The menace., 1914-09-05

ioas 10 know who they were and
how they came 10 be there.
Only one Of them would ever
have anything much 10 say. She
told me once that she had cone
there from the "red-light" district
in spokane. Wash, for protection.
I didn't know what she meant By
protection. but understood what
the rest meant As mamma had
told me about such places and
things.
y / was allowed 20 write home
once a month. My letters were
always read and stamped by the
nun in charge. One time /
picked up q stamp and put IL on
the envelope myself, and got Sc
verely seolded for IL, as she wanted
TO see and know that there was
nothing written under the post
age stamp. Letters from mamma
had always been opened when
they were turned over 20 me, and
every time parts Of lines were
either scratched or cut out en-
tirely, making the letters from
home nothing but a disAppoint.
ment after being looked forward
10.
Winter came on and ! was not
provided with enough warm
clothes for that time OF year. /
wrote home for them. A few days
later the nun gave me a few
pieces for winter wear and that
was all ] had during the cold
months. Since coming home |.
find that mamma had sent me
box in which were necessary
winter clothes, just new, and
amounting 10 nearly seventeen
dollars worth, and the pieces
given me by the nun were some
sent me in that box from home
and would amount 10 about one
fourth of those that were sent at
that time. Again at Christmas
time mamma sent a box 10 me
and when il was given over to
me il had been unwrapped and
there was just q little candy left |
and that was all Of a variety Of |
things she had put in, as j know
il now.
About the schooling; il could |
scarcely be called school. II |
didn't amount TO anything COM
pared with what ! had been used |
to in the public schools at home.
Two afternoons a week we were
given an hour TO study and an
hour to recite in geography, |
arithmetic and spelling, with
reading only once a month. They
gave us lessons two or three
grades below what we were used |
to and after a faxed recitation we
were hurried back to the laundry |
to the usual grind. i
When spring came | had grown
sickly as had many Of the other
girls. At times / could scarcely
stay on my feet, yet / was not
given the least bit of medical at
'tention. Instead, one of the nuns
took me out one day to the small
graveyard near by and had me
pick out the place where / wanted
to be buried. | did so and for
several nights following the
thoughts of it all were on my
mind continuously so l could not
rest, though ] worked as best l
could up to the day l got out to
come home. One of the older
girls was an invalid and could not
do very much in the way of
work, only with her hands. She
told me she was nineteen years
old and had been married. | saw
the nuns take her out in the
graveyard shortly before / left
and show her a freshly dug grave.
The poor girl tainted and we all |
thought she was dead when they
came carrying her into the
house. She told me afterward
that the nuns told her that the
new grave was for her.
/ feel sure Inat very few girls
would stay anywhere near as long
as they do in such places if they |
could write home to their moth
ers or anyone and tell them all
they would like to, and could or
dinarily, but all letters are GEN.
sored very closely.
i find since returning home
that papa and mamma mistrusted
that was not being treated right
so mamma went to the man who
took me over there, and requested
that he bring me home as soon as
he had to make a trip 10 II
He refused, stating that had
consumption and would be taken
a. H.sk l