The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03
TOTES BEYOND THE PALE,
RICR PEOPLE THE aOrfAL SET.
ELEMENTS CAN'T REArH
Tbey WfteH visit Theae Place.. and IND,
Questions and Hematks Indlcats var.
led PoTma NJ MisapprPhensiou NJ. Ia ina
Nature and Purposes NJ ssttIem.p,.

Questions and Hemafka indicate ya,,
led Forms M MISREPRESENTATION M IN IN.
Nature and Purposes NJ setncmen,.,
Much has been written about social ae,,ls,
ments IN tenement districts II large cities,
hut there IA one side ~ II rarely dlsousaad
tho experiences ~ tho residents with we'll
10 do visitors who come every day In Ia
shown around tho institution "a o..
plain the quote, marks 10 should 10 saId
that the pet dread Of reaidents Ia n hevins
the settlement COMPOUNDED with an Ipstitt.
ton.
The idea Of the settlement movement in
the public mind In still vague, Almos, any
one will explain what q settlement Is Az.
complishing, but the information usually /,
far from accurate.
'what place Is thls2" a resident heard
working girl ask her friend in passing one
day.
'It's a place where old maids work Tor
their board was the reply.
'Poor old thingsl" exclaimed the first.
The verb to tote ia part Of the scttlcnen,
vocabulary, introduced by a Southern
resident, and those toted about the settle.
ment are known as totees. The totco has
various motives for visiting the noble work
and appears in various character,
where do you keep the dead bodles?'
one disappointed visitor asked, and tho
toter was naturally surprised by this Ques.
ton until she learned that the guest though.
the institution contained a morgue."
The sentimental lady comes to the settle
ment to admire and to see. A visitor Of
this variety at the end of a long hour Of
questions and comments about the mis-.
sion" saw the brother of a resident coming
from football.
And that" she sighed, sis one Of the dear
boys you have saved, 1 SUPPOSE"
The exhausted resident could only reply,
I'VE hope So
A lady from the country was toted up
and about and down the three or four stories
Of the seven buildings and showed not one
spark Of interest till she came to the resident
dining room, where luncheon was served.
Here at last the knitted wool teapot holder
moved her to enthusiastic EXPLANATIONS Of
approval, ard she asked if it had been made
by one of the inmates
Young students Of sociology from colleges
and universities come, notebooks in hand
and lot down any incident or acciden they
may observe as material for theses on The
Cause and Cure Of Sums briskly taking
q birds eye view OF the place and its sur
roundings while the toter races behind with
almost GREATNESS and absolutely Intellectual
protest.
Many totees come with a panacea for all
the troubles Of the poor.
There Is the person who calls attention to
the limitless advantages Of the country.
why don't you teach the mothers to
keep their homes and children clean?" is
favorite suggestion of the suburban lady
totee.
This lady has perfect health, a good in.
come, one child, three servants, and an
occasional sewing woman She lives away
from the city, in a town where the street
cleaning ordinance is enforced; she has
three bath tubs in the house and plenty OF
hot and cold water. The nurse of her oe
little girl finds it hard to keep the child
always clean.
Nevertheless. it is difficult to explain to
the suburbanite why the tenement mother
does not keep her rooms and family tidy.
The resident is generally forced to admit
that many tenement mothers are weary
and bitter, and have about given up the
struggle with poverty, filth, rats, vermin
and bad plumbing.
Domestic service" is a ~favorite panaea
for the problem of the working girl.
Domestic service is practically an open
field the ladies say. "A good home, good
wages-treated like n Of the family
almost
MY girls" they say, get off every other
Thursday after luncheon, and every other
Sunday after 4 in the afternoon. They
never work before half past 8 in the morl-
ing and have nothing much to do after
half past 8 in the evening
Il aver show them how to take care Of
their room and keep their bureau drawers
in ORDER said one well meaning totee.
The toter tries to tell her why the girls
persist in choosing stores and factories.
"Their idea Of a good home is not the
kitchen, a back bedroom and back door
OF some one else's house" she said. They
want to live with their own families when
they can. They aim to be entirely free
from supervision and dictation after a
ten-hour work day. They even have The
desire to take care of their own bureau
drawers in their own way. They wish the
use of a front door and a little parlor for
their callers, and they count on all the even
and every Sunday of. These ao'
vantages they hope to enjoy with factory /
or shop work. 1t is not much, but it Is
something
Most Of the totees then go away feeling
that the settlement is giving the worNns
girl very great airs, indeed When they
the conversation in their own way
their husbands tell them that settlements
are "hotbeds Of anarchy and socialism
Aren't you making these people DIS
contented?' is a very common question
Another is, Are these people grateiu!f
Many totees think that if the saloons
were closed the slums would blossom Ike
garden. Many are disappointed at nov
religious exercises a part Of the daily
The temperance enthusiast hardly uN'
ierstands the residents doubt Of the WIS
dom Of removing the so-called rosieciaDe
saloon without offering a substitute loo
Presbyterian is not always convinced th"'
Catholic, no Jew, no atheist would "m'
10 a settlement which made Protestant
services oOnspiCuOus