The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-12-16
NEW YORK LETTER.

$500 HE old year Is day by day slip
ping away and bringing the
New Year nearer us. Four
teen more days until Christmas, but
| it seems almost here. The stores
have been gorgeous in their holiday
attire ever since the first of the
month. The people have needed the
articles in the many magazines and
newspapers and are doing their
! Christmas shopping early. With the
snow of last week and again of yes
| terday, and the extreme cold wealth
er, it does look like an old-fashioned
Christmas. The decorations of the
many stores are beautiful, not to
mention the many, many beautiful
gifts one sees in every window.
One can hardly realize the siren
uous life, the Christmas trade brings
| to those employed as salespeople.
In many department stores these
people work nights, from Thanksgiv-
ing until the first of the year, while
in the Complaint department, they
work correcting others mistakes un-
| til the first of March.
This year a new law has gone in
to effect, that no girl under eighteen
can be kept on night work, and it's
about time. That one awoke to the
fact that girls of only fourteen were
kept night after night, until from
ten to eleven-thirty, to get home the
best way they could. The value of
a life counts for little with corpora
tions. When a girl dropped dead
behind her counter last week, a
hundred were waiting to take her
place.
Those who have their comfortable
homes in the country, with their
daughters by their fireside, knowing
they are safe, and in need of no
necessity, can scarcely realize how
many hundred of the city girls live.
Their salaries are too small some
times to even enable them to rent
a warm room. Many girls can afford
nothing but tiny hall bedroom, with
no heat, poorly lighted, no closet and
up from five to a dozen pairs of
stairs. There, after a hard days
work of being found fault with, per-
haps never hearing pleasant word
all day, this worn-out girl must
spent her evenings. Maybe her
money is so low, that her only allow
ance for dinner was rolls and cof-
fee. Do you understand then why
so many frequent the Haymarket,
the German village and the like?
The really true stories of real peo-
pie that have come to us are strang-
er than fiction, and in many cases,
II written up, would not be credited.
We recently lunched at "The Os-
born Memorial Training School For
Christian Workers" This is an in
terdenominational school, and If one
wishes to take up that kind OF
training, they could not find more
pleasant surroundings, than in this
home. Here the rich and the poor
share alike. Miss Darlington, sister
of Bishop Darlington, and the noted
DR.. Darlington, of this city, is one
of the training class. Another very
young girl, who has studied to be-
come nurse, was there completing
her training as medical missionary
Next year she expects to sail for
Burmah. 1t seemed pity that with
all the work to be done here, within
a stones throw, that one decides
to go so far away. But undoubtedly
the heather will be as responsive as
people of this land.
One has but to attend a Sunday
evening church service to see that
the people of New York do not at
tend church. You can count the
people at a Sunday evening service,
while on your way home you can see
crowds awaiting to gain enetrance
to ten-cent moving picture show.
Recently some noted divine likened
New York to Rome of other days,
and prophesied it's downfall.
But after all it's i'm
Little Old New York."
The days to me are bright
And even the darkest nights are
never dark
For very darkness seems to turn to
light
In Little Old New York"
Was ere another Broadway, with its
glittering lights
A riVer-drive-Or River, those of
which we talk?
The glamOr of thy very name grips
close my heart
My Little Old New York!
And if the buildings scrape the sky,
Our aspirations with the lark,
Soar till they touch the very blue on
high
In Little Old New York.
They say we're proud-perhaps-
what then?
Where find another Central Park?
More lovely wOmen-and more man
ly men
Than herein Little Old New York.
What magic in the air--had ever
seen such CLINT
And shOHe it ere on braver scene?
While ride and walk
A varying thrOng, fair pictures, set
in matchless frame-NeW York,
My Little Old New York!
All! stand with me some sunny
morn
On gay Fifth Avenue-near where
the highways fork,
And thank the very powers that be
For Little Old New York.