The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05

TT Is six months since the Paplaskis
came from Ellis Island to the Polish
i colony In Buffalo. Osslp the
father, was to have job in the
mill there at ten dollars a week. but
the mill isn't going at full time and
Ossip's services haven't been required
very regularly. Mrs. Paplaski has had
To send back some of the passage
money lent by her brother in the old
country To bring herself and Osslp
and eight little Paplaskis over sea: and
American clothes and food and the rent
for the three room shack cost pro-
digious sums, especially IT, like Mrs
Paplaski, you are not quite sure just
what American money means and how
much 1t will buy. or how little.
To help along the family budget.
Mrs. paplaski has followed the exam
pie of most of her neighbors and has
taken four young Poles to board single
men, who work in the mill But they
pay very little, and eat a great deal
and when they are out OF work and
home all day. two of them are very
drunk and noisy. The three babies
make 1t impossible for Mrs. Paplaski
TO get work at the mill, even IL any
hands were to be taken on, and the
two oldest children cannot get their
working papers for year or two yet.
Mrs. Paplaski has heard that her neigh
bors who have been two years in Amer
lea sometimes get washing to do from
the ladies in the city. But except for
walk through the town with her hus-
band one Saturday night Mrs Papaskl
has never been out OF the Polish coll
ony. and since she knows no English
she is not very likely to make the
venture. She has done what she could,
however when she isn't washing over
alls she has a fairly steady job at pick
ing bones out of old corsets for the
tunkman. \ job Of that sort needs to
be steady, for it takes a good many
bones to- make pennys worth of
labor.
The old corsets clutter the place a
good deal, especially as the three babies
insist upon carrying those she has fin
ished with out into the yard to play
with. a charity lady from town stopped
one day and called Mrs. Paplaski from
her tubs to tell her how bad the place
looked. But Mrs. Paplaski is too busy
with the overalls to keep after the three
in the yard, and when everybody comes
home at night crying for supper there
isn't time left to get the yard cleaned
up.
Moreover, all winter one or more of
the children has been sick. The
strange new climate seems to be ever so
much harder on them than that of
southern Europe. Everybody in the
house has a cold most of the time, to
Mrs. Paplaski's amazement. for when
the cold first came on Mrs. Paplas ski
spent a whole day in mailing up the
windows and calking them with rags.
And the door is almost never open,
even when the steam from the washing
Is too thick to see through. Mr.. Pa
p'aski has impressed the price of coal
upon all the children and the boarders,
and they have learned to be careful
Yet with all the trouble she has taken
the baby got pneumonia and died, and
the oldest boy has had a bad cough all
winter. One OF the little girls has
ricketts,. which the doctor, brought in by
one OF the neighbors when the baby
had pneumonia, said was caused By a
lack OF proper food, although little
Blema had always had her allowance
OF bread and cabbage just like all the
rest
Yet Mrs. Paplaski's faith in America
as yet remains firm. She simply prays
''"' ''''p Hiiii time
IN the spring and expects that by some
glorious miracle America will come to
the Paplaskis. The little Papaskls are
on the way to being America nized" In
school. The Oldest boy knows a rather
imposing number Of English words now
The twins have just been confirmed and
are leaving the parochial school for the
public school, where they must go for
several years more the other two Of
school age are still in the parochial
school. The young ones in short, are
becoming American, although not very
Nisibly yet, Moreover, somewhere in the
town they are talking OF starting a
night class for men and Mrs. Paplaski
means TO urge the father to go He
nnds II very hard to understand the
boss In the mill and he told Mr.. Paplaski
the other night that unless he learned
english he could never be an American
r'lzen. He said a man at the saloon
had offered 10 help a lot OF them TO
become citizens, but Mrs. Paplaski fears