The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1911-12-09
vuLErlDE PERIOD OF TORTURE
Struggle Of a Little Shop Girl With
the Late Christmas Buyers


early in December. That will be
your biggest gift of the holidays to
the workers behind the counters and
on the delivery wagons
This slogan has been made famous
by the National Consumers League
which, actuated by humanitarian rea-
sons, has fought to modify the unnec-
essary hardships incident to Christ
mas shopping. For two weeks before
Christmas most department stores do
capacity business and the pres
sure is intensified at every point
Authentic records from the lives of
clerks, delivery boys and wagon driy-
ers show that as result the season
of Christmas festival and of charity
for the lame, the halt and the blind
reduces to illness and exhaustion the
young and faithful who serve us,
seen and unseen.
A kind meanness i'm human relat-
ions was witnessed by Miss Johnson,
an inquirer for the Consumers Leag-
ne, who worked in one of the stores
during the week of Christmas good
will. Her actual experiences are
told in a volume entitled Making
Both Ends. Meet by Sue Ainslee
Clark and Edith Wyatt, of which
the Macmillan company is the pub
Usher.
The rush had begun when Miss
Johnson was transferred in this
Christmas week from the neckwear
to the muffler department on the first
floor of one of the cheaper stores. All
the girls stood all day long-from
eight to twelve and from one TO eight
at night on the first days, from one
al noon to ten and eleven at night, as
the season progressed; and on the
last dreadful nights, from noon to
the following midnight. The girls
had 35 cents supper money. Except
for that, all this extra labor was I'M
paid for
The work was incessant. The girls
we're nervous, hateful, spiteful with
one another. The manager, beauti-
full and extremely rough girl OF nine
teen. swore constantly at all of them.
The customers we're grabbing, insis-
tent. unreasonable from morning to
evening. from evening to midnight.
Behind the counter, with the advance
of the day, the place became an IN
ferno of nervous exhaustion and ex-
ASPIRATION. In the two weeks OF MISS
Johnsons service one customer once
thanked her; and one tipped her five
cents for the rapid return of a par
eel. Both these acts Of consideration
took place in the morning. Miss
Johnson said that this was fortunate
for her. as, at one word of ordinary
consideration toward the end of her
long days work, she thought she
must have burst into tears.
There was a little bundler in the
department, Catrina Malatesta,
white, hungry-looking little North
Italian of fourteen with a thin chin
and dark-shadowed, worried face.
She had an adored sick sister of four
besides six other younger brothers
and sisters, and worshipped mother
to whom she gave every cent OF her
wages of three dollars and a half a
week. An older brother, day lab
orer. paid the rent and provided food
for all of them. Every other family
expense was met by Catrina's three
dollars and half. so that she was
in the habit of spending only five
cents for her own lunch. and, on the
nights of overtime. FIVE cents for her
own dinner, in order to take home
the extra thirty cents; and every day
she looked winter and older
At the beginning of the week be-
fore Christmas, the store raised Ca
trinas wage to four dollars. Her
mther told her she might have the
extra half dollar for herself for
Christmas. Though Catrina had
worked for some months, this was the
first money of her own she had ever
had. With pride she told the depart
ment how Il was to be spent. She
was going to surprise her mother
with a new waist for Christmas, a
waist Catrina had seen in the store
marked down to forty-nine cents. A
ten per cent discount was allowed to
employees. so that the waist would
cost forty-five cents. With the re-
naming FIVE cents Catrina would buy
her sick Rosa a doll All her life Ro-
sa had wanted doll. Now at least,
she could have one.
On the day when she received the
money. Catrina kept II close at hand,
in a little worn black leather purse,
in shabby bag hanging from her
arm. and not out of sight for an
instant.
Her purchases were tc be made in
the three-quarters of an hour allowed
for supper. The time Catrina con
sumed in eating her five cent meal
was never long, so that. even allow
ing for prolonged purchasing, her alb
sence of an hour was strange.
% your soul, where in he'll
have you been all this time, CATER
the manager screamed at her, angri
4 ly. without glancing at her. when she
came back at last
Catrina looked more anxious ant
white than ever before. Her fac,
was stained with weeping. 81 los
my purse" she said in a dazed. un
steady voice. ut was gone when
opened my bag in the lunch room
I've looked for It everywhere"
There was a sudden breathlesl
change in the air Of the department
You could have heard n pin drop.
uRatfar on dOu, ~ tho kooap,op