davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
By BESSIE r. JAMES

T HE Sailors, Soldiers and Marines
Club of the National League for
Woman's Service, at 261 Madison
Avenue, extends hospitality daily to an
average of 500 men, and this made it
the logical centre for a branch of the
United States Employment Service
where men discharged from the army
and the navy are helped to find jobs
The bureau is operated jointly by the
United States Employment Service and
by the league, the latter organization
undertaking the work as part of it's
after -the-war industrial programme. 1t
supplies the office and the volunteer
women for the clerical work and can
vassing of the city for positions. In
addition, the league has circulated
among its New York City membership
of 10000 or more an appeal for each
member to be responsible for the OBJ
tanning of one job for soldier.
AS compared with the several hun
dred-odd branches of the United States
Employment Service in New York this
branch bureau is not large Neither
does it hold record for the largest
number of applicants week, nor for
the greatest number of placements; but
because of the many volunteer work
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Why Not Fresh Air
The Whole Year Round?

The boat at East Ninetieth Street
was opened last July, and the results
which have been attained since that time
have more than justified it's existence
and made DR.. Harris very sanguine in
regard to the future. He hopes before
long to be able to open several more
of these camps throughout the city,
which shall be housed in inexpensive
buildings either in open spaces, such
as vacant lots or in the smaller parks;
on unused docks, or even, if possible, on
the roofs of high buildings, although
he fears that the expense connected
with the latter site would make it i'm
possible.
1t is Dr. Harris's dream to see the es-
tablishment of a city fresh air fund, to
be used for city children all the year
round, supplementing that which en-
ables the city child to go to the coun-
try for a week or fortnight during
the summer months. He does not de-
preciate the benefit which the child
from the crowded tenement derives
from this country vacation-nothing
could quite take the place of that sea-
son of freedom at the mountains or sea-
shore-but he feels most strongly the
need for giving the city child, especially
those with tubercular tendencies, fresh
air to breathe all the year round, and
there is no question in his mind that
this can be accomplished if only the
wherewithal to do it is Forthcoming.
OFF on Stationary Cruise
To the Land of Health
Shall we go aboard the old red ferry
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Two Trades Are
Better Than One

1--WE find that in many cases the war
has taught man two or three differ
ent trades, whereas before he could
hold only one kind of job" said Mrs.
Alexander Kohut, the industrial chair
man of the league, who is directing the
work of the bureau "Take the case
of the baseball player. AS he is not
very good baseball player, he doesn't
make enough money during the season
to carry him over the winter Now the
navy has made a fireman out Of him
and he has his trade and salary for the
winter months. This is typical of other
cases. We may have man come to us
who before the war held a clerical posi-
ton, but possibly while in the air ser
vice or some other branch of the army
he has learned mechanics Right away
his chances Of getting a job are twice
as good. But, of course, we realize
there are not enough Jobs at present
to go around in New York City, and at
times we are at loss to find openings
for these men from other towns who
wish to establish themselves in New
York. Only in a couple of instances
have we been able to persuade the men
to go back to their home towns
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

of the bureau. Before the war these
men were miners in Colorado and Cali
fornia, or book statesmen in Louisiana
and Oklahoma, chauffeurs in Wisconsin
and Georgia, machinists and draughts-
men in Minnesota and Utah. The war
having helped to sever the home ties,
they want to stay in New York. To
them this is an opportunity to make
the great change, a change they have
dreamed of for years, but have lacked
the courage to make. You can argue
with them for hours, but they won't
go back to their old jobs and help
lessen New York's great problem of the
unemployed.
And so, what is the job in New York
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

boat? The gangway is steep and the
old craft rocks bit from the waves
which are made by the passing of big
Sound steamer, but the superintendent
standing in the stern assures us that
she is securely fastened to her moor
ings and we need have no fear.
We are first taken into the superin-
tendent's office, a comfortable steam
heated room in the stern of the boat,
containing, besides the usual Office furni-
ture, round dining table, a sideboard
and six dining room chairs; for the
room serves double purpose-not
only is it the private sanctum of the
nurse in charge, but it is the dining
room for the nurses and teachers as
WE'LL
Across the narrow passageway we
get glimpse into the kitchen, where a
man and two maids are busy clearing
away the remnants Of the midday meal
which the children have just finished
eating. Beyond the kitchen, in what
was in the old days the lower deck
saloon Of the boat, there are two
rows Of tables covered with white
enamel cloth, where the children eat
their meals.
The superintendent regrets that we
did not arrive in time to see the chill
dren at dinner, "for," says she, "they
had succotash to-day and how they did
enjoy it. There is nothing that they
like better.
Roast mutton,' she continues,
"boiled potatoes, succotash rice pud-
ding and plenty of milk and bread and
butter was the menu, and they ate like
ravening wolves. You would never be-
lieve that when they first came to the
camp many of these children had to
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

the volunteer canvassers made fortu-
nate discovery, and this situation has
been relieved for while The can
vasser discovered a manufacturer of a
new brand Of sausage, and he was in
need of many statesmen to introduce
his goods Accordingly, so far, he has
accepted practically all the men the
bureau has directed to him.
One man who had been butler
came back from camp to find an old
man in his place 'I'll have to get
new job he told the women, "because
| cannot ask my former employer to
discharge that old man. They found
him a buffers job in large club.
From bacterology to baseball is
quite a range, but the bureau has COW
cred it. Every effort was made to find
the baseball player position, but the
season being yet several months off,
the bureau was unsuccessful. AS the
baseball player had served during the
war in the engine room Of battleship,
he was qualified for the job of furnace
man in a large apartment. He accept
ed this work cheerfully, and now is
waiting for baseball time, when he will
90 South to a training camp with one
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
"Preventorium'' F1oated by the City Fathe

hungry before they reach home, for
most of them come from quite a dis
tance. This is usually hot cocoa and
bread and butter''
We ply the little lady with questions
and we learn that there are more than
100 children registered in the camp at
present. Since the boat opened last July
there have been 239 enrolled on its
books. The children are recruited from
the clinics Of the neighboring hospitals,
from the public schools and from var-
Gus charitable organizations. They are
all suffering from malnutrition, or they
either have tubercular tendencies or are
exposed to tuberculosis in their homes.
Seventy y-seven out of the 1874 children
who have been discharged from the
camp during the last few months have
returned, completely cured, to the pub
lie schools.
What Ho-
For the Lessons on Deck!
After breakfast and few minutes
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

recreation the children adjourn to the
schoolrooms for lessons. Unless the
weather is too inclement, the decks are
used as schoolrooms. The teacher, in
a big fur coat and cap drawn over
her ears, faces class Of boys and girls
bundled up to their noses in mufTers and
other woollen garments and with warm
blankets wrapped about their legs
They look anything but invalids, with
their round rosy cheeks and sparkling
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

be coaxed and even bribed to eat any
thing at all"
'Is dinner the only meal that they
are given on the boat?' ! asked.
ooh, dear, no! They have their
breakfast shortly after they arrive at
9 in the morning. This consists Of a
soft-boiled egg, milk and bread and
butter, and just before they leave in
the afternoon they have their after
school lunch, so that they will not get
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

y
observer viewing it from the deck
Of Sound steamer or from the path
that skirts the shore Of the East River,
would appear to be just an ordinary
discarded old craft, awaiting disintegra-
ton at the hands of salvage company
A closer scrutiny, however, would re-
veal the fact that although it's days of
usefulness as means of transportation
are over, it is fulfilling a mission in its
ripe old age which will cause it to be
remembered long after tunnels and air.
craft have driven the last of the ferry
boats from the purlieus of the East
River. For the old red ferryboat is the
pioneer of new movement; it is giving
It's few remaining years to a cause, the
same being the demonstrating to the
public in general and the city fathers in
particular, the absolute necessity of pro-
viding camps or preventoriums through
out the city where children who are
undernourished or are of tubercular4
tendencies can be made strong and
healthy by means of fresh air, proper
food and regular medical SUPERVISION
There are two of these remodelled
ferryboats, one at the foot of Nine
teth Street and another in the Will
lamsburg section of Brooklyn. The
idea of utilizing the old ferryboats for
this purpose originated with Dr. Louis
!. Harris, the director of the Bureau of
Preventable Disease, vitality important
branch of the Health Department. DR..
Harris did not select these old boats as
being the ideal location for his expert
ment, but solely for economic reasons.
because it was far less expensive to fit
these with the necessary equipment
than it would have been to put up tenn
porary structures for the purpose As
a matter of fact, there are several seri-
Gus objections to the permanent use of
these old boats, but, while the work is
still in the experimental stage, they
serve the purpose very we'll and give
besides, a unique and picturesque set
ting to the undertaking. If there is
anywhere on this side of the water a
more interesting schoolroom than that
which occupies the forward part of the
upper deck of that old red ferryboat
overlooking the ever changing panorama
of the East River, have yet to find it,
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

surgical ward in a secluded corner of
the upper saloon. Tuesday is weighing
day, when every child is placed upon
the scales and the result recorded on
his chart If child has no appetite he
is given a tonic; if his teeth are in an
unhealthy condition he is taken to a
dentist, and if he fails to respond to
the treatment in any way the Visiting
nurse" is sent to investigate the condi-
tions in his home, to see if he is sleep
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

corded, and then he goes to the scales
before an expectant audience. For each
mother is anxious to see how much each
other mothers baby has gained
Eight ounces for Tony this week;
that's fine, Mrs. Ferro," the attendant
announces. Tony's mother beams and
the other mothers crowd up with their
pabies, eager for turn at the scales
Next, baby must be examined by the
DOCTOR Sometimes she resents this.
One little girl of two sat with tightly
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

gate the hours and work of the nurses
in our hospitals?
Here is letter received by the mother
of a nurse who has just completed her
probationary course:
Il am sitting up in the sun on the
porch and resting at the same time. This
is what did this morning. pretty
good mornings work: Eight patients in
the ward, Avc had baths; their beds to
make, dust tho ward. Make them
all either, cocoa or orangeadc. Clean
small kitchen and bathroom; answer
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

ing ethics, practical nursing, nursing
theory, dietetics. In addition to work
and studies there is the question of
making both ends meet (for many nurses
look for very little assistance from their
famlies), and the nervous shock of
learning of heretofore unknown evils and
often the sorrow of seeing 4 patient
pass on.
Volumes have been written recently on
the nobility of trained nurses and their
vital Importance to the community.
Why, then, is it necessary to break them
down with such long hours filled with
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

fine healthy cry, anyway. Try feeding
her whole milk with little barley
water. Then bring her next week and
We'll see whether she hasn't overcome
her heritage
Whole milk-how is the mother to get
it at IA cents quart l thought. But
Greenwich House has looked after that,
too. In the very next room to the baby
clinic "mulsifed milk has been sold at
IL cents to a long, waiting line of chill
dren. Mother can bring can with her
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
A Family of
Lightweights

bells in between. Then go for dinner
trays. twenty-onc of these. then out to
my dinner at 1920. Nothing left but
two sausages and half slice of cake,
so | ate bread and butter and drank
not complaining, and like the work all
right Just thought you would like to
hear about it,"
The compensation offered is board,
lodging, laundry, training and SO
month. In addition to the work required
there are classes and lessons to fill up
any unemployed hours. The lessons for
probationers were in bacteriology, nurs-
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Women Help Uncle Sam to Find Jobs for Men

ers the league has been able to provide
perhaps no other branch can boast of
giving more time, more attention or
satisfaction to each applicant Be-
cause of their previous experience in
war work they are we'll equipped to
canvass employers for jobs and follow
up the case of every man until he has
position or is left more or less sat
listed. They are the women who dur
ing the war went from one Liberty
loan campaign or one organization
drive to another. When such a cam
paign was being planned the organiza-
ton telephoned the general service d-
vision of the league and asked how
many volunteers the division could be
depended on to supply For one drive
the league has loaned as many as 500
workers. And now the experience of
days past is being diverted and utilized
in q new fold
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

sadly undernourished Now the doctor
is examining poor scrawny little thing,
while the look of pity deepens on the
faces of the mothers of plump babies.
Mother herself is proudly explaining
what strong child little Becky is. To
be sure, she is four months old and
weighs only four pounds and fifteen
ounces. "But the whole family is skinny
like that. You should see this babys
father, doctor'
"Well," says the doctor, ''she has
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

closed mouth, adamant to the pleas of
doctor and attendants to "open mouth
and say 'aah,' there's a good girl"
FINALLY big sister was summoned. Her
treatment was simple, but effective She
seized baby by the chin. Automatically
the little jaw dropped and doctor could
insert his paddle.
"This baby is doing WE'LL" says the
doctor, examining fine little boy. "Do
you keep him out Of doors?"
II no understand. She spcaka de
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
A WeIioW Old Aao
Spent in Sauing
Children

ing i'll room where there is plenty =.
fresh air, and so on.
The visiting nurse" by the hv !,
one of the most important factors :.
the success Of the experiment. for H.
object of the camp is twofold. Il !.
intended not only to benefit the ind;
vidual children who spend eight hour,
out of the twenty-four on its well-wor,
decks, but also to carry the gosnel -
wholesome living and eating and
sleeping into the homes which shelssr
these same children for the other s;v
teen hours of the day And the vsi,
ing nurse is the connecting link bc.
tween the two.
The health talks which are given ner
odically on such simple subjects as baths
fresh air, the care of the seeth etc. and
on which the children afterward wr;to
compositions, are also a help from tbe
educational standpoint.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

ID EFORMERS are crying for an
IN eight-hour day for home workers
whose present hours are from
$3.50 to 1880 (since folks must have both
breakfast and dinncr), but whose work
is comparatively light; certainly it is not
heavier than that of many college bred
women who, in addition to home work,
are rearing children and doing their own
sewing. Why does not some one investi-
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

hard work? There is nothing like it
in any other occupation or profession
For thirty years, or since the first
trained nurse came into my home,
have wondered why physical endurance
is the first and highest test fer an oc-
cupation that calls for SO many higher
and finer qualities. Surely, there is
reform called for, shorter hours and
greater compensation in this fine pro-
fession.
ELIZABETH B. ROGERS,
Danbury, Conn.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
When the School Floats
Out to Sea

But pleasant and picturesque as If ;s
life isn't all beer and skittles" on that
old red ferryboat. There are days when
the river is rough, and the old craft
rocks so much that some of the cbildren
suffer from NAL de mer. There are hitter
cold days when the pipes freeze up 50
that the steam plant is put out of com
mission for days at time, and, most
serious of all, on two different occasions
the old red boat has slipped away from
her moorings and started merrily on her
way toward He'll Gate, to the great de-
light of the children but the utter terror
of the elder of the voyageurs.
From which you must realize that
stationary building firmly planted on the
dry land would, after all, serve the prac
tical needs Of the camp much better than
the quaint old ark which is its present
home. DR.. Harris hopes as the next
stage of his experiment to establish a
camp where the children can spend their
nights as we'll as their days, where they
will be under medical care and super
vision not only for eight hours in the
day but for the entire twenty-four.
No active cases of tuberculosis are
taken into the camp; there are, in fact,
no real invalids among the children there.
The camp is first and foremost pre-
ventorium, and certainly if ever there
was an evidence of the truth of the old say
ing that "an ounce of prevention is worth
a pound of cure" it is to be found on
the decks of that old red ferryboat that
gently rocks at her moorings in the East
River
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
An Ounce of
Prevention

Preventive measures-that is what
we want to insure" said Mrs. Perry
1.-The regular clinics look after the seS
babies. We want the mothers to learn
how to keep their babies from becoming
sick babies.
at is the visiting nurse who can bss.
do this. The epidemic has demonstrates
more clearly than ever how much she u
needed to go right into the homes ana
show mothers how to feed and care io'
their children
"Of course, ours is small undertas.
ing, and we have no nurses-so that 81
our visiting must be done by volunteer
But if all the separate health agenc'e.'
would get together it ought to be poss.'
BILE to cover every home in New 1ofA
City," I'll
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
By MARGARET MAR MOSES
TO KEEP we'll babies aoell-th

1O KEEP we'll babies aoell-that is
the object of the Baby Feeding
Clinic which Greenwich House
has opened for the newest comers to the
neighborhood
And the babies lend their approval to
the undertaking: They attend in state.
wrapped in warm blankets and gayly col
ored shawls, and followed by an admir-
ing train of relatives
Mrs. Ida Carpenter Perry, who is in
charge Of health work at Greenwich
House, plans to make it mothers club
rs well as clinic. Mother is invited
to come early and have chat with other
mothers over cup Of chocolate. But
mothers are not the only ones who like
to come.
Often it is "bg sister, who toddles in
under the weight Of the youngest mem
bcr Of the family. Even father puts in
an appearance when he has been 1aid
Off"
Baby Goes
Over the Top
After chocolate the performance is on,
Baby is registered snd his history re-
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
They All Want to
Live in New York

During the four weeks the bureau
has been doing business only one man
has asked for job outside of New
York City. Half of the men who apply
for work do not belong in New York
City, and they are the great problem
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

and get the milk as she leaves the clinic.
And if there has been a case of IN
fluenza in the family, and nourishlng
foods are needed, she can obtain. milk
and eggs free. This is a special emer.
gency work undertaken by the Board
of Health during the influenza epidemic.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
From Bacteriology
TO Baseball

English" says the mother, thrustng the
omnipotent big sister forward.
"Tell your mother to battle baby every
day and keep him outdoors" the doctor
explains to the proud possessor of the
famiy's English. And big sister passes
on the advice in voluble Italian.
A Family of
Lightweights
But, although they are not sick, some
of the babies who attend the clinic are
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

City for the miner from Colorado? And
what can you do with an interior deco
rator from San Francisco, late sailor
IN the United States navy, who says he
will stay in New York and land a job>
even if he has to starve? According
to the records of the bureau, the war
has noticeably increased the rate of
chauffeurs, while almost every other
man to apply wants to be salesman.
From Bacteriology
To Baseball
The man who wanted to leave the
city is an Armenian, married and has
two children. He was in France with
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

of the teams. another ex-soldler "back
on the lob y
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

eyes, and how they love their outdoor
schoolroom! Only actual rain or snow
will drive them inside, although the sec
ond deck saloon makes an exceptionally
good indoor schoolroom, and has the
added attraction of piano.
Dinner is served at y o'clock, and
then the children are tucked up on the
old ferryboat seats that line the walls
of the saloon for an hours rest before
beginning their afternoon studies. At
o'clock school is over for the day,
and there is an interval of recreation
for the little ones and short health
talk or class in sewing or basket
weaving for the older ones before the
"after-school lunch is eaten, and they
are started on their homeward way.
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
A Visiting Nurse and the
Doctor Among the Crew

Every child is under the most careful
supervision. Three times a week they
are examined by physician from the
Health Department in the little white
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
The Old Red Ferry.
Boat Goes
Pioneering
BY ELENE FOSTER

TIMED to the dock at the foot Of
East Ninetieth Street is an old
red ferryboat which, to the casual
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
Baby Goes
Over the Top

After chocolate the performance is on.
Baby IL registered snd his history re-
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23
OFF on a Stationary Cruise
To the Land of Health

Shall we go aboard the old red ferry
New-York tribune., 1919-02-23

TIME Sailors, Soldiers and Marines
Club of the National League for
Woman's Service, at 261 Madison