The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1905-03-16

fS~Sf medium height, with pre-
maturely furrowed face,
%o=l and the dropping, squint-
tESl E|It ing, strained motion of her
eyelids indicated a granu-
lated affection. Her home was little,
three-room tenement, high up in one
of those old double-decker tenement
houses which abound in New York.
There are thousands upon thou
sands Of these hulks of tenement
houses, the construction of which far
antedated the enactment Of the present
Tenement House law, and the house
she lived in was but routine specimen
of vast blocks Of the same type. Two
stores on the ground floor and four
families to floor, two in the front and
the same in the rear-for five stories
skyward, that is the rule. You found
yourself in a dark hallway, and by the
aid of the balustrade you groped up the
uncertain stairway until you reached
the fourth story front to the right.
There We're no names downstairs to
show where each family lived, and in-
uuiries had to be made as you as
cenGed.
There were no superduities about her
home. One room served the combined
purpose of kitchen, dining, sitting and
work room; the other rooms for sleep
ing. A stove, a table, sewing ma
chine, and few chairs were the outfit
of the main room, with its many pur-
poses, and some cheap pictures hung
on the green painted walls, and bits of
crockery such as are given for trading
stamps or for certain purchases Of tea,
adorned the mantel.
She lived there with her husband and
their boy of four years. Back 4 time.
when a girl Of fifteen years, she had
begun working in box factories. She
had made all kinds of pasteboard boxes
handkerchief boxes, shoe and cigar
ette boxes-boxes for all manner of
things. For eight years she worked
thus; and by being nimble and sticking
at her task from in the morning until
8 at night, with a half-hour intermis-
sion at noon for lunch and a half-hour
at night for supper, she had managed
to make living. In the busy season.
from July to September. she made from
SO to $12 a week. After September
the slack season would set in. She
would work eight hours day then,
and made 81 q week. Later, in the
winter months, a rush Of orders would
come in, and the factory would run
twleve hours day again.
A FAMILY'S EARNINGS.
She thought herself we'll off. There
were fully 5000 box-making girls in
New York, and not many of them could
excel her in quickness Of work and in
amount of wages. The pay was by
piece work; the best pay went to the
best workers. She considered the lot
of most Of the other girls. Many of
them earned only $5 or Sc week. On
this sum they had to live. How they
managed to do it she didn't know. She
lived at home with her father, her four
brothers, and sister. The combined
earnings of all amounted to $40
week. The family had pleasant fat,
and Tessie-for that was her name-al-
ways had money enough for dresses,
fnery and amusements.
Tessie sympathized deeply with most
of the other girls. How could they pay
board, buy apparel, and live decently in
general on S. or Sc week? Many
Of them had no families, and most of
them were in debt to the instalment
dealers. They would buy their dresses
and coats from these dealers-cheap
garments at eXorbitant prices-and pay
twenty-five or fifty cents a week on
account. But those girls never could
succeed in clearing off their debts. The
instalment men were always iunnins
them. AS for hats and shoes, the girls
hadn't much to spend. A quarter was
the limit for hat, and forty cents for
ribbon to adorn it. TO may more than
S1.25 for a pair Of shoes was an un-
heard-of extravaganza; the shoes, with
care and periodic mending, would be
pressed into service for year at least
Tessie was fortunate girl compared
to the most of them. At least she
priced her lot so. Now and then she
would delicately make presents of hel
old dresses and coats to some of the
nost needy.
Tessie was favorite at dances. She
vas O pretty girl, and always had at
4ractive clothes. It followed, Of course
that there were not wanting suitors
tor pretty, we'll dressed girl with
pleasant home and ability to make
good living, was dazzling star il
the neighborhood in which she lived.