The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1913-11-29
Copyright, 1913. by the n. X. Fly
company.

The best evidence Of the fact that
Mary Turner's soul was not fatally
soiled must be found in the fact that
still at the expiration Of her sentence
she was fully resolved to live straight,
as the saying Is which she had quoted
to Glider. This, too, in the face Of
sure knowledge as to the difficulties.
that would beset the effort and in the
face Of the temptations offered to FOL-
low an easier patti
There was, for example, Aggie
Lynch, a fellow convict, with whom
she had slight degree of acquaintance.
nothing more. This young woman,
criminal by training, offered allure
ments Of illegitimate employment in
the outer world when they should be
free. Mary endured the companion
ship with this prisoner because sixth
was one immoral rather than immoral,
and the difference is mighty.
For that reason Aggie Lynch was
not actively offensive, as were most Of
the others. She was dainty little
blond, with baby face in which were
set two light blue eyes Of a sort to
widen often in demure wonder over
most things in surprising and naugh-
ty world. She had been convicted of
blackmail, and she made no pretense
even Of innocence. Instead, she was
inclined to boast over her ability to
bamboozle men at her will. She was
a natural actress of the ingenue role,
and in that pose she could unfailingly
beguile the heart Of the wisest of
worldly men.
She had been reared in a criminal
family, which must excuse much.
Long ago she had lost track of her
father. Her mother she had never
known Her one relation was a broth
er Of high standing as pickpocket.
One principal reason Of her success in
leading on men to make fools Of them
selves over her, to their everlasting re-
greet afterward, lay in the fact that in
spite Of all the gross Irregularities Of
her life she remained chaste.
The girl saw in Mary Turner the
possibilities Of ladylike personality
that might mean much financial profit
in the devious ways Of which she was
a mistress. With the frankness char
acteristic Of her, she proceed led to; paint
glowing pictures of a. future shared to
the undoing Of ardent, and 4fatuous
SWANS Mary Turner listened with
curiosity, but she was in no wise
moved to follow such a life, even
though it did not necessitate anything
worse than fraudulent playing at
love. So, she steadfastly continued her
refusals. She would live straight. :
. "You will find that you are up
against an awful FROST" Aggie would
declare brutally.
Mary found the prophecy true. Back
in New York she experienced a pow
erty more ravaging than any she had
known in those five lean years Of her
working in the store. She had been
absolutely penniless for two days, and
without food through the gnawing
hours, when she found employment in
a milliner's shop. Followed blessed
interval in which she worked content
eddy, happy over the meager stipend.
since it served to give her shelter and
food honestly earned.
The police informed Mary's employer
concerning her record as a convict.
and she was at once discharged. The
unfortunate victim Of the law came
perilously close to despair then. Yet.
her spirit triumphed, and again she
persevered in that resolve to live
straight. She found a cheap position
in a cheap shop, only to be again per-
secuted by the police, so that she
speedily lost the place.
A third time she obtained work and
there, after a little. she told her en-
ployer, a candy manufacturer in a
small way the truth as to her having
been in prison. The man had a kindly
heart and he ran little risk, so he al
lowed her to remain. When the police
called his attention to the girls GRIM
udA IeCOIu Lie pAlu uO uSeu 10 LuclE du-
vice against retaining her services.
The police brought pressure to bear on
the man. They even called in the as
sistance of Edward Glider himself,
who obligingly wrote a very severe let
ter to the girls employer. In the end,
though unwillingly enough, he dismiss
ed Mary from his service.
It was then that despair did. come
upon the girl. She had tried with all
the strength Of her to live straight.
Yet, despite her innocence, the world
would not let her live according to her
own conscience. It demanded that she
be the criminal it had branded her-if
she were to live at ALL She still walk
ed the streets falteringly, seeking some
place, but her heart was gone from
the quest Came an hour when she
thought of the river and was glad.
So she went through the long stretch
of i'll lighted streets, crossed some rail-
road tracks to pier, over which she
hurried to the far end, where it pro-