New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-31

Nhcn She Vas Assured II Real
" Wds From the President
II Became Family Treasure

Mrs. Domenico Zaccahea said las,
night that at first she thought some
one was playing joke on her when
she received the letter from Presiden mt
Harding congratulating her on her
large family When she had made
sure it was genuine is became the chief
family treasure she said.
Discussing the conditions which
prompted her reply, Mrs. Zaccahea
explained that, besides her husband s
income, their eldest son Nicholas,
twenty years old, contributes SIP a
week to thA family support and Mary,
the only other child at work, earns $40
But with this totaI of SAP, week, Ms.
Zaccahea said, it was harder now tc
iced sixteen children than it was to
feed the eleven they had before the
war when the family income was con-
siderably less. Mr. Zaccahea then was
working for the Consolidated Gas Com
pany at Sill a week
I'VE have hard times once in a
while" said Mrs. Zaccahea, a kindly
faced woman, who held IN her arms as
she talked the latest addition to the
Zaccahea family, a boy three months
Old. But she added with a smile
1T seems to me we are better off than
many folks who have not to be so care
full as we do.
Since Nicholas and Mary have been
able to earn money we have lived much
better-that is, we have been able to
have more to eat and wear than dur
ing the high priced days But az I
hgure 1t out we are just about as we'll
off as we used to be when our family
consisted Of eleven and we had Sill
week Now we get for the $42 income
Just about the same that we used to
get for the $1l income; Of course,
there are the extra mouths to feed.
Our children all help, so far as they
are able. Seven of them go to school,
and they help me about the house after
they come home. The smaller ones
who do not yet go to school are very
handy. | train them all from the time
they are just infants to help each other
and to help me. So it must not be
understood that | think myself entitled
to sympathy. feel just the ether
way. feel just as the great Pres-
dent says his mother felt about her
family. | would not have one less if
could, and if more come | know the
Lord will provide in some way
There is one thing | cannot pet
over. | never supposed that Presidents
of the United States read the news
papers and looked at the pictures like
common folks. When the letter came
from Mr.. Harding l thought at first it
was some one playing joke on us.
But when read it again | could under
stand that the Presidents mother was
a real old-fashioned body who believed
in having children. She surely has
been blessed in her family, and i know
that mine will make a place in the
world, too.
1--WE can't all be Presidents, can we?
But all of us can be good Americans
and do our best, and that seems to me
the way to estimate success With all
my children of school age being edu-
Gated III American schools I expect to
see them take their places in American
life. They may not take big places.
but they will be such positions as each
Of them is able to hold. All I want
them to be is honest and hard work
ing and as successful as they have it
in them to become
My husband would be able to do
much better if he spoke better Eng
lish, SO now he is trying very hard in
his spare time to learn good English"
Zaccahea nodded approvingly as his
wife spoke. He nterjected few words
occa sionally, but permitted the mother
of his children to tell the family story.
Mary tells it," he said; "she knows
how to speak GOOD words