The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1908-12-11
JOHNNY BUMPER TELLS OF A
TRICK ON THE WASH WOMAN
+x+x4x4x

railroad" Ernie's about six or five,
think. Then there's Mamie, about
three or fore, and n baby boy.
asst jimmy whore her PA was and
she sod Hes in Jail and hope theyn
keep him there
'twould take too long to tell you all
about It but their father drinks Ticker
and he cum home last Monday nto
and told jimmy to get him sum supper.
Her ma had gone to bed with sick
hedakc. She got him all they had
sum bred and potatoes they was a
going to have for breakfast and he sed,
That's no support" and he slapt her
and she fell and hit her fore.hed on
the stove and cut Il big cash and when
she Cride he told her to shut up or
he'd Civ her sumthing to cry about.
And he hunted around and found the
money her ma had earnt for scrubbing
and he tuck 1t and went away to the
saloon and they hadent seen him sins.
But they hurd he got sent to prison
! for sixty days for getting cot robbing
a boX-car over in the yards, and
they're awful glad.
| went over to grocery store and
got too boxes for ten cents and broke
them up and made n fire to get the
woman warmd up and told her not to
worry about losing her job and went
and told Uncle Oscar about 1t and he
game me five dollars to help the wo-
man with till she got SOS she cud
wurk again, and | went and told the
clerk about it and asst him if he wud-
ent hold her job for her till she got
better, and he sed he dident need to,
there was plenty of scrub-wimmen
waiting for a job but he wud this
time.
Then / tuck the five down to the
woman and asst her what she wanted
me to buy with it and she ses, IF
you'll just pay the rent with it well
get along sum way. The agent was
here yesterday and told me if | did
! ent pay him the five dollars that's
due he'd have to put us out Saturday."
So went and paid the rent. They
have to pay five dollars a munth for
just one room and the sding's off and
| window pains are broke out and stuff
with rags, but she SEES she can't do
emmy better.
My, amt it awful to be poor and hat
to live! Speshally in Winter.
swell looking man and woman was
: at the hotel for dinner yesterday in
the dandyest automowbeel you ever
saw thatl run seventy-five miles a
hour and the clerk told me that was
the man that ownd that house where
the woman livd in and a hole lot more
cheep houses for rent, and sed
was going to tell him about the wo-
man and children and ask him to fix
the hous so the wind wudent blow in
and the clerk ses, mo use, Johnny,
he'll just refer you to his agent. His
agents a dubble-facd lawyer that'll
promise to do everything you ask him
and will never do ennything. That's
why he holds his job, becaws he keeps
expenses so low. You can't get emmy
1 help out of them. The best thing you
can do is to report your case to the
Salvation Army"
: So | did, and the woman tole me
e they had all and more then they cud
e do but they'd manage to send a help
e er down and see that the family dident
+ aktually starve.
l And I'm going to help too all can,
. and | went out on the big bridge and
t thru "Pecks Bad Boy" into the Mis-
t soury. I'll bet he wont play emmy
: more jokes on poor scrub-wimmen.
e And | m going to rite to Presi.
n dent Roosevelt and get him to pass a
law so that if a rich man who owns
d poor peoples houses wont fix 'em so
the wind and cold can't get in he'll
d hat to go and live in 'em himself till
t he does.
n Yours,
q TnhnpN, Dpn