The Bismarck tribune., 1919-01-30
Y. ". "a. WORKER
!. IS Bic SISTER
Industrial Woman's Service Club
Brings Home to Girls in New
~b Factory Community.
Blue. TRIANGLEsMeAns CHEER
Club 9tandss for sttot- Lunches, Clsan
( Towels, Comfortable Cots, Parties,
Games and Recreation 70 j
Girl Workers. -
81 I'll ( ~ sg,,,SsF a.. I, ~ g
Katherine hoiiand Brown.

| IV1 H0As ~ bSC16ALSsSn = SuA
go old. and T3works in a big fac.
tory in Michigan. More than four
hundred other girls work there too.
I don't aim to- tell you about our jobs.
You can read about our work in the
labov department reports. But I do
aim to tell you about our Big: Sister
and Of the things she has done for US.
ITO begin with, our factory town
isn't town at all. It's a huge barn
Of buildings stuck down in the country
nineteen miles from, nowhere. There
is a railroad siding, station the size
of dry goods box, seven farmhouses
and one general, store and post0ffice
combined-it's pretty near as big a. a
not tamale stand. And that's all. No
Main street, no banks nor stores, no
ice-cream parlors, not one solitary
movie show, In all those nineteen
miles. L6nesome9 It's the ragged
edge Of desola tion, that's what it IS.
II was one Of the. first carload Of
forty girls that was shipped up from
Chicago, The factory was swarming
with workmen putting in the machin-
cry, and we girls couldn't begin work
for a day or so, 80 we began hunting
places to eat and sleep. That was a
trifle that the employment folks hadHt
thought of. The workmen were sleep
ing and eating in the cars that had
brought them there, backed on the
siding. Our only chance for beds and
food was with those seven farmhouses,
80 we marched straight to the farmers
wives and asked for beard and room.
Farmers Wives HospitabIe.
n will say that thosewomen were kind
and hospitable. They fixed 1t up be-
tween them to feed US forty girls, and
they gave us good food too. But for
rooms, that was the question. They
could each spare one room. That
meant sleep five or six in room. But
right then along came. the boss Of the
factory and told us the machinery was
ready. and he'd expect us, girls to work
double shifts, night and day. .....
HE wanted to make use Of every
minute. you see. But that gave US our
chance as to sleeping. We fixed it up
with the farm folks that we'd work
double shifts and sleep double shifts
too. .s,,-l.s.,..I ..Is,.,a ps... s-
$50 we planned It, Three girls
would use a room from eight at night
till six the next morning. Then they'd
hustle over 70 the factory, and the
three girls who'd been working all
night would take the room and sleep
till afternoon. 1t wasn't any luxuri-
GUS slumber, believe me. The farm
women had So few sheets and pillow
cases that most. of uss went without,
And towels were scarce as diamonds
on blackberry bushes. As to soap
well, the general store kept yellow bar
soap, that kind that Is so full Of rosin
you could use It to calk a ship. But
We made out till the next three car
loads Of girls came rolling IN. Then
we went most distracted. Those poor
girls had to sleep in tents and in the
cars that the workmen had abandoned
by this time, and they were lucky If
ulcy kUI Il SlIdW tlCk anu u UlaHkeLs
BY this time 10 had turned raw cold,
and maybe You know What late au.
.tumn nights in Michigan feel like. To
cap the climax the farm folks cut
down on food, and for a week It was
potatees and beans and mighty few
beans sf that. I ,s-- 'a,,-.
81 = Along Came Miracle. 49,,
'"But, fight when We were sbout
ready,to 1fiit our: jobs; and beat it for
home, along came a miracle. Two
quiet, business1ike women climbed
down from the eastbound train one
morning. Withthem came. eight work
men, a carload sof scantliDg and tar
paper, another carload Of cots and
blankets and pillows and sheets and
towels-brand new blankets and beds
think OF, the glory Of that land
bushels of dishes and rolls of oilcloth
and enough burlap to carpet the coun-
try. You won't believe me when I tell
you that in ten days their w0rkmen
had NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. shack
put up and burlap tackled over the
walls, and the; Y. w. C. A.: secretary