The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-05-31
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sordid drudgery Joyous. The rams wastrus
OF the authors OF the The Woman twho
Tolls and for this reason 1 should .finh
both experiences practically va1uele3 a.
human documents.
Fol instance, take the Lynn shoe Hprke
ers described by Miss Marie Van Ybrsts
Now. l know nothing about the Ly~nnSfaos
tory girl: but / do know the Erocs;oTI&aos
tory girl well, and unless two Massachusetts
mill towns can be absolutely different in the
average mentality and morality of their in.
habl;ants- she has rot succeeded in givino
a very accurate delineation of character and
life.
I'm Brockton, ns In the majority Of New
England manufacturing towns, daughters
OF the best people go into the mills quite q
O matter Of course. as girls of no bstteS.
birth and nc higher degree of intelligence
and refinement go to teaching and to shorts
hand and typewritins in other sections Of
the country.
NEW ENGLAND MILL GIRL a.,
a HIGH TYPE.
The New ENGLAND mill girl. as I have
found her through long acquaintance, Is 81
a high order OF intelligence. and her place
IN the mill Is one OF d.gnity-a place where
she earns a living by hard work. but which
- not without its compensations and it,
pleasures. the latter as legitimate and
wholesome as any human being may be ale
lowed to enjoy. 1t is ~silly-worse than silly.
because so utterly useless-to pity peopl0
because they do not have the things which
from our point Of view, are necessary u
happiness.
An appreciation Of erudite poetry and -
une paintings IL not at all necessary to tho
happiness Of any human being. and IL n
upon Just such u theory that the wouldrhA
STUDENT OF tho laboring masses pour1 out
pathy."
Miss Wilkins was then asked about ,n~
kIOWlnR Importance of fba Iohor o.d ><AS
economic questions az material for the doS
ton writer.
1T Is true" she replied.
Everybody nowadays wants to disctsn
the labor question. and nearly everybody
who writes thinks he can throw some 1ishS
upon 1t. II not solve it. with one fell sWoeS
In the pages Of . novel.
1t has become the fad to dabbls In soon.
omics, and men and women alike kill much
otherwise valuable time 'sociologizinx.'
The results are. As q rule, pittful. !.
have stories and novels which havU
none OF the solid charms OF fiction ND
still less Of the solid worth Of facts.
HER TRIBUTE To THE /
LATE FRANK NORRIS.
such results are misleading whsrsvss
they are not too hopslessly dull to be CO.
aside before reading.
The stories Of Frank Norris, especially
his last. The Pit are glowing exceptions.
SoSeuso IGey NOV the mana Oh tho literary
artist. I did 50 enjoy thai epic Of wheat,
and. poor fellow. he la to die"
Amt about your W workr' the viatnR
inquired.
"oh." responded the Lady In the blue
tailor GOWN. Il an writing every day durin6
what time I can spare between breaking IN
new cooks. ! have been doing nothing much
more than short stories for Z year or moro
Some Of these days I hall write . story
about New Jersey life"
you knew that . story about NlW
Jersey IL full Of romance. a. full - IL -
Of ~mosquitos1f
Eyes. indeed" declared the immortaiiysP
Of rural New England, rising to bid hso
visitor good-by, 'ff I'd been born ana
brought up In Methuehsn I'd have fuund
Just a. quaint INC romantic people to wfssS
about here In jersey a. ever stepped
through the pages Of . New England steEI
book. -
For people are al alike. especially n ths1
happen to BE- women, whether they 1--we =
Massachusetts, or Metuchen." fprf
Which remark confirmed tho hittar YUGooa
ten OF the cab drtver.