The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-01-29
The ChiIdren's New Years Party

years? How much of this responsive
ness would follow them trough life?
Our music was a volunteer orchestra
from a girls club. These girls had
given up their New Years holiday and
4 had come with their director to play
for the children. When they were
playing not loss than seven babies were
gravely keeping time like band masters.
From their mothers arms they con-
Quoted the music.
One had escaped. remember he
was dressed in white shirt and yellow
! trousers that must have been all of
four inches long. He had apple checks
and top knot of pale yellow floss,
and he stood absorbed, swept up by
the music, in the middle of the hall,
and he too conducted with his fat
fore-finger.
There was one thing they all told
us every moment of the afternoon. 1t
was, "We love music and laughter
We love beauty. Our love of such
things is what has made art possible
down the ages. Our love of these
| things is. as fresh and new as if we
were children of the Golden Ages. We
have never had enough music. We have
never had enough laughter. Give us
these things, for as our bodies cannot
grow without food so our spirits cannot
get to their full stature without beau
ty."
As I looked at them T dreamed
dreams. They made me feel as if
everything was possible for humanity.
Then I remembered that there was a
lockout and that the manufacturers
were trying to break their fathers or
ganization. That the manufacturers
were to reduce wages a third. That
there was a conspiracy on foot to
break the workers organizations
throughout the country so that children
would grow up in industrial slavery.
This is what the manufacturers are
trying to do. This is the way they
began the new year.
There are other pictures besides these
happy ones that shall still less forget.
1t is the faces of the children who
lcouldn t come in. There was one beau
tiful little boy looking up at the police
man and saying in frightened, III
credulous tone, 'Oh, can't I see the
pictures?" There were rows and rows
of patient children who wouldn't 90
away, hoping that if they waited long
enough they would yet get chance to
see Charlie Chaplin or get box Of
candy.
l cannot bear to think about them
But their eyes will not let me be.
And they had all come in so beauti-
full spirit, bringing with them the
treasure Of their enthusiasm, and be.
cause there were so many of them
they were disappointed. And we had
been afraid of empty halls!
One of my best pictures is that of
4 crowd of beautiful eight year.old
girls standing on chairs singing. The
audience left very slowly. Downstairs
the children were getting calenders
and boxes of candy. 1t took time So
the men at the doors held back the
crowd and would not let it come out
in deluge.
How kind every one was and how
patient! They sat down again and the
kind girls orchestra played one thing
after another, songs every one knew,
"Old Black joe" and "Swannee Riv.
er" and "The Long Long Trail"
And these little girls in the back of
the hall sang to us who were on the
platform trying to lead the singing.
We sang to them. They sang to u.s.
The audience Of babies, little children
and big girls swaying in time to the
music. The children on the chairs sang
from their toes to the crowns of their
heads, their heads thrown back, un-
conscious Of the crowd, drowned in
music. ! became friends with these
girls with whom I sang, though
don't know their names.
Their lovely joyfulness will be part
Of my new year.
Then suddenly the full meaning OF
such m organization as the Anal
eamated came to me. II came out
flashing like light. Here in this hal
was the beating heart Of the conflict
in which the workers were engaged. II
fighting the rapacity Of the. manufact
urers, they were fighting for thu
children. These were just few o.
them. There were hundreds and thous
ands of others just as lovely, just a
beautiful. Here we could see the miro
of what human beings were made I,
be. Life takes us and twists us, I
ITuts out our eyes. It blunts us, twist
our backbone, mains us body ant
soul But each time a child is borI
the race dips back into fresh beaut.