New-York tribune., 1902-12-27
NOTHING TO WEAR.
Il Society That Finds Clothes a
Difficult Problem To SofUe.


Mrs Fullerton superintendent of the relief WORK
of the Association for Improving the Condition OF
the Poor.
people never know what difference clothes
make until they get into this work. said Mrs
Fullerton. why they make so much difference
not only in looks but in feelings, that sometimes
think there is a human being in the world VINO
could make his personality felt through the me
dunn of ragged clothes. I've seen man sit IN tnat
chair shabby, grimy. disconsoate. down at the
heels without the heart to look for a job or any
chance of getting one with the clothes ne had OF.
And I've seen the same man fixed out in good
suit and, on my word. you couldn't tell him from
a man that never dreamed of charity have been
fairly startled at the transformation.
They talk about the difference between the h'n-
est Industrious workngman and the tramp! You
let a man who has been prosperous all his life he
out of money and work for 3 few weeks, sleep
around on park benches or in free lodging houses,
and how quickly he will take on the tramp
look. And If he gets down to where his
clothes not fit TO be seen. it is a mighty hard
thing for him to get back without helping hand
There are all kinds of questions tangled up with
the clothes question among the very poor-ques-
tons of health and sickness, death and education
Men who come out of the hospital in cold weather
suffer good deal for suitable clothing. They are
weak from illness and relaxed from living in the
warm wards. Perhaps they went in in warmer
weather, and have only summer clothes fneu-
monia consumption and death result from such
cases.
will saw that there is good deal of Silent herosm
among men of the poorest class connected with
their clothes. I've plenty of them. cold days
without any overcoat and only thin cotton shirt
under their light coats when their wives and chill
dren had least enough clothing to keep them
from suffering Many OF these men clothe their
families at the expense of their own health ana
comfort. 1 think that ought to be set down 10
| their credit when their sins are reckoned up II
this class 1 believe the man needs clothes more
than the woman. She at least stay at home,
but he has to go out and look for Job. and to
work after he has got it
HARD ON THE POOR.
| There is one kind of mems clothes that we are
having constant trouble about, and that is motor
4 mems uniforms A is tried for few days,
gets job as gripman. and is told to report for
| work in uniform. The uniforms must be purchased
| from certain firm. with which the company has
| an arrangement. With cap and badge, the new
uniform costs ST. He cannot pay for 1t in install
| ments. will the company keep back portion
of his wages weekly to pay for IT. 1t must be paid
| for down. We have good many calls to furnish
these uniforms. and it is question OF supplying
them or letting the men lose their Jobs. If the
man keeps the Job it is all right He will probably
pay But if he has the misfortune to run into a
| truck early IN his experience. and lose his job at
the end Of few days. many men do, the
money is wasted We have asked the street rail-
way company to make some arrangement for an
instament plan. for taking the uniform back
| under such circumstances. but the only reply we
got that they could not combine charity with
business.
| Yes. we have some funny clothes coming in
| here. The other day little scrap OF boy came
| in with bundle of work. He about as big
pint of peanuts. and he had on pair of men $
shoes. which he had got out of the ash barrel.
| When we had him take them off, we found that his
| stockings had feet. 1t must have been so COM
| Portable walk in those shoes!
| "One of the most important phases of the clothes
| problem is dressing children for school. OF what
! good is compulsory education law or child
| labor law to the child who has no clothes 10 wear
TO school? Many days are lost from school for TINS
| reason. among children with whom every day
counts And there plenty of young girls around ,
the S n who are 6s abn most sRoekng
things visitors encounter. -oro
made through our sewing room. We cut the gar
ments. and give them out for women to make at
obliged to do something immediately Either the the
husband S is must Of have werK 4ee ef II 1t GE is
charity for give them, all we would give any
| way and generally more than the thing is worth
| when it is done But at least the woman makes
a It p aad oo ooat to keep the
from the decentralization that must follow on char
| liable support
| WHERE THE CLOTHES GO.
| The disposal of those fourteen thousand gar
| ments would make interesting reading If it couid
all be written out, but 1t might be too painful
| Five thousand of them were sold by the women
| who made them. to their neighbors In the tele
they received a SlIidll coiHhii9SiOi 80
these sales Many of them went to ciothe the 't'e
| abandoned babies that found lying around III
bsIp,avs and on the streets. These forsaken mites
! are sent first to Bellevue and afterward boarded
out in country families, until home oy aooplion
| can be found for them. great many went 10 ID q
| hosntal which has an arrangement with US 10Y
the making of infants clothing Those made ma e roo 6
had1v TO sell went into old clothes room TO pe
given away. and many of them helped 10 1T ouI
children for school. So our fourteen thouSdnu sat
ments went in a good many dnerent nlfeCtoILo-
who make them and often their neighbors. take
tho of them. We have had women come
back here after three years TO get patIeaRS R
or buy garments we never give !nelti u m 800
evident that they must be permanent bredu"Ih-
ners they must get work at shop OF Idctoiy:
And then the difference between living "dSe aiu on.
a starvation Is seen. We pay them ~ GEMS .
g cents a dozen for finishing pants but & oon 1e'
us talk sweatshop prices 1t is too depreSstes, te
The number of men who cannot 1urnlsh clotheS
for their families even when they are at work az
The IisIIal wages unskilled labor Is increasing
steadily 1t cannot he otherwise, with the pricees
Of the necessities of life that are prevailing lhis
fa poor buying coal at 10 or ~ GEMS LoI 900
nail half full are paying at the rate of SIS or $5o
a ton Meat is high, butter milk ana esS9 a,S ati
rising With the rents that must be paid In New.
York and the prices for food. unSkllled Worklnen
arc on the ragged edge of misfortune all the time
| I have on my list such man who mas steauy
iob AT $40 month. You would not think lin an 90
iect of pity or charity. But he has seven chliufeH
persons on $40 a month? 1t Is not enough; tnat 5
ali there is about it. There are bound to be times
when more than member OF that family Will
have nothing to wear
rop noMESTTC SCIENCE EDUCATION.