The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-08-15
lived FIVE WEEKS ON
- less THAN SEVEN DOLLARS.
chicago Tribune.)

chicago Tribune)
Nee, Eve weeks on less than S'l4!
,,,t. may seem. at first, an impos-
-.,,,o raat worthy only of place in
20 imaginary existence, but Miss
Williams Of Chicago is alive
'1 .boerful to show that it can really
:. .coomnlished. although real suffer
-. and actual privation accompanied
- .,.,erirant-made perforce. Back
- the experiment lies The sorrowful
" LA tale Of a clever woman, brave.
practically friendless. ana puI ~
l..;,-,s5 for the worlds battle, thrown
lreS5snl, tIpon her own resources with
~. 5ofnira means of wage earning or
fnancial support.
10 Vas horn in the south, in Tennes-
- saws Miss Williams, who has
- in Cbica 60 since last January and
!St,nds 10 continue living here-if live
IN she may-despite the hardships
~ bpr Chicago experience, and al
though / always wanted to earn my
orp bread and butter. my father and
brotber we're shocked at the bare idea:
he, felt. indeed. that ! had dlsgraced
tber bv the mere suggestion. But when
was still under - my father died
gtd1enlN-6liQ pOpl anu my
soIIr4-ad him soon after. Then came the
beginning of my hard times.
Seeking Fortune in Chicago.
Varied experiences followed. 1
learned tvpesetting and stenogra ply.
and tried school teaching, all without
much success. I found few npportun-
tiles in the south I drifted out to Tex
as and so last January, to Chicago.
4,1I cd 9
articles for southern papers and mag
azinps. had read proof and held copy.
felt that surely here in Chicago con-
genial work could be found.
Bat my articles came back to me
pIn7lDtly. or were retained unpublished,
unscrepted. even when inclosed post
age. ! made the round of the publish
lng houses and the employment agen-
cies I'm vain Al the latter / was told
frankly that I was too old to hope for
good position: that young girls alone
were in demand. I'm not in my second
childhood yet, by any means; | could
do good work. and faithful, if I could
get Il to do; and I'm not afraid of hard
work. either But temporary position
Bt S. per week was all that ! could find
Beginning on Sc Week.
III may be easy to live on Sc a week
Two dollars weekly went for my tiny
hall room was still at the plain
family hotel I had sought when first
coming to Chicago. Sixty cents went
for -arfarc. with another 80 for laun-
dr. work postage stamps. and other
Uu8VCidah e necessities Sometimes.
too. ] was III. and had to spend a little
for simple medicines. NONne too much
was left for my food purchased no
clothing. of course. although my shoes
were poor and thin. Every day of the
four weeks I held that Sc position 1
dined on buclWeat cakes. strip. and a
cup of coffee for l. cents: / found |
could keep up best on tilis diet. For
breakfast I had simply a cup Of coffee,
with an uncoOked cereal in my room for
supper. These were easy times and lux
ules. however, compared with those
that came later. At the end OF the
month 7 found myself once more out of
position. and with less than a dollar
% my pocket But my room rent was
paid FOR week in advance.
Searching For Work.
During my FIVE weeks without en-
poEment earned $3.50 by misceIlane-
Gus Jobs Of typesetting a kindly wo-
man I'm the same building somehow
suspected my plight. after little and
heped me out with some good meals
ano a little money Cor car fare-I had
10 have car fare because when I'd
walked down town from Thirty ninth
street / couldn't ,ook for work. An
oJheF kindly woman loaned me dollar.
sun another % cents and q quarter. But
altogether I had less than 81 in money
udIhg All that awful five weeks-and
gar taro cost me 10 cents every day.
How did I manage? Wei. ] was
careful And I faced starvation many
uinsS Nobody knows the thoughts that
vsn come M in a human heart while
usmping the streets, cold. hungry. eX-
hausted. looking for work with well
l'0- prosperous, uncaring fellow hui
mans on every side. never noticing or
'hinhng Of Your plight. until the ex-
pslenee has been tested. Two nights
ana two days was the longest time /
ever Went without food. but I tell you
my thoughts ran rampant during that
eIlod and they We're not pleasant ones.
suicide Why yes. OF course I thought
VI H. but M not coward. never
C'A run away from distress or danger.
- couldn't run then. although my codr-
age sank Iorv at times.
IF drop dead on the streets Ill
9'e an honor TO the paving stones
p'"p on 7 told The one woman who
oIa D only just made one acquaint-
stood by me with sympathy and
engagement. as well as practical as
'>'a"'e now and then.
Cakes and sirup Chief Diet.
=. The hotel was changing hands and
s tenants were allowed to stay on.
fee, until they could find other
"S' ~ staid for four weeks. What
j hadn't enjoyed this accommoda-
- Well suppose ] should have
o. As for food ! did with little.
'''llallE, when I had q little money.
treated myself 10 q solid meal of
usai cakes and syrup: once a kindly
a'uIep woman invited me out TO d
49, oeei dinner I hope she'll never
roN, from experience. how good the
~, dinner after you have been
FlE TWO days. tastes. ] couldn't
ag'ept help from my one friend too
You see. Then | learned how 10
'uage 2 long time without fainting
~ single cup of coffee. And there $
penny restaurant. too.
h., meyer saw another woman IN H.
IN, was treated nicely. | think, by
~ way, ] must have met the incest.
b.. heople in Chicago, the treatment
mad an through At this restau-
oa4 YOU can get two slices of fruit
- OF one of black cake, a KIND OF
giaseE bread, or a cup of coffee, or d
o. o. 81 mix, each for penny. once
W. o"Ice. when had little money or
saie unusually hungry, l treated my