The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1902-10-11
The Story
Of Six Young
Jewesses

10 write down In Russian IN bOok the
experiences ! had during the day. my
struggles and the snubs and rebuffs IL
was heartbreaking, that search for
work. Ny Journal would make book
so big" said Miss Serber. holding her
fingers several inches apart.
When at length she did get paying
employment. still in the old necktie line.
she received as her first weeks wages
$1.25 But she was very quick TO pick
up knowledge and rapid and skillful I'm
using her fingers. and by that time she
could speak a little English. The truth
is that during all these weeks OF stair
climbing and heart aching and waiting
she had been steadily and regularly at
tending night school TO learn the Ian
guage.
Il soon learned TO finish off the neck
ties, and this part OF the work was giv-
en- 10 me. At first 1 received 3 cents a
dozen for the ties. but l worked very
fast and turned out thirty dozen day.
Then the mistress said / was making
100 much money. and she would cut
me down 20 cents a dozen"
-IheEesar-tAe- second sister, tfad even Il
drearier experience and even less
luck" though after a time these
dauntless girls succeeded i'm bettering
the family fortunes. A third sister be-
gan her career of work In an artificial
flower establishment Most interesting
OF all Ii is 10 note how the spirit of
1 hope end ambition that was I'm them
Kept driving them up step by step 10
better social plane.
Il was not happy among the people
| was thrown with" continued Miss Ser
Der. i did not belong there"
The first step out OF il for the sisters
came when a friend taught the in
domitable Alice to make infants cloaks
A better class of sewing people was
employed on these, and the pay was
better. The girl was now able TO earn
| from $40 10 $12 a week. Yet there was
the everlasting but" She had to work
all day long in dark room by gas
light. which presently began TO tell on
her eyes. Nevertheless all this time she
went to an evening school. She took a
first university course while vet she
was making neckties for her living. and
none OF her classmates suspected the
capable student was a factory sewing
girl
At length in the cloakshop the ambi-
tious girl felt her wings grown strong.
She spread them and sailed out of fac
the infants cloak making industry
thoroughly. She herself went to the
manufacturers and took contracts for
work. She and Theresa sewed at home
all day. When Elizabeth. Eugene. So
phia and Rebecca, the sisters who were
still in school because they were too
young TO work. came home i'm the after
noon, they took their places in the sew
ing room and helped the elder sisters as
they could. The result was that these
girls had from the children's cloak
making industry an income of S35 to $40
week. 1t sounds like a made up sto-
ry. but IL is r.
Next Alice I.ved that she would
be numbered among American women
lawyers. She continued on, making
cloaks. studying law. She was gradu-
ated in 1897. was shortly afterward ad-
mitted 10 the bar and opened her office
for practice in 1898 Beginning without
cent of money or knowledge of any
trade. without understanding a word of
English. without any friends outside of
her own family. who were poor and as
ignorant of the ways of our world as
she was, this undaunted girl in eight
years from the time she landed here
from Russia found herself a rising
young American lawyer. She is in gem
eral practice. but has numerous crimi-
nal cases. in which she is cminently
successful. She frequently pleads in
court before judge and Jury. 1t made