The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-12-06
OURS tnanKIuI,
LENA HALL

&SlrSN%1 LENA HALL
That was the letter she dictated to
me- the woman from way over there
where rents are relatively cheap,
where coal is bought by the single bas-
i1et and where can of timed milk
can be made to last a family of four
q whole week. / put the words down
just as she said them, for I thought
the ladies" would find it heart-warm-
ing 70 learn that their gift had such
an effect on the dull gray household
that ''the kids wuz crazy"
She told me it was a So basket.
There was a chicken. vegetables
enough for a week, even potatoes
Che first in their house this winter
fruit, everything to make a real feast.
WHO sent it? Well, she didn't know
their names, but she knew it was
through the Bureau of Charities her
family had got all that. So she had
called UP the bureau and thanked them
and they said club of ladies were
the ones that sent the things. The
club had telephoned in and asked for
the address of some family that would
not be likely to have big dinner. and
then they had filed the basket and
sent it to the address given. Now she
would like to thank the club. She
could read English but she couldn't
spell the words. Would write the let
ter fer her? And that was the way
The ladies found out that the ''kids
wuz crazy"
/ went over to Mrs. Halls home, and
the setting and situation seemed to
my ineXperience exaggerated beyond
actually. The place looked like
stage representation of poverty. The
husband had deserted; there were
three children, toddler, sickly girl
of nine, a sicllly boy of ten; and the
mother had ''pains in the chest" could
work only internationally. There was
plenty of work to be had this year,
she said, but first one child fell sick.
then another, and she herself. after
being so hot in the steamy easements
where She did washings and then 60
ing out into the cold, would get those
pains in the chest and would have to
give up for awhile. At present about
all she was doing was working at
home, putting strings on express tags.
Going home in the street car l fell
into such an abstraction went nearly
to the limits before l woke up enough
to consider the matter of alighting. i
got to thinking of contrasts-of y
world of folk fussing ABOUT the oyei
amount of protein they had in their
systems, and that other world with the
family milk ration one tin n week; of
people suffering from superheated
apartments. and of those that watched
anxiously the dwindling nuggets in the
basket: of people blinking under the
glare of too-many-and-too-hig h-power
bulbs, of the Hall family that went to
bed right after supper to save light;
of dancing-dreSses trimmed with fur.
of the thin cottony coat Jimmie Hail
was wearing; of limousine with orch
ids showing at the glass and foot
warmers for footrests, then of Mrs.
Hall walking miles to her work to
save five cents.
Attending a Kinsolving concert a re-
cent morning in the crystal ballroom
of the Blackstone hotel after the con-
cert lettering awhile in the lobby,
later sauntering along Michigan ave-
nue. and stopping to look at this win
dow of exotic blooms. at that one
where platinum. diamonds and pearls
showed up with full effect against their
velvet backgrounds, the while seeing
the stream of luxurious vehicles flow
ing on in such volume, the companion
that was with me had said. well. un'
doubtedly America is PROSPEROUS this