The Butler County press. [volume] (Hamilton, Ohio) 1900-1946, 1916-04-14

1
work on the mothers shoulders.
Now she couldn't go out to wash
and scrub.
She did the washing and ironing
at home then, but In the three room
tenement there wasn't room for
wash tubs and three sick babies.
Then the widow get work in an Of
fee building scrubbirg floors from
5 to 8 in the morning and from 4
II 10 at night II paid her be ter,
but she had to be away from home
many hours each day.
Mary had to quit school 10
care for the sick children Jimmie
also quit school when his mother
fell down stairs and sprained her
back so badly that she could not
scrub any more. Jimmie got
LOB as messenger and that helped
out, but still the plainest of foods
and the cheapest of clothes, added
TO the docter bills and the medi-
cine for one illness after another
kept the little Haskins children in
bed, held the wolf" at the door.
The slum tenement was foul IL
smelling, unsanitary. Drunken
men and women staggered in and
out; curses and quarrels rent the
air day and night; children grew
up with frail, sickly bodies aud un-
moral minds
The Haskins children forgot the
nice, quiet, wholesome peighbor-
hood where they had lived while
their father was alive and absorbed
the tenement life with all its means.
They didn't go to church or Sun
| day school any more they had no
fit clothing. Their mother was too
i'll and over worked to patch and
darn and keep them clean. Often
at night she was too worn out to
kreel with them for prayer So
that was how Jack and Mary hap
pened TO be down in the street cne
morning. Other children we've
telling how easy it was to "swipe"
bananas and other fruit and even
vegetables from grocery stores
They told Jack to Try it, and he
and Mary slipped up to the corner
grocery and took basket Of tur
nips-they thought it would help
out at dinner. But they were not
as experienced as the other slum
children. They didn stop to look
III and see where the grocerymar
was. He saw them. Running ou'
quickly, be caught both and callec
a policeman.
ooh. Missus Haskins, :. screamed
little urchin. Your Mary anc
Jack have been pinchea by the COZ
an he's draggin' EN- 10 the station.
Mrs; Haskins was just starting
out for The police station to see
about her little boy and girl caught
stealing basket of turnips wher
her door opened and professional
charity worker entered.
Between sobs and entreaties fo1
her children Mrs Haskins au
swered a score or more of ques
tions, TIE charity worker saic
Mrs. Haskins had better bring tn,
, est of the children to the juvenile
court next morning, adding: "Th'
| two who are there now will remain
in the matron's care over night
No, there is no use of your goins
down to the station now. This i!
no fit place to bring up children
anyhow
Next morning Mrs Haskins, with
baby in her arms, and Henry
and Jennie clutching her ragged
skirts, appeared in the Juvenile
courtroom. Katie had gone IL
work as usual, for she couldn't
take even morning off without
losing her job.
In moment door opened anc
{ Mary and Jack came in the room
, both had been crying and bott
were terribly frightened Seeing
their mother they cried ooh
mamma save us, take us home, We
didn't mean to take anything; The
other kids told us to.
/ A policeman motioned for the
widow, and the little children fol
lowed her iuto the enclosure where
one man sat back of a low desl
and where several other men anC