Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-03-08

than some side by side with the cultivat-
ed. 1t has to be drained and plenty of
muscle and money spent on it. So often
it is the second or third owner who makes
the profits.
1 am told that one man made $4,000
on a hundred acres last year. The fields
look as smooth as a garden, the potatoes
are up in some fields and remind me of
long green ribbon on long grey velvet
pincushions, so smooth and distinct do
the rows run.
With potatoes as high as they have
been for two years 1 am not surprised
to hear of the farmers being on the
road to Easy street" But 1 hope that
the time is not far away when the sta
pie products will be handled so that
the toilers in the cities will be given
chance to get square meals without hav-
ing to miss one occasionally to make
up for II. Everywhere L went in the
country l saw fine cows, fat hogs and
plenty of beautiful chickens, yet eggs are
40 and so cents dozen and milk is
Is cents a quart i'm this city. 1 wonder
what becomes of the eggs, if they are
set there must be a hundred thousand
or so that are spoiled and that's pity,
for they come in mighty handy when
they are fresh and put at the housekeep-
er's disposal. Then there's butter IS
cents a pound, but what's the use to talk
about it? The only thing to do is to dive
into causes and see who is to blame
for these high prices
Coming back to Jacksonville I was on
the train with three little children who
were going to Oklahoma alone They
wero put in the conductors care and in
Jacksonville they were to be transferred
to the conductor of the Seminole limited.
The oldest was a boy about IL, the next a
girl and then little boy just learning
to talk. The girl came across to my seat
and told me that her father is in Okla
homa and her mother in Florida That
her mother works out where she could
not have them with her, and as they did
not have money enough to buy tickets
for all she was sending them first and
would go out there as soon as she
made some.
1t was interesting to hear the COM
ments of the passengers. The men said
that they believed they could have man
aged better. They expounded all sorts
of theories about the sort of man he
must be. The women said they couldn't
see how the poor little babies were go
ing to get \along without their mother,
and how dould the man take care of
them and do his work? The men blamed
the man for not being a better pro-
wider. The women blamed the mother
for not managing some way to keep
the children with her. 1 said 1 was
glad that the solution of the difficulty
was not in my hands, for nobody
knows what can be done until the same
circumstances arise in ones own life
/ do know that my heart ached for
the poor little baby nodding on the
seat, and for the three thinly-clad
little bodies that would wake up in a
o1o
clothes and cotton sweaters. l saw
the contents of their modest suitcase
for the rope that held it together came
united and there was not much in
it,
You know there are people who throw
on every sort of trouble by saying that
others do not realize how things are
one girl said that the children would
get along very we'll because they didn't
realize what an undertaking it was
Wait until tomorrow when the novelty
has worn off and the day seems so
long and the baby wants his mothers
arms around him." was answered, II
won't be there to see, and I am glad
that will not" was the reply.
DO you want to know the ONLY thing
that reconciled me to leave the poor
little tots? The innate knowledge that
our heavenly Father knew their situa
tloh' that not sparrow falls without
his knowledge and that His ear wa 9
not dull to the voices of those chill
ureh' nor Els arm be short when they
needed His care. Without a perfect
trust in God and the feeling that
through it all His hand would be near
them' do not believe it possible for
any mother to start her children on
such Journey. What think you?
Faithfully yours,
LIZZIE O. THOMAS