The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1912-12-27
INDIGNATION Meeting
BY JAMES HARDING.

BY JAMES hAHOIN0.
"Well, wouldn't that make you
tired!" called Mrs. Brill as she came
out on her back porch and slammed
the door sharply behind her.
Her neighbor. Mrs. Graves. looked
up in surprise. for Mrs. Brill was OF
most unrufIled demeaDor ordinarily.
sitting back on her heels in the
rrass. she abandoned her pursuit OF
dandelions long enough to inquire
sympathotically, What would?"
Mrs. Brill's prettily frilled dust cap
'airly stood on end with indignation.
I've been trying 10 get Raymond's
5chool by telephone for at least half
II hour. You know my sister and her
iftle boy are coming up for the day.
and, OF course, Raymond wants TO
stay at home. Well. he's In the en-
,srtainment next week and l wanted
TO tell his teacher he'll be absent to-
day and | wanted to find out about
his costume. But do you suppose l
could get that school? No. indeed!
And | tell you. Mrs. Graves, the phone
service we have here now is some
hing awful There is a phone at the
school, for saw 1t one day. There is
20 number In the book and all ]
could get out of those girls was We
hove no record / tell you our i'm
provement association ought to get
after the phone service instead OF
uttilg up any more fancy street
lamps"
Now, Mrs. Brill" expostulated the
woman two doors away. who had sus-
pended operations on her clothesllne
10 listen and who stood dropping
PEACEFULLY over the fence and rafting
yhe clothespins In her apron pocket.
1T isn't the fault OF the telephone at
ali: it's the schools, or the school
BOARD, or something. Listen to what
happened to me the other day.
Il wanted to go down town early
and get at the sales before the bar
gains were all picked over" related
the woman two doors away. II hur
ried 30 that forgot to take the pigs
feet of the stove that were cooking
for my husbands supper. He likes
them once In a while and they have to
be fixed just SO In order to suit him.
These were awfully nice ones and |
wanted to cook them as long as posi-
ble On the car I remembered that l
hadn't removed them, but the gas was
turned low, SO they couldn't burn very
soon. Well, l hurried to the nearest
phone to call up Bobbie at his school
End tell him to run over at recess time
and turn out the gas.
( But do you suppose l got any sat
isfaction? Well, l didn't. Oh, was
mad! Here l had planned on those
! sales for a month"; you know, to get
ne furniture and hangings cheap
r-r the porch. didn't half look at
hat they had, just bought some
ugs in hurry and then rushed
'..ae was hardly in time either, for
lose pigs feet were scorched.
Then my husband got mad. You
-vow, John is awfully particular about
Mat he eats. And I had to send the
,arniture back because it wasn't at all
nat l wanted"
she paused a moment for breath
.rents of her neighbor. Then, with q
,oquettish toss OF her head, she con-
aued: We'll, just told John how 1t
III was. You see, my husband knows
t''a superintendent of this district
raj well. They go down together on
to 7:45 train real often. So he'll just
x it up at headquarters. The idea
81 not being able to phone to ones
own child in a city or this siZe!"
Mrs Brill nodded emphatically at
Mrs. Graves, who had gone. back to
limiting dandelions. Though osten-
bly, talking to the woman two doors
away. she directed her next remarks
straight to Mrs. Graves, whom she
considered more or less a party to the
r3isdemeanors of the city school, be-
cause Mrs. Graves had once taught in
them
That's just it," declared Mrs. Brill.
Now, in Splashville, where my sister
teaches. you can phone to anyone in
any school at any time about any
thing. That's how it should be. Sup
rose somebody should die suddenly, or
break an arm or something. You
couldn't get word TO the child in any
! way here"
Mrs. Graves answered the accusa-
ton as she picked up the mutilated
dandelions preparatory to going into
the house. Surely, every kind of mes
sage should be given and to every
one of the thousands of youngsters In
the schools just because some one
might die some time. 1t would take
several clerks just for that and the
classes would be continually dis
turbed, but what Of that?"
Well" pouted Mrs. Brill, what do
we pay taxes for?
That's right" insisted the neigh
for two doors away. Anyway, my
husbands going to see about it"-Chi-
cago Daily News.
Admire American Fashions.