The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-09-23


and looked very helpless. Her little
lips began to twitch: II can--can-
not do it." why not asked the
teacher. And the child replied: I'VE
have no wall; we live In the middle
/ And 1t was true. There were FIVE
families sharing one room Each
family--man, wife and children
had one corner, the NTH family
lived lin the middle
When l. wrote the words the
homeless" over this article, was
not thinking of those who are forced
to spend the nights outside, because
they have no roof TO cover them, nor
did | think Of those who live in
the middle" was thinking of a
different kind of homeless people.
Face to face with those .dreadfully
poor | stand as helpless as a child
facing an avalanche. | can do moth
ing. | am less than the drop III the
ocean. But my words may help
ten thousands of people who have a
roof over their heads, but who Sill
are homeless, to Great a home May
these people read and understand
what | am writing here
In every city, large or small, there
are young women, relatives. forced
to make their living by the work Of
their hands. They go out in the
morning and return in the evening
They are living III boarding houses
or small hotels. In the large cities
their number is legion
| When they left their parents 10
go out and take up the struggle for
their existence. OF when their par
tents died and their childhood homes
1 were dissolved, they had only one
thing TO do--board with strangers,
At first they missed their hone
Idreadfullye like gna~ing pain
/ which became transformed into Z
feeling of emptiness and then II be-
came at last habit.
II became habit 10 he homeless
Often, when a home is scattered,
the souls also of the people who
lived in that home are scattered /
shall never forget what / am about
10 tell now and what caused me to
take up the fight for the idea that
lintend here to explain.
! A mother lived with her seven
unmarried children-six girls and
boy. Each must do some work to
make e living 2 he Il a lighters " es l..
ed in Offices and stores, while two
had work that might be done al
home. The son was employed in 4
wholesale house. The mother kept
house, a coy, spacious old-faslioGeG
home with furniture made genera
tions ago The children came home
la the middle Of the day ior kerr
dinner. which they had TO eat IN 8
hurry, but their evenings were their
iowH,
/ The sisters, OF course, had their
little faults and habits They guar
relied quite often about triGes. buf
the gentle influence of the mother
smoothed things over AMI there was
never any really bad feeling Other
people came to see them. sometimes
they had card parties or went TO The
theater, and when they came home
they found the mother waiting for
them with supper and they chatie0
gaily about things they had seen and
heard, On, Sundays in the summer
the mother packed a lunch basket
and they all went pienieing together
/ The income of the children varied
considerably. The mother decided
how much each must contribute to-
wards the common household ex-
,penses, SO that the one who made
less felt just as well off as the one
with larger income.
! One of the daughters bought a
piano and they all took lessons. For
itunately, they were not musical or
they would not have been able to
stand the eternal practicing in the
evening. One OF them was always
at the piano playing something, and
they all enjoyed the popular tunes
LOT the day.
Then the mother died,
For six months the children stay
ed together. The six months were
spent in endless auarrels. One sister
lcrlticised everything the other did
Who was to rule? They quarrellea
about the meals they ate. about the
gas they we're burning, about the
walks they took.
| There was only one thing to do
dissolve the home. The last quarrel
was about the furniture. They parted
as enemies, with their hearts full of
bitterness. They fled TO boarding
houses.
/ For two years they lived a life.
NOT only empty and cherries. buf
one which broke them all down and
made them all feel hateful and tirt>
with life. They met at their mothers
grave 10 cry--and quarrel
! had often reproached them that
| they did not stay together and that
they did not try to keep peace, but
they all declared that this was I'M
possible. None of them would give
In to the other. There were seven
wills. Seven poor helpless creatures
all ending their complaints with the
words; ''Oh, II only mother were
alive; she knew how to arrange
everything SO beautifully F"
! One day had lucky idea.
gathered thenf all and said: ''Nowe /,
know what you are TO do. You
must get another mother
At first they thought / was mad,
and refused to listen to me, but at
last they agreed TO try
They had no relatives at all. so
we applied to a friend or their
late mother-a ehiidless middle-aged
widow. She was willing TO act as
mother to these grown-up children.
She was to be permitted to try
to run a home for them for six
months. Once week. every Satur
day night, they We're to hold board