davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

have tried, oh. so many times, to
speak TO this lady. but she VIII. not say
lowed her to her house, and when rang
the bell large young man came oit ana and
asked me what. did want. l told MN
and kicked me three times, very violent
II, and did not sleep for several l. nights Il! Is,
down town yesterday and followed her
from Temple street to Fifth and Spring;
aud she gave me such cold looks tina. that
DO you think She Is trifling with my
affections, and Is there any way that |
could win this lady? enclose you q
stamp for reply.
Now before We sc into III, thls mn, matter
wrong 10 start with. You speak a great
deal about your heart. but from the de-
scription Of your symptoms i may may i res
stomach trouble. Buy a box of dyspep-
sia tablets and take one after each meal
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

place. One looking at the workmen sees
that they are laborlng listlessly and with
utter Indifference. Now and then they
will saw board or drive a nail, but it
Is done in the splritless and casual man
nor OF men who are killing time, The
demoralizing influences OF senseless labor
are visible here. The men are pooling
away their time and what dignity re-
mains to them.
Now, what is true of this work Is true
of many kinds of labor that minsief
to artificial and unnecessary wants,
public officers. Cheops, most powerful
poodler, employed 100 900 men for over
thirty years building his pyramid or
effort had been concentrated upon the
building OF a great highway. across the
desert, or in the damming of the Nile
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

hearts tits no use worrying about cerlsc
ana oerthas OF old lace and manicure sets
and tooth powder.
Don't hold up silks and display untidy
shcesm The phraseology of this injunc-
tIon might imply that you may hold up
silks and display the alluring dronsttch
or that ever popular ornament Of decora-
t,ve nrt known as the clock" But
fancy the author was going through no
such psychological rubber-necking pro-
cess as this when she penned the lines
She evidently meant that nothing 50
ornaments woman as neat foot or
IN Their two OF them. And there she
right provided as Is prescribed the fect
are we'll shod. But beware. sweet buds,
OF walking on the sides of your feet ana
getting run down at the heel. There are
some OF you who do it--alas! thousands
and on rainy days, when you waddle and
wobble over the public highways, petit
coat In hand, and with the awkwardest
gait YOU can command, you make woman
haters of many good, matrimonially m
cined men. If I were a sweet young
thing-that is IL were a sweet young
thing OF the aromatic, biteable. delicious
sex-I would be the delight Of chiropo-
dists and shoe dealers, for as a man l
Know that woman has nothing better to
stand on than pretty footsies. And IN
conscientiously avoiding the natural fem
lnine tendency to walk on the sides OF
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

The little girl was round checked and
smiling. She seemed to feel pride in be-
Ing the object of our attention.
/ asked the boy If there were many
accidents.
Very few" he said. Once in a while
some one is careless and gets hurt, but
not often
In room flied with lads and lassies
OF fifteen to eighteen years. saw many
hollow chests and pale faces. In the
weaving room, where the noise, the heat
and the cotton dust are beyond descrip-
toni found myself growing hysterical
and was Obliged to retreat, but In the
few moments i was there l noticed the
pallor and emaciation of the women's
faces under their white caps. worn to
keep the cotton from their hair. But
what keeps it from their lungs?
This work is all done "by the piece"
and In eleven hours something over a
dollar can be earned.
/ left the mill sick at heart and feel
ing that l must change the conditions
of the working world before morning.
Then l proceeded to find some of the
mills. ! called on one whose three daugh-
tiers, now grown women. have been mill
workers for the last ten years. The old
est girl had been employed fourteen
years.
One OF the daughters came home dur
ing my call. She is Va piece hand and
can leave whenever she wishes. She was
pretty girl. and while not absolutely
robust, seemed to be in good health
1T is mighty hard life, she an
swered my inquiries by saying. Yes.
shorter hours would make it easier, bu:
then we woudn' earn enough to keep
U.S.
"The little children did not seem un-
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01
THE SOUTHERN MILL CHILD LABOR QUESTION

ployed we yield to them. There Is no
law In the state against child labor, but
we have an understood law of protest
here against engaging children under
twelve Added to this. we have a school
where we give the children Of our en-
ploycs under twelve free tuition. They
had never attended school In the country
before coming to work In the mills.
This school and the Home of the Shell
tering Arms" where infants and ntr-
sery children are cared for while their
parents work, are both maintained at
I the expense OF the mill owners.
The superintendent of this mill was
spoken Of with much esteem by both en-
ployes and outside parties.
Meantime the statement that small
| children are not wanted in the mills
must face the fact that Northern capital
has been invested In Georgia and Caro-
lima mills, simply because those States
allowed child labor, and the work could
be carried on at much less expense than
when older people performed all the
tasks.
! A man well known in the world Of
| finance whom l met while travelling, a
close friend of Andrew Carnegie and
! Grover Cleveland, and other national fig
1 ures. assured me he had seen little child
rem leave the mills so exhausted that
| they fell asleep on the ground. unable to
reach home; and in the same mills many
| mutilated hands were to be seen.
! My own observations and inquiries.
| however, during nearly a week, failed
| to discover any parallel cases. and
came to the conclusion that mill own
(. ers and managers were like many other
| classes of men-dlverse In types-and the
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

hnps 'twculd be better to say. between
pumpness and fatness. You may hover
.j.lcm,sly on the diinry, dccollcc side
with eli masculnity grinding UP the grit
m their knees before you, but beware Of
lcaphog the preclpicc. once on the obese
side va, fall with the dull and sickening
thud OF q butter firkin and after that
folks begin applying the adjective moth
crly" to you, or profanely asking "Who
is that old party 4" No use pinching your
waist then, and what Is more, there's no
use hoping for anybody else to pinch It,.
When plumpncss or rather corpulence--
initiates murder and gets "out," fly not,
90 .sclatlnous ones, to the construction Of
the whale bone. Take anti-fat And
take big doses Of it-yea, great gobs Of
the stuff. Once you get double chin
dragging you down and n tendency to
pop buttons like Dickenss Peggoty, YOU
lad better begin perfectlng yourself In
missionary tactics or the theories of high
ec education.
No chance. for the Mendelssohn march
tlen. For If you must be hludeeoned
with the hatefulest ofSall thjngs-the
trutli-know ye that men folks are coy
witt, ali women who cannot in some way
JUSTLY that endearing term little sweet
heart" And when you get too hefty to
be somebody's anybodys-"little sweet
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

get for a poem like this? "a
JOHN HAWKINS.
Your poem about spring has received
my careful consideration. The startling
hnndiing Of the Subject "a appeal s, &c to me me
very strongly, more especially the part
about Joining In q glad rouHdelay with
the busy little bee. do not know Just
what a roundelay Is. but Shall never
forget the time l threw a rock through
hornets nest. 1t must have been q
roundelay the hornets gave me, and r
distinctly remember rolling In the mead
ow for several hours nfterward. [
buried up in mud down BY the creek
and got over mine. What did you do for
yours?
Bnt since you are asking for advice, +
am sorry that ! cannot recommend you
to sell your little farm and go into the
poetry business. You haveS no idea what
Il hard crowd these poets are They are
the worst knockers on earth. The min
ute new man shows up with a wagon
load OF poetry to sell. the ANVIL Chorus
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

When the box is gone IL you still have
this peculiar feeling inside you. It may
be true love after all. And no one has
ever put any tablets on the market which
will cure this disorder.
Now as to the lady: In the first place,
you started out on the wrong foot, as 1t
were There is nothing in this human
doormat business and the more you
stand for the more you will have to
ty il young lady with "a gentleman on
the string can give an Apache Indian the
deck and beat him seventeen ways from
the jack,
The next time you see this young wo-
man, poke your c5n into the air and
pass, her up With the proud gait Of a
blind camel forty miles from water.
This will sting her Just where she lives.
Ii will arouse her vanity and She will
wonder what Is the matte. with her that
you have ceased to care. i you pursue
these tactics long enough, the lady will
become quite tame In time she will fol-
low you everywhere and eat out Of your
hand Nfaybe 3e-.t7' Ia
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

But you play my tip and take the dys-
pepsia tablets first.
Dear Editor:
l enclose you a poem which ! have
Just wrote. 1T is n delicate little thing
and have called it u Love the Gentle
Springtime Best of All" 1t was the
green grass and the wild Violets that
made me do it, Ii seems funny TO ME
that no one has ever written n poem!
about It before. ! sat right down and
dashed this off Just as easy as rolling
off a log. It Is never any trouble to me
to write poetry. and my friends; say ]
ought to give up the farm and make
poetry tor n living. and / would II !
thought there was lot of money In It,.
Does it pay better than raising straw
berries? JOHN llAWkINE.
=. s., Here, is the poem. It only took
me half an hour to write IT.
+ / LOVE THE GENTLE sPRINGTIME
BEST OF ALL.
OF all the times in the year 1t is Spring
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

happy In their work, z remarked. They
We're laughing and cheerful"
"Yes, they don't know what they are
doing till later" she said Then they
hate 1t, to think of all they have lost"
Ten Cents a Day for Country
Children.
but It's better than work In the coun-
try said the mother, who looked as If
she had lived thousand years, so seam
ed and furrowed was her face. There
children get only ten or fifteen cents a
day. and nothing nourishing to eat"
Another woman who lived in the mill
row, but who had no children employed
there, told me the children were eager
to go to work and earn money, and pre-
ferred the toll to country labor.
They take pride in earning" she said,
'and seem happy when they go to work.
though it does seem a shame for such
little ones to be shut up eleven hours
day In that noisy hot place. But the
mill owners and superintendent are very
kind to them, and have school for
them That is something they did not
have in the country"
Another told me that the small children
rarely worked more than four full days
week.
The president of one mill-the best in
Georgia and his wife, who works in a
missionary way among the people. assur-
ed me that the children under twelve
years Of age were only allowed in his
mill through the pleadings of parents.
Free School for Factory Children
The work would be done more ex-
peditiously and safely by older hands"
they said, "but when parents urge the
necessity Of having their children en-
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

ample of the immortality of lavish eX-
pcnse OF that SORT For certainly y IS
animals an excess of money that might
be expended in such way as to. provide
honorable labor by which deserving men
and women might feed and csothe them
And it certainly Is wrong that so many
men and women should virtually be made
the servants of dogs. The thousands
might, under wise direction, have been
expended in q small industrial enternrsee
that would have furnished employment
ing them and their families and making
trade for small storekeepers, and, In
turn, for manufacturers and producers
scholarships in universities, for beds in
hospitals. for books for. free libraries or
for betterments of highways or parks
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01
n by ELLA WHEELER. WILCOX.

Two laws, however, enforced. would
help to do away with child labor, viz,
a vagrancy law, and law for compul-
sorry education.
Many OF tho fathers of tho mill chilli
dren are dubbed bucket toters" In the
South, since their sole occupation Is to
carry the dinner pail to the children who
support them in idleness. Could these
men be forced to work and the children
be compelled to attend school, the first
step toward reform would be made.
No man. and no woman who works
indoors should labor more than eight
hours. Outdoor labor Of twelve hours,
however hard does not sap the vital
forces rs much as eight hours between
walls But 1t Is useless to- pass eight
| hour laws In any State where across the:
! border eleven is tho rule. 8
/ Such a law means closing the mills In
I, one State and the mgra ton Of the piece
| hand laborers to be employees eleven
| hours elsewhere.
The law must be universal to produce
any benefit to humanity. How such q
result is to be brought about my woman'si
brain cannot conceive. But though the
mills. Of God grind slowly, vet they grind
exceedingly small, and in time all
wrongs will be righted, and the scales
of justice will be more evenly balanced.
When the money mania reaches even
the little children of the land. and they
/ prefer the noise and fatigue of the mills
to the natural life of the country. and
drudgery to the sports of childhood. be-
| cause they can accumulate small gains.
then indeed Is 1t time for a nation TO
| take heed. And when parents are ready
| to see children of tender years wearing
| their lives away in such labor there is
| something wrong with the world.
ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

which should restrain the voluptuary.
but because they arouse longing and
envy among the plain people, partieula,r-
contented early in life, Besides, they
constitute a grave ofrense against eco
nomical laws and tend to increase the
A New York woman of opulence has
a large number of poodies on which she
lavishes many thousands Of dollars. She
little pets and to give them scented
baths The dogs wear golden collars
and slken ribbons. They are taken out
for drives IN carriages. Their pictures
they are III they are treated by high-feed
doctors, and when they die they are
given expensive funerals.
ridiculous expenditure in these luxu-
rious days; but It Is a conspicuous eX-
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

Ladys poodles. what would they think
of themselves?
and OF being poodled, In a strict sense
It is wrong to employ a person In po-
sitlon which positively precudes his tax
Ing any satisfaction In his work, IN
which exist between capital and labor
wording together under ideal conditions
to effect results that shall be beneficial
divine harmony everywhere noted in the
can possibly come from pooling?
great mansion which Is being built and
rebuilt from year to year. II Is the hob
BY of the eccentric owner Of the house
down or adding to the structure What
is built this year may be demolished the
next and new work may be done in its
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

Don't wear n sailor hat and blouse after
your fortleth birthday II you want 20
conceal your age.
Don't pinch your waist II you are stout
plumpness, like murder, VIII out--soi1,c-
\ where.
Don't hold up silks and display untidy
shoes.
Don't forget that long credit often
brings dscrcdlt
Don't buy cheap limitations II you can
afford the real thing.
Don't achieve the grotcsqle while at
tempting the original.--Inauircr
Although there Is nothing. to the eyes
OF most mon. which is moro exclusively
sacred to fcmininlty than the "woman's
page" OF daily newspaper, the forego-
Ing ."Thngs Not To DO which recently
appeared In Richmond journal have
caught my vagrant eye and so impressed
my erratic fancy that 1 cannot resist the
Temptation TO stick my nose into affairs
Of petticoatdom.
And right here. before we consider the
"Don'ts' rerintim let me say that every
mantle butcher. the baker and the can
dlestick- makcr-cndorscs the sentiments
expressed by the fair author who fain
would yank her whimsical sisters back
into the sometimes almost inaccessible
realm Of prudence.
OF course, unhappy mourners OF the
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

r..I.. 49,. !. u !, !, I, p TTUTlI ~ n, N. N. . !.
e'''1' ~ g. M
sa'ior nat and blouse II you want 10
conceal your age. In fact there's no
saying what you should wear under such
,.,re,,,rst,,oa. Ill. !, ,.,,.d
'''a 800 'e'aseu ki'tehi iai y ~
going to fool anybody. While we men
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

give me the daughter Of Eve every time.
Just why wlmmenfolks are so skittish
about revealing their years Is moro than
my gumpton can understand. What's the
disgrace OF being forty or ovcr--if tho
critters ever do get over forty? I'm forty
myself-leastwlse I will be In ten months
or so-and I'll eat my hat II 1 can't
hold my own with the little frying slzers
as we'll as any galoot that ever come
down the, pike.
Now as to ladies pinchng their waists
when they are stout" and as to the
startling assertion that plumpncss will
out-somewhere: Permit me to say, o
sweet cartridges, that like nothing bet
ter than flushing a covcy Of plump ones.
But although this weakness of mine Is
chronic with all tobacco consumers you
mustn't overdo the plumpness. To be on
the safe side we'll take a look at your
Ma, please, just to see how the old lady
stands her years and to ascertain wheth-
er what was once plumpness in her hasn't
developed into double chin. For when
1t comes to double cl,ins and podgy hands
VIC begin to show the whites of our eyes
and to regret that we have a previous
engagement.
Somewhere in the realm Of curves there
.is a dividing line-an awful chasm-per-
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

There hundreds OF ways in Which tt
might have been expended legltimatelE.
dogs,
Almost as harsh a criticism might be
made or the rich person WHO keeps, a
stalls and drives them merely for show.
If, in either case, any real benefit ac-
crued to the animals, 1t might BIO differ
ent. but any decent dog With q Whole-
some hankernG for common bone.
would dodge the dollars thrown his WAY,
and sensible horses never dream that
they dwell in marble stalls.
1t is not for wages alone that men
werk, rhoreau went so far as to- de-
clare that Whenever a man has done
anything by which he has made money
this iranscendentaI reasoning could by
any means filter through the brains OF
the persons who are waiting upon MY
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

traffic are concerned, I think the best way
to deal with tho question would be TO
establish system of local veto. That is
to say, l would give the various districts
power to prohibit heav, and therefore
noisy traffic at night along any streets
other than the main thorughfares.
From traffic the next step to me seems
to be German bands. We are haunted
by them in this neighboriiood Hamp,
stead and four of them visit this road
regularly twlce week each.
Sometimes two arrive at once. and begin
to play different tunes together. Even
that Is not so bad TIL the trsbels drop
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01
y A FEW ANSWERS TO LETTER WFNTERS-By E. LOAN =

breaks loose, Soft you do not want to-
get Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Austin and
Ella Wheeler Wilcox after YOU stick To-
the strawberry game.
The maln trouble is that there Is no
poets union, and they are always cut
ting the rates and raising Cain with the
prices.
IT is true that there Is great deal Of
money in poetry. There must be, for I
have never known anyone who got any
out of it.. i5s
/ do not know very much about the
current prices on poetry. / showed your
poem To- the man who makes up the
market reports, and asked him what
you ought to get for It, He read At very
carefully and said he thought that sew
enteen years at hard labor would be
about right.
I should be glad to hear from you at
any time II you write a poem OF" Benu-
tIful Snow know a margarine that
will pay you at the rate. OF seventeen
cents a. square yard. Do you think thts
would be too muchP
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

love the best.
The green grass is peepIng from out of
his nest,
The pretty wild flowers awake on the lea
nc bring the sweet hint Of the Spring
time to me.
The birds and the bees are at work with
anvil,
The butterfly drifts like a breath DER
the rll,
The languorous odor of wild vi-o-let
Is mingled with perfume of sweet
mgnonette
A song of the sprlngtme, the best of
the year,
Like tho birds and the bees am glad
1t is here;
Oh o 5Gn them my brother. in glad roun-
And roll on the meadow throughout the
long day.
p. S. What do you think I ought to
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

entertains largely and keeps his guests
TIL a late hour? Who does not know the
clarion call OF the call whistle at A.
meet you tomorrow somewhere or
othern
Hosts who permit this sort OF thing
should foroibly be deprived OF the PRIV
i don't believe, however, in the theory
that we moderps object To- noises because
cur nerves are worse II they are worse,
IL Is probably due 70 the noises, but tho
the fact that while we sleep with our wins
dows open. our fo.efathsrs slspt Filth
Jhelra Dramatically sealed
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

i am any authority on loves. young
delrium or poems on spring. but because
he likes to see me work. He knew that
could not sen me get away with 1t. II
you have any kick on these answers 70
correspondents. you can fight 1t out with
the boss. 1t Is up to him.
Dear Editor:
Fam In much trouble now and hope
you will kindly be able to assist me with
your good advice, have been in, love for
SIX weeks with a girl who lives out on
weeks. I am not sure. When I first saw
her it was on a street car, and had such
a peculiar feeling inside Of me that 7
thought ! would smother. 1t was KIND
OF a futterlng feeling, and l think II
was love at first sight.
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

tone "yowl' up to the piercing note Of
the crescendo,
All the same. ! would compel tho own
ers of cats to keep them chained up at
night
There is really no excuse, too, for peo-
pie who keep growing cocks. Every
owner OF such q noisy rooster should ne
compelled 10 wear n tutt of cock feath-
ers around his neck as badge OF IN
fanny.
Really, though the more one considers
the matter. the more one sees that peo-
pie who should know better frequently
Violate tho silence OF the night.
Who alacpg wa has Rot q eishboE7YAo
The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-05-01

out In the middle OF a bar to collect
funds That leaves those harlns bass IN
s!ruments that curl right around tie
players body To do their worst,
The barrel organ is another scandal,
and the bad part of the problem is that
the moment any one attacks them scores
of sentimental people rush into print and
saw we mean to destroy the only delight
of the joyless lives Of the Stun children!
we really don't want to do anything
of the kind All we want to do is to con-
fine the Earrel organ TO the Sums.
What about tile suburban piano2 \Reil,