the gauzy cur
tains of some cafe. she catches
gllmpses of women drinking as much
us her weekly wage In single gulp of
wine-St. Louis Star.