The San Francisco call., 1906-05-27
BY FLORENCE MoLoso RIls.

Have you ever gotten down on your
knees and scrubbed greasy floor?
Did you ever eat from the corner Of
the kitchen table whatever "the family
happened to have left you out of the
goodness Of their hearts?
Did YOU ever find that in "a good home"
there was no place to entertain your
guest but in kitchen fragrant with the
odor Of cabbage and damp with drying
clothes?
Did YOU ever. after hard weeks work,
have your wages refused you, and find
from a clever lawyer that there was no
p redress; that he was very sorry for you,
but law is law?
Did you ever work from five in the
morning till nine at night and then have
some one tell you TO wash out a few
towels-it would take only an hour or soZ
Did YOU ever know that a New York
woman demands a weeks notice" from
her servant, but can turn that servant
into the street without an hours notice?
Well, if you didn't. il you're a man,
you'd better take your feet down Of the
naantel, throw that cigar out the window
and reas this little story. It may do your
soul good and open your eyes to few
things even you don't know
And if you're a woman, a true, loving
woman, with soft white hands and a
faith in God and your own girlhood, a
precious memory, hear my story of an
other girl:
once upon time there lived a girl.
and she lived on farm where the most
exciting events were the churning and the
arrival OF the weekly paper.
Sometimes in the evening il company
was expected mother would run in and
light the big lamp on the center table in
the front room, open the blinds so folks
-rt,a 14--f 1r4d
trot back TO the kitchen. giving little pats
10 her blue calico dress and pretty white
apron She wore that particular apron
only when there was company. Then
when the hired man had brought in the
milk and il had been strained and the
pans set away father came in and with
many means and groans sat down behind
the stove to take off his Sunday shoes. II
was a horrible sacrifice that he always
made 10 the god Of fashion on the day he
went TO town.
After the company had come and were
seated stif7y on the new plush chairs;
after old ST Thompson, who owned the
next forty, remarked dismally that he
thought we were going 70 have quite
spell OF weather; after the women folks
had admired the new delaine pattern and
discussed the raise in sugar, mother
would say, real offhsnd and carelesslike-
Daughter. won't you play something
on the organ?"
And daughter would play Sweet Brier
Waltz" or something they sang two years
ago in Grand street.
When mother stands with her hand on
your shoulder waiting your nod TO turn
the page and the lace curtains are flap
ping softly in the evening breeze; when
from somewhere out in the tree where the
swing is night bird is calling. and you
can smell the yellow roses that climb over
in the world like Sweet Brier Waltz"
When every one has gone, when the
hired man has whitfield the shavings
taken his lamp and said he guessed he'd
turn IN, when father goes out 70 see If
everything's all right in the barn and If
the turkeys have roasted in the trees
instead OF IN their own COOP where decent
fowls should be at this scandalous hour.
then mother and the girl sit in the big.
clean kitchen talking IL over.
But always now these heart to heart
talks 80 back 10 the same subJect-the
girls voice and the training of it. which
means good teachers. which means a big
city, which means New York.
It's as sure as that two and two make
four.
Given-Country girl with a voice and
ambition; 4 proud old mother and father:
The fare TO New York, not more than the
price Of Spot, who is the girls very own
because she raised her from teeny
calf with wobbly underpinnings-and,
well, sooner or later it equals whole lot
OF heartaches for some one.
Because sooner or later the call Of the
big city becomes so loud in the girls ear
she can hear nothing else. and she lays
down the butter print, closes the little
old-fashioned organ, maybe forever, and
answers. 4 am coming
So, behold our girl at the Grand Cen
tral, holding tight TO her grip, a good
deal dazed by the crowd and noise and
trying hard not 10 let any one see it,
A stranger in New York; you ask
Oh. dear me. no, There was the doc
tors brother. and there was Alice Cans,
who lived somewhere in Tvelfth street.
She didn't know the number, but with
the comfortable confidence of youth, she
didn't worry about that.
DID ! tell you she knew the doctors
brother, He was now a minister
She had his address in her purse She
boarded car and asked the conductor
10 put her off at Eighty-fourth street. The
conductor was adjusting a slight difficulty
over a transfer with avery fat red in
dividual on tie rear platform. Naturally